of ancient halikarnassos suggest that the city was extensively planned by mausolus during his reign as dynast satrap he moved his dynastic seat from mylasa to halikarnassos and unified the whole pennisula in the greek model this reconstitution included the mausoleum in the centre of the city adjacent to the agora the most prominent place in the polis as such it is likely that mausolus planned the monument as a heroon a shrine to himself as founder of halikarnassos reconstituted so when pliny talks about the artists and sculptures employed to work