Siege of Halicarnassus

Last updated
Siege of Halicarnassus
Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great
Obsidio et expugnatio Halicarnassi urbis totius cariae capitis.jpg
The siege and capture of Halicarnassus under Alexander the Great
Date334 BC
Location
Halicarnassus
(modern-day Bodrum, Turkey)
37°02′00″N27°26′00″E / 37.0333°N 27.4333°E / 37.0333; 27.4333
Result Macedonian victory [1] [2] [3] [4]
Territorial
changes
Alexander captures Caria
Belligerents
Macedonia
Hellenic League
Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Alexander the Great
Hephaestion
Orontobates
Memnon of Rhodes
Casualties and losses
16 [3] 170 [3]
West Asia non political with water system.jpg
Red pog.svg
Halicarnassus
Location of the siege of Halicarnassus
Siege of Halicarnassus
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
1200km
820miles
Babylon
15
Invisible Square.svg
Malavas
14
Invisible Square.svg
Hydaspes
13
Invisible Square.svg
Cophen
12
Invisible Square.svg
Cyropolis
11
Invisible Square.svg
Persian Gate
10
Invisible Square.svg
Uxians
9
Invisible Square.svg
Gaugamela
8
Invisible Square.svg
Alexandria
7
Invisible Square.svg
Gaza
6
Invisible Square.svg
Tyre
5
Invisible Square.svg
Issus
4
Invisible Square.svg
Halicarnassus
3
Invisible Square.svg
Granicus
2
Invisible Square.svg
  current 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. [2]

Contents

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. Memnon then deployed his infantry, and shortly before Alexander would have received his first defeat, his infantry managed to break through the city walls, surprising the Persian forces. Memnon, realizing the city was lost, set fire to it and withdrew with his army. Strong winds caused the fire to destroy much of the city. [2] Alexander leading his army through the gates, ordered crews to extinguish the blazing structures and issued a decree that the citizens should not be harmed. [4]

Aftermath

After the capture of Halicarnassus Alexander sent his newly married soldiers home to spend the winter with their families. [5] Alexander committed the government of Caria to Ada; and she, in turn, formally adopted Alexander as her son, ensuring that the rule of Caria passed unconditionally to him upon her eventual death. During her husband's tenure as satrap, Ada had been loved by the people of Caria. By putting Ada, who felt very favorably towards Alexander, on the throne, he ensured that the government of Caria, as well as its people, remained loyal to him. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">334 BC</span> Calendar year

Year 334 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Calvinus. The denomination 334 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

This article concerns the period 359 BC – 350 BC.

This article concerns the period 339 BC – 330 BC.

Year 340 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Mus. The denomination 340 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caria</span> Region of ancient Asia-Minor

Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian mainlanders and they called themselves Caria because of the name of their king. He reports the Carians themselves maintained that they were Anatolian mainlanders intensely engaged in seafaring and were akin to the Mysians and the Lydians. The Carians spoke Carian, a native Anatolian language closely related to Luwian. Also closely associated with the Carians were the Leleges, which could be an earlier name for Carians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mausolus</span> Satrap of Caria from 377 BCE to 353 BCE

Mausolus was a ruler of Caria and a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by his father Hecatomnus, who was the first satrap of Caria from the hereditary Hecatomnid dynasty. Alongside Caria, Mausolus also ruled Lycia and parts of Ionia and the Dodecanese islands. He is best known for his monumental tomb and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the construction of which has traditionally been ascribed to his wife and sister Artemisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halicarnassus</span> Ancient Carian city, present day Bodrum in Turkey

Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was located in southwest Caria, on an advantageous site on the Gulf of Gökova, which is now in Bodrum, Turkey. The city was famous for the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, also known simply as the Tomb of Mausolus, whose name provided the origin of the word "mausoleum". The mausoleum, built from 353 to 350 BC, ranked as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Issus</span> 333 BC battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III

The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, on 5 November 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of Asia, and the first encounter between Darius III and Alexander the Great. The battle resulted in the Macedonian troops defeating the Persian forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wars of Alexander the Great</span> Conflicts of Alexander the Great (336–323 BC)

The wars of Alexander the Great were a series of conquests carried out by Alexander III of Macedon from 336 to 323 BC. They began with battles against the Achaemenid Empire, then under the rule of Darius III. After Alexander's chain of victories, he began a campaign against local chieftains and warlords that stretched from Greece to as far as the region of Punjab in South Asia. By the time he died, Alexander ruled over most regions of Greece and the conquered Achaemenid Empire, including much of Achaemenid Egypt; he did not, however, manage to conquer the Indian subcontinent in its entirety according to his initial plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Granicus</span> Battle fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenids

