Makers Of Ancient Strategy: From The Persian Wars To The Fall Of Rome - Plot & Excerpts
Had Epaminondas before venturing into Messenia been able to cross the Eu- rotas and burn Sparta, defeat its remaining hoplites inside Laconia, and The Doctrine of Preemptive War 107 free al the Laconian helots as wel , it is very likely that Sparta would have disappeared altogether as a major polis in the winter of 370–369, without need for further invasions of the Boeotian army in subsequent years. In contrast, the democratization of the Peloponnese was a longer- term project. If successful, it meant the slow recession of the Spartan oligarchic empire, as it could never reconstruct its Peloponnesian alli- ance under its own auspices, given the presence of three huge fortified rivals and its own ineptness in the art of siegecraft.25 Second, the end to Messenian helotage would eventually require the Spartans to produce more of their own food and would insidiously erode the notion of a state-supported military caste, whose preemi- nence in hoplite battle had in the past substituted for a lack of man- power.
What do You think about Makers Of Ancient Strategy: From The Persian Wars To The Fall Of Rome?
