Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent

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 ...

. He was probably a member of the

Heracleidae The Heracleidae (; grc, Ἡρακλεῖδαι) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles (Hercules), especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also ...

, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nabis", i.e. against him. After taking the throne by executing two claimants, he began rebuilding Sparta's power. During the Second Macedonian War, Nabis sided with King

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon a ...

and in return he received the city of Argos. However, when the war began to turn against the Macedonians, he defected to Rome. After the war, the Romans, urged by 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 ...

, attacked Nabis and defeated him. He then was assassinated in 192 BC by the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

. He represented the last phase of Sparta's reformist period.

Ruler of Sparta

In the years following the defeat of the reformist king

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

of Sparta at the

Battle of Sellasia A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

(222 BC), Sparta experienced a power vacuum that eventually led to the Spartan kingship being bestowed on a child,

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...

, for whom first Machanidas (d. 207 BC) and then Nabis acted as regents. Nabis, however, soon overthrew Pelops, claiming to be a descendant of the Eurypontid king Demaratus.Green, ''Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age'', 302; Diod. Sic. 27.1. Although Nabis styled himself as king and is called

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean " monarch", referring to either a " king" or an "emperor" and ...

on his coins,

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

and

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

refer to him as a

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

. Nabis was committed to the reformist program of Cleomenes III and took it to extreme lengths, exiling the wealthy and dividing up their estates.

br>13.6-8
He freed many slaves and made them citizens, but left the institution of helotry in place as part of the Lycurgan system which he was claiming to restore.

34.27 The increased citizen body, however, meant that Nabis had more citizen troops for his army, which also included numerous

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes Pseudonym, also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a memb ...

, who was deeply hostile to Nabis' revolutionary program, described his supporters as "a crowd of murderers, burglars, cutpurses and highwaymen" (ἀνδροφόνοι καὶ παρασχίσται, λωποδύται, τοιχωρύχοι).

br>13.6
/ref> Nabis executed the last descendants of the two Spartan royal dynasties; and the ancient sources, especially Polybius and

, depict him as a bloodthirsty ruler who held power through armed force and shocking brutality. Polybius (13.6-7) claims that he would frequently exile the leading citizens of conquered communities and marry their wives to the brigands and freed slaves under his command. Polybius, (13.6) in an account that either demonstrates the extent of the tyranny of Nabis or the bias of Polybius, tells how wealthy landowners often were summoned into his presence and forced to pay him large sums of money, those who refused were tortured supposedly through use of a machine that resembled an

Iron maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...

, known as the Apega of Nabis, made after the form of his own wife, Queen

Apega The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) is an engineering society that regulates the practices of professional engineering and geoscience in Alberta. APEGA receives its mandate from the Engineering and Geos ...

Foreign policy

In foreign policy, Nabis pursued much the same policy as his predecessors: opposing the

and Macedonia by allying himself with the Aetolians,

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

, and

Messene Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη 𐀕𐀼𐀙 ''Messini''), officially Ancient Messene, is a local community within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in the region (''perifereia'') of Peloponnese. It is best known for the ...

br>16.13
/ref> This led him into an alliance with Rome during the First Macedonian War, signing a peace treaty with Rome in 205 at the Peace of Phoenice.

29.12

34.31 In the following years Nabis expanded Spartan power, reconquering much of

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 ...

and

. In 204 BC, he opened raids on

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

br>13.8.3-7
/ref> which did not break out into war until 202. He also re-established a fleet (apparently with the help of Cretan allies, whom Polybius describes as "pirates"),

br>13.8
/ref>

, 34.35.9 and used it to re-establish control of the Laconian coastline. He also fortified the city of Sparta for the first time. (Previously, the Spartans had viewed their city's defence as depending on the bravery of their

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The f ...

