The League of Free Laconians () was established in southern Greece in 21 BC by the Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

,Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece'', 21 giving formal structure to a group of cities that had been associated for almost two centuries.

History

The (, 'free

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

ns') are first mentioned in 195 BC, after

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

's defeat in the Roman-Spartan War. The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

general

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician '' gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious plac ...

placed several coastal cities, inhabited by ''

perioikoi The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the '' polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci' ...

'', under the protection of the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

, separating them from the rump Spartan state. The most important of its cities was

Gythium Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...

. A few years later, in 192 BC, Gythium was recaptured by Nabis of

, but the Achean League immediately attacked the city. The city of Las was attacked and captured by the Spartans. The Achaean League retaliated and attacked Las and Sparta. Following the dissolution of the Achaean League in 146 BC, the joined the Lacedaemonian League(κοινὸν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων, koinon of spartan colonies under roman rule), until Emperor

re-established the League of Free Laconians in 21 BC.

Constitution

The highest officer in the league () was the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

'', who was assisted by the treasurer. At its height the ' consisted of 24 cities; however, the number decreased to 18. The ' continued to exist into the second half of the 3rd century AD, as is demonstrated by the coins and inscriptions of its member states. It continued until 297 AD when the Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

reformed the

provincial administration Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Cana ...

Member cities

According to Pausanias, the members of the ''koinon'' were:Pausanias. ''Description of Greece''
3.21.7
/ref>

Notes

References

Primary Sources

* Pausanias, translated by W.H.S Jones, (1918). Pausanias Description of Greece. London: Harvard University Press. .

Secondary Sources

*Peter Greenhalgh and Edward Eliopoulos, (1985). Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece. London: Trinity Press *{{cite encyclopedia , title = Eleutherolakones , encyclopedia =The New Pauly , volume =4 , pages =918 , publisher =Brill , date = , id = , accessdate = Mani Peninsula Ancient Laconia Laconians Greece in the Roman era