During the Persian wars part of the Parian army fought beside the Persians and was defeated with them. The defeat of the Persians led to the dispatch of an Athenian fleet under Themistocles, which forced the Parians to surrender. The island was now made an ally of Athens. In 338 B.C. the island came under the control of the Macedonian state, and after the death of Alexander the Great belonged for many years to the Ptolemies.