.) In 201 BC, he invaded the territory of Messene, which had been an ally of Sparta in the previous decades,

, 34.32.16 apparently an attempt to re-establish the control which Sparta had had over the region until the mid 4th century BC. Messene fell to Nabis, but the Spartans were forced to retreat when the army of Philopoemen intervened. Nabis' forces were decisively defeated at

Tegea Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal un ...

and he was forced to check his expansionist ambitions for the time.XXXX Nabis' territorial ambitions brought him into conflict with the Achaean League, which controlled the northern half of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

. Although repeatedly defeated by the gifted Achaean strategos Philopoemen, he nevertheless remained a serious threat to the Achaeans, who were considerably less successful against him when led by less competent generals. In 200 BC, alarmed at the ease with which he was ravaging their territory, the Achaeans asked the Macedonian King Philip V for help, which he did not provide. In the following years, Nabis was able to skilfully exploit the conflict between Philip and the Romans, gaining control of the important city of Argos as the price of his alliance with the Macedonians, and then defecting to the soon to be victorious Romans so that he might hold on to his conquest.

War with Rome

In 195 BC, however, the Roman

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

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 ...

was persuaded by the Achaeans that the power of Nabis in the Peloponnese needed to be checked.Holleaux, ''Rome and the Mediterranean; 218-133 B.C'', 190 Flamininus ordered Nabis to give Argos back to the Achaeans, or face war with Rome.

, 34.25 When Nabis refused, citing the Roman acceptance of his friendship at a time when he had already been in possession of the city as justification, Flamininus invaded Laconia. After an inconclusive campaign the Spartans were defeated, and Nabis was forced to surrender both Argos and the port of Gytheum, which gave him access to the sea.Holleaux, ''Rome and the Mediterranean; 218-133 B.C'', 191

34.41

Recovery and death

Though the territory under his control now consisted only of the city of Sparta and its immediate environs, Nabis still hoped to regain his former power. In 192 BC, seeing that the Romans and their Achaean allies were distracted by the imminent war with King

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

and the

, Nabis attempted to recapture Gytheum and the Laconian coastline. Smithbr>
/ref> Initially, he was successful, capturing the port and defeating the

in a minor naval battle. Soon after, however, his army was routed by Philopoemen and shut up within the walls of

. After ravaging the surrounding countryside Philopoemen returned home. Within a few months Nabis appealed to the Aetolian League to send troops so that he might protect his territory against the Romans and the Achaean League. The Aetolians responded by sending an army of 1,000 infantry and 300 cavalry to Sparta.

, s:From the Founding of the City/Book 35#35, 35.35 Once there, however, the Aetolians betrayed the tyrant – assassinating him while he was drilling his army outside the city. The Aetolians then attempted to take control of the city but were prevented from doing so by an uprising of the citizens. The Achaeans, seeking to take advantage of the ensuing chaos, dispatched Philopoemen to Sparta with a large army. Once there he compelled the Spartans to join the Achaean League.Cartledge and Spawforth, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta:A tale of two Cities'', 77 Nabis had thus been the last leader of an independent Sparta, and the last ruler under whom the Spartans had been a major power in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

Citations

Sources

Primary sources

*Titus Livius (Livy), ''The History of Rome'', trans Rev. Canon Roberts. London J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd, 1905. *Polybius, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). The Rise of the Roman Empire. New York: Penguin Classics. .

Secondary sources

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...

and Antony Spawforth, (2002). Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A tale of two cities. London: Routledge. *

Maurice Holleaux Maurice Holleaux (15 April 1861 – 21 September 1932) was a 19th–20th-century French historian, archaeologist and epigrapher, a specialist of Ancient Greece. Biography Années de formation Admitted in the École normale supérieure in 18 ...

, (1930). Cambridge Ancient History: Rome and the Mediterranean; 218-133 B.C., (1st edition) Vol VIII. Los Angeles: Cambridge University Press. *Jones, A.H.M. (1967). ''Sparta''. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. *William Smith, (1873). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: John Murray. {{Authority control 3rd-century BC births 192 BC deaths 3rd-century BC monarchs 2nd-century BC monarchs 2nd-century BC murdered monarchs 3rd-century BC Spartans 2nd-century BC Spartans Rulers of Sparta Second Macedonian War Year of birth unknown Eurypontid kings of Sparta Regents