Advancing on Dascylium he first encountered Persian troops at the Battle of Granicus in 334 BC. This battle occurred on the Granicus (Biga Çayı) river near modern-day Biga in Çanakkale, on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. The Persians were routed and the Greeks moved down the Aegean coast, taking Sardis, and besieging many cities. From the Aegean they moved east along the Mediterranean coast as far as Side in Pamphylia (333 BC), securing all of the Anatolian naval bases. From Side they moved north into the interior of Phrygia and Cappadocia before returning through the Cilician Gates to the Cilician coast, and then east towards the Gulf of Issus. It was there they encountered and defeated Darius at the Battle of Issus (333 BC).