The Siege of Halicarnassus occurred in 334 BC when Alexander the Great's Macedonian army laid siege to the Persian city of Halicarnassus in the Ionia region of coastal Anatolia. Alexander sought to deprive the Persians of naval bases in western Anatolia by capturing their major cities, as he had no navy with which he could defend the Aegean Sea. Alexander exploited the rivalry between the deposed Queen Ada of Caria and the Achaemenid Satrap of Caria, Orontobates, receiving the surrender of Ada's fortress of Alinda. Alexander proceeded to besiege Orontobates and Memnon of Rhodes in Halicarnassus, and his attempts to court dissidents in the city failed; Memnon also deployed his catapults to push back the Macedonian assaults. Before Alexander could be dealt his first defeat, his infantry managed to break through the city walls, surprising the Persian forces and overwhelming the city. Memnon had his men set fire to the city once he realized that Halicarnassus was lost, and strong winds caused the fires to destroy much of the city. Alexander proceeded to hand over the governorship of Caria to the popular Ada, who, in turn, adopted Alexander as a son, ensuring that he would inherit Caria on her death.
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