He was the youngest of the three sons of
Hecatomnus, all of whom held the sovereignty of their native country. Pixodarus obtained possession of the throne by the expulsion of his sister
Ada, the widow of their brother
Idrieus, with whom she had jointly governed Caria. He ruled Caria without opposition for a period of six years, 340–334 BC. He cultivated the friendship with
Persia, giving his daughter
Ada in marriage to a
Persian named
Orontobates, But, he did not neglect to court the alliance of other powers also, and endeavoured to secure the powerful friendship of
Philip II, king of
Macedonia, by offering the hand of his eldest daughter in marriage to
Arrhidaeus, the eldest, but disabled, son of the Macedonian monarch. The discontent of the young
Alexander at this period led him to offer himself as a suitor for the Carian princess instead of his brother — an overture which was eagerly embraced by Pixodarus, but the indignant interference of Philip put an end to the whole scheme. Pixodarus died — apparently a natural death — some time before the landing of Alexander in Asia, 334 BC: and was succeeded by his son-in-law the Persian
Orontobates, who had married his daughter Ada II. Orontobates was soon ousted by
Alexander the Great in the
Siege of Halicarnassus, and replaced by Princess
Ada with the approval of Alexander. ==Decree of Pixodarus==