Agesilaus II (c. 445 – 359 BCE) was a Spartan king who won victories in Anatolia and the Corinthian Wars but who would ultimately bring total defeat to his city through his policies against Thebes. When Sparta lost the crucial battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, it brought an end to the city's long-held dominance of the Peloponnese. Agesilaus was one of the longest-serving and most powerful kings in Spartan history and, thanks to his friendship with the historian Xenophon, his reign is one of the best documented. He is also the subject of one of Plutarch's Lives biographies.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 550 BCE - c. 366 BCEPeloponnesian League alliance between Sparta, Corinth, Elis and Tegea which establishes Spartan hegemony over the Peloponnese.
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c. 445 BCE - 359 BCELife of Spartan king Agesilaus II.
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c. 400 BCE - 359 BCEReign of Spartan king Agesilaus II.
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396 BCESpartan Agesilaus II's campaign into Ionia.
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395 BCE - 386 BCEThe Corinthian Wars between Sparta and an alliance of Athens, Corinth, Argos, Boeotia and Thebes.
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394 BCESpartan king Agesilaus II defeats a Theban coalition at the battle of Coronea.
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382 BCE - 379 BCESparta establishes a garrison at Thebes.
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378 BCE - 377 BCESpartan king Agesilaus II campaigns in Boeotia.
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371 BCEThebes, led by Epaminondas, defeats Sparta in the Battle of Leuctra.
