Now just like in the first war Sparta couldn’t do it alone; so they asked the Persians to help conquer Athens. They asked their own enemy for help. This truly was a good example of history repeating itself. Mainly because Spartans defeated the Persians on land and Athenians defeated them in the sea. This time Spartans defeated the Athenians on land and the Persians defeated the Athenians in the sea.
Todays topic is on Spartan Army. The Spartan army was the military force of Sparta, one of the leading city-states of ancient Greece. The army stood at the centre of the Spartan state, whose citizens' primary obligation was to be good soldiers. Subject to military drill from infancy, the Spartans were one of the most feared military forces in world history. At Sparta's heyday in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, it was commonly accepted that "one Spartan was worth several men of any other state."
The Spartan army was significant in all aspects of the society. The army was the basis of which Sparta developed into the state known all over the world. It impacted their lives spiritually, politically and socially. Its army was fundamental for the running of the town. Sparta wasn’t always the great nation of military denomination.
The Spartan King ruled supremacy over his one hundred Spartan bodyguards. In fact, being part of the Kings squad held great honor and meant that they were as what they would call a true Spartan. During a war, only one of the kings went into battle while the other stayed in Sparta. This is evidently told by Herodotus as he states that this ‘conflict between Kings Cleomenes and Demaratus is what finalized this decision in a time around 507 BC. Following on, the King would generalize and plan out military campaigns.
This military strength helped Sparta defeat Athens and emerge victorious from the Peloponnesian War between 431-404 BC. However, this victory was at great cost. The subsequent defeat by Thebes in 371 BC Battle of Leuctra ended Sparta’s prominent role in Ancient Greece. Despite the loss of control, Sparta managed to maintain political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. This led to a long period of decline for the once powerful Sparta.
Alexander however is the one who is most recognized due to his military achievements. From early on Alexander’s military prowess could be seen with the destruction of Thebes in order to control rebellion. In 334 BC he crossed to Asia Minor with 32,000 infantry and 5,100 cavalry. He quickly took over Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine while pushing back the Persians. He later marched into Egypt where he was welcomed as a savior.
The Spartan Army to the Battle of Leuctra 371 BC | 2013 HSC Ancient History Assessment Task 1 | The composition, training, tactics, armour, strengths and weaknesses of the Spartan army and one significant Spartan battle | | Duncan Burgess Duncan Burgess The Spartan state was unique throughout the ancient world. Under the instruction of the mythical lawgiver, Lycurgus, who claimed to have brought the laws from a visit to the Delphic Oracle; the Spartan state became a powerful machine geared largely toward war. All boys born to parents of the citizen class were destined to undergo a tough training system from early childhood to become elite professional warriors. When exactly this dramatic overhaul took place and why is lost in history. Historians have suggested it as a response to growing concerns about the outnumbering helot population revolting.
Tensions between the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League eventually led to the Peloponnesian war. Thucydides believed that Sparta was afraid of the growing power of Athens, which had essentially resulted in the creation of an Athenian empire. Sparta felt that Athens was meddling in their business, and Athens would not agree to avoid interference. After twenty-seven years of war, and the participation in one way or another of many of the city-states belonging to the two leagues, both Sparta and Athens were in ruins. Sparta claimed the victory, and the city-states continued their bickering and fighting.
By 46 B.C., through the military genius of Julius Caesar, Rome conquered most of the land surrounding the Mediterranean, which was most of the known world at that time. However, this expansion hurt Rome more than it helped Rome. The Romans had an ever changing government to meet the demands of a growing empire. At first Rome had harsh Etruscan kings, but they soon had enough of these cruel tyrants and eventually ran them out of Rome. In there place they created the Roman Republic, which was modeled after the Greek Democracy.
His use of flexible, fast arms like cavalry and light infantry. Alexander’s success is partly a function of his using infantry in combination with slings, archers, and light cavalry. c. Romans, to 500 BCE Romans copied many of Greece and macedonian features, along with rigid discipline. Romans replicating mostly all the method that greece done, Romans differed from the Greeks in their understanding of leadership. By contrast, Roman generals in the empire period became so powerful that their men often swore oaths of loyalty to them personally.