Artemisia I was the Persian naval commander and Carian queen at the Battle of Salamis. She ruled Halicarnassus and brought ships from her territory to support Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece in 480 BCE.
Her role is especially notable because she commanded a contingent in the Persian fleet while ruling as a woman in a predominantly male military and political world. Herodotus portrays her as an intelligent and experienced adviser to Xerxes. During Salamis, he records that she urged caution about fighting in the confined straits, where the larger Persian fleet could not deploy easily.
Artemisia is sometimes confused with Artemisia II, the later ruler of Caria who built the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus for her husband. They belonged to different generations. Artemisia I was associated with the Persian Empire through her naval service, but she ruled Caria as a local monarch rather than serving as a Persian provincial governor.