The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Granicus in the Troad region, which is now called the Biga River in Turkey. In the battle Alexander defeated the field army of the Persian satraps of Asia Minor, which defended the river crossing. After this battle, the Persians were forced on the defensive in the cities that remained under their control in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memnon of Rhodes</span> 4th-century BCE Greek mercenary commander

Memnon of Rhodes was a prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Achaemenid Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the satrap Artabazus II, together with his brother Mentor he served the Persian king for most of his life, and played an important role during the invasion of Alexander the Great and the decades before that.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ada of Caria</span> 4th-century BC Satrap and Queen of Caria

Ada of Caria was a member of the House of Hecatomnus and ruler of Caria during the mid-4th century BC, first as Persian Satrap and later as Queen under the auspices of Alexander III of Macedon.

Orontobates was a Persian, who married the daughter of Pixodarus, the usurping satrap of Caria, and was sent by the king of Persia to succeed him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixodarus</span> Satrap of Caria from 340 to 334 BC

Pixodarus or Pixodaros, was a satrap of Caria, nominally the Achaemenid Empire Satrap, who enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position his predecessors of the House of Hecatomnus created when they succeeded the assassinated Persian Satrap Tissaphernes in the Carian satrapy. Lycia was also ruled by the Carian dynasts since the time of Mausolus, and the name of Pixodarus as ruler appears in the Xanthos trilingual inscription in Lycia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hecatomnus</span> Satrap of Caria

Hecatomnus of Mylasa or Hekatomnos was an early 4th-century BC ruler of Caria. He was the satrap (governor) of Caria for the Persian Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II. However, the basis for Hecatomnus' political power was twofold: he was both a high appointed Persian official and a powerful local dynast, who founded the hereditary dynasty of the Hecatomnids. The Hecatomnids followed the earlier autochthonous dynasty of the Lygdamids in Caria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idrieus</span> Satrap of Caria from 351 BC to 344 BC

Idrieus, or Hidrieus was a ruler of Caria as a Satrap under the Achaemenid Empire. Alongside his sister and wife Ada, he enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position he inherited from his predecessors of the House of Hecatomnus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artabazos II</span> 4th-century BC Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia

Artabazos II was a Persian general and satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of the Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Pharnabazus II, and younger kinsman of Ariobarzanes of Phrygia who revolted against Artaxerxes III around 356 BC. His first wife was an unnamed Greek woman from Rhodes, sister of the two mercenaries Mentor of Rhodes and Memnon of Rhodes. Towards the end of his life, he became satrap of Bactria for Alexander the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hecatomnids</span> 4th-century BC rulers of Caria and surrounding areas

The Hecatomnid dynasty or Hecatomnids were the rulers of Caria and surrounding areas c. 395 – c. 330 BCE. They were satraps (governors) under the Achaemenid Empire, although they ruled with considerable autonomy as a hereditary dynasty. The dynasty had previously ruled the city of Mylasa, which became the capital of Hecatomnus, the first indigenous satrap of Caria. The dynastic capital was moved to Halicarnassus by Mausolus and Artemisia, who built the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, there. The dynasty survived the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great when Ada I, the final Hecatomnid ruler of Caria, adopted Alexander the Great as her son. The small family was remarkable for containing so many sets of married siblings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharnabazus III</span> 4th-century BC Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia

Pharnabazus III was a Persian satrap who fought against Alexander the Great. His father was Artabazos II, and his mother a Greek from Rhodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsites</span> 4th-century BC Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia

Arsites was Persian satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia in the Achaemenid Empire in the 4th century BC. His satrapy also included the region of Paphlagonia.

References

  1. Fuller, J.F.C (1960). The Generalship of Alexander The Great. Da Capo Press. pp. 200–206. ISBN   0-306-81330-0 . Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cartledge, Paul (2004). Alexander the Great the hunt for a new past. Overlook Press. ISBN   1-4050-3292-8. OL   3308184M . Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 English, Stephen (30 March 2010). The Sieges of Alexander the Great. Pen and Sword. ISBN   9781848840607 . Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 Easton, Jeffery A (April 2006). "A Storm of Terrors: Alexander the Great at Halicarnassus". Military Heritage. No. 7–5. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  5. Fuller, J.F.C (1960). The Generalship of Alexander The Great. Da Capo Press. p. 304. ISBN   0-306-81330-0 . Retrieved 2 July 2024.

Bibliography