- War between Sparta and its former allies from Peloponnesian War
- 395–387 BC
Background
- Spartan king Agesilaus had been successfuly campaigning in Ionian Greece (Asia Minor) against Persians since 398 BC
- Thebes, Corinth and Athens refused to participate in this expedition, they are becoming more and more dissatisfied with Spartan hegemony
- Persians, unable to stop this campaign, indirectly pay several Greek cities (mainly Thebes), to incite some actions against Sparta
- Former Spartan allies, Corinth, Thebes and Argos along with defeated Athens and other smaller cities forge an alliance at a council in Corinth in 395 BC
War
Battle of Halliartus
- 395 BC
- Instead of attacking Sparta directly, Thebes had provoked the initial battle at Haliartus in Northwest Greece, by inducing one of their allies to raid Phocis (a Spartan ally)
- Thebes win this war
- Spartan commander Lysander is slain in this battle
Battle of Nemea
- 394 BC
- Also known as the battle of Corinth
- Larger battle, 14,000–18,000 Spartans against 24,000–26,000 allies
- Allies are defeated with twice as many casualties as Sparta
- But Spartans were unable to force their way past Corinth, so they returned home
Battle of Coronea
- 394 BC
- King Agesiliaus returns from Ionia
- 15,000 hoplites under Agesilius vs 20,000 hoplites of allies
- Final losses are 350 Spartans and 600 allies
- Spartans eventually win, but they are severly damaged (Agesilaus was wounded and needed to be evacuated from Boetia)
Battle of Cnidus
- 394 BC
- 120 Spartan triremes under Pisander are destroyed by a much larger and superior Persian fleet under Pharnabazus and Conon (Athenian general)
- Pisander is slain in the battle
- As a result of this battle, Greek cities in Asia Minor came back under Persian control
Lots of smaller battles and naval raids for seven years afterwards.
Peace of Antalcidas
- 387 BC
- Also known as the King’s Peace
- Guaranteed by the Persian king Artaxerxes
- Named after Antalcidas, the Spartan diplomat who traveled to Persia to negotiate the terms
- Allies were forced to the negotiating table
- The treaty has been widely viewed as disgraceful
- Ionia and Cyprus belong were abandoned to Persia
- The union (sympoliteia) of Corinth and Argos was canceled and both states were forced to be seperate
- Boetian league (led by Thebes) was dismantled
- Only the Peloponnesian league and helots were overlooked as Sparta and Persia were to oversee the peace
