Why did Alexander the Great disband his navy after taking Miletus?

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Alexander the Great Alexander the Great, detail from Alexander and Porus, painting by Charles Le Brun, 17th century; in the Louvre, Paris, France.

After taking Miletus, Alexander the Great chose to disband his own navy because he wanted to avoid a direct naval battle against the superior Persian fleet. Instead, he announced a strategy to defeat the Persian fleet on land by systematically occupying the coastal cities that served as its bases, thereby denying the fleet the ports it needed to operate effectively.1