he was accompanied by 30 Athenian quadriremes. Crossing the Aegean, Demetrius made for the coast of Caria, whence he called upon the Rhodians to join him, per the terms of their alliance with his father. The Rhodians, however, who maintained good relations with Ptolemy, refused. Going on to Cilicia, where he was reinforced with more troops, Demetrius then crossed over to Cyprus with an army of 15,000 infantry and 500 cavalry. This was accompanied by a fleet numbering 53 heavy ships — 7 heptereis, 10 hexereis, 20 quinqueremes — and upwards of 110 lighter vessels—triremes and quadriremes — although the exact numbers are somewhat unclear. He was opposed by Ptolemy's brother, Menelaus, who disposed of 12,000 infantry, 800 cavalry, and 60 ships. Siege of Salamis and Ptolemy's arrival in Cyprus Demetrius landed on the Karpasia Peninsula on the northeast of the island and established a fortified encampment, protected by a palisade and a moat. From there he began raiding the area, and captured the towns of Karpasia and Urania. Leaving his fleet there, he then marched on land against the city of Salamis. Menelaus confronted Demetrius in battle some forty stadia (about five miles) from the city, but his army of 12,000 infantry and 800 cavalry were defeated in a brief battle with heavy loss (1,000 dead and 3,000 captured according to Diodorus Siculus) and had to retreat behind its walls. Demetrius freed the captives and enrolled them in his army, but soon they tried to defect, so Demetrius sent them to his father in Syria instead. Following the battle, Menelaus hastily made ready for a siege of Salamis, mounting catapults on the walls, and sent messengers to his brother for aid. Demetrius also began preparations for the first of the sieges that would earn Demetrius his later nickname of "Poliorcetes" ("the Besieger"): skilled craftsmen and large quantities of wood and iron were brought from Asia to begin constructing large siege engines, including two large battering rams encased in large canopies to protect them from missiles, and a massive, nine-level mobile siege tower or helepolis, equipped with catapults and ballistae on each level, operated by a crew of over 200 men. Demetrius then brought his fleet and siege train into action and assaulted the city. After a few days, Demetrius' machines opened a breach in the wall and his subsequent assault nearly proved decisive, and was only stopped by nightfall.