Ancient Greek city states
Sparta
Sparta was one of the most important ancient Greek city states, along with Athens and Thebes. The city of Sparta developed into a unique militaristic state, which made it a political and especially a military power. Its territory included Laconia in the southern Peloponnesian peninsula.
Legend has it that Sparta was founded by Lacedaimon (son of Zeus and Taygeta), who named the city after his wife Sparta (daughter of the god Euothus). Archaeological excavations suggest that the city was founded around the 16th to 15th century BC, during the Mycenaean civilisation. It was originally an Achaean city, but at the end of the 12th century BC, the Dorian tribes conquered it and made it their capital.
From then on, Sparta began to expand, conquering Messenia, for example, during the two Messenian Wars. Its next target was Argos. In the early 6th century BC, Sparta invaded Tegea, their strongest city. After its conquest, the Spartans allowed the city of Tegea to remain independent, but in return the city had to provide military aid to Sparta. Similarly, alliances were formed with many other states, giving rise to the so-called Peloponnesian League.
During the Greco-Persian Wars, Sparta played a significant role and contributed to many victories. The battle of the three hundred soldiers who were sent to their deaths led by King Leonidas I became legendary. Their mission was to delay the advance of the Persian armies so that the remaining Spartans could slaughter the other Persians. Even at the Battle of Plataea, the Spartans were indispensable.
After the expulsion of the Persians, Sparta abandoned the wars, leaving the initiative to Athens, which, however, thanks to its naval power, began to threaten Sparta itself. The rivalry between the two states resulted in the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. The course of the war was uncertain, with superiority shifting from side to side until a truce was signed. This did not last long, however, and the fighting soon resumed. The Spartan king Lysandros brought about the final reversal when he crushed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aigospotamo. As a result, in 404 BC. the Athenians capitulated and Sparta became the most powerful state.
However, a coalition of Athens, Thebes, Argos and Corinth began to form against Sparta. But Sparta was still recognised as the main state of the whole of Greece. However, in 371 BC, the Theban warlord Epameinondas defeated the invincible Spartans at the Battle of Leukter. This defeat caused the end of the Peloponnesian League, the secession of Messenia and the gradual decline of Sparta itself.
By the time of Alexander the Great, Sparta was one of the lesser states. Even so, it had ambitions to regain its former glory, which it repeatedly failed to do. The final end came at the end of the 3rd century BC, when King Cleomenes III succumbed to the combined forces of the Macedonians and the Achaeans at the Battle of Sellasia. Subsequently, Sparta was forced to join the Achaean alliance.