Siege of Halicarnassus 334 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 334 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkey | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Wars of Alexander the Great | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.0378, 27.4242 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Halicarnassus was fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334 BC. Alexander, who had no navy, was constantly being threatened by the Persian navy. It continuously attempted to provoke an engagement with Alexander, who would not oblige them. Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense. Ada of Caria, the former queen of Halicarnassus, had been driven from her throne by her younger brother Pixodarus of Caria. When Pixodarus died, Persian King Darius had appointed Orontobates satrap of Caria, which included Halicarnassus in its jurisdiction. On the arrival of Alexander in 334 BC, Ada, who was in possession of the fortress of Alinda, surrendered the fortress to him.
Orontobates and Memnon of Rhodes entrenched themselves in Halicarnassus. Alexander had sent spies to meet with dissidents inside the city, who had promised to open the gates and allow Alexander to enter. When his spies arrived, however, the dissidents were nowhere to be found. A small battle resulted, and Alexander's army managed to break through the city walls. Memnon, however, now deployed his catapults, and Alexander's army fell back.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Halicarnassus (revision 1370741746), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great
- Battle of the Granicus 334 BC
- Siege of Miletus 334 BC
- Battle of Issus 333 BC
- Siege of Gaza (332 BC) 332 BC
- Siege of Tyre (332 BC) 332 BC
- Battle of Gaugamela 331 BC
- Battle of the Uxian Defile 331 BC
- Battle of the Persian Gate 330 BC
- Battle of Jaxartes 329 BC
- Siege of Cyropolis 329 BC
All 12 battles of the Wars of Alexander the Great →
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