Aftermath

After the war Flamininus visited the Nemean Games in Argos and proclaimed the polis free. The Argives immediately decided to rejoin the Achaean League. Flamininus also separated all coastal cities of Laconia from Spartan rule and placed them under Achean protection. The remains of Sparta's fleet were put under custody of these coastal cities. Nabis also had to withdraw his garrisons from Cretan cities and revoke several social and economic reforms that had strengthened Sparta's military capabilities. The Romans did not, however, remove Nabis from the Spartan throne. Even though Sparta was a landlocked and effectively powerless state, the Romans wanted an independent Sparta to act as a counterweight against the growing Achaean League. Nabis' allegiance was secured by the fact that he had to surrender five hostages, amongst them his son, Armenas. The RomansThe Roman Republic was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire, Rome's control rapidly expanded during this period - from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world.Romans did not restore the exiles, wishing to avoid internal strife in Sparta. They did, however, allow any woman who was married to an ex-helot but whose husband was in exile to join him.

After the legions under Flamininus had returned to Italy, the Greek states were once again on their own. The dominant powers in the region at this time were the kingdom of Macedon, which had recently lost a war against Rome, the Aetolians, the strengthened Achaean League and a reduced Sparta. The Aetolians, who had opposed the Roman intervention in Greek affairs, incited Nabis to retake his former territories and position among the Greek powers. By 192, Nabis who had built a new fleet and strengthened his army, besieged Gythium. The Achaeans responded by sending an envoy to Rome with a request for help. In response the Senate sent the praetor Atilius with a navy to defeat Nabis' navy as well as an embassy headed by Flamininus. Instead of waiting for the Roman fleet to arrive, the Achaean army and navy headed towards Gythium under the command of Philopoemen. The Achaean fleet under Tiso was defeated by the recently constructed Spartan fleet, with the Achean flagship falling to pieces in the first ramming attack. On land as well the Achaeans could not defeat the Spartan forces outside Gythium and Philopoemen retreated to Tegea. When Philopoemen reentered Laconia for a second attempt his forces were ambushed by Nabis' but nevertheless he managed to gain a victory. The Achaeans now could ravage Laconia for thirty days unopposed while the Spartan troops remained in their fortified city. Plans for capturing Sparta itself had been laid by the time the Roman envoy Flamininus arrived and convinced the Achaean strategus Philopoemen to spare it. For the time being Nabis decided to accept the status quo in return and surrender under the same conditions as the last treaty.

Since Sparta's army was now weakened, Nabis appealed to the Aetolians for help. They sent to Sparta 1,000 cavalry under the command of Alexamenus. The story goes that while Nabis was observing his army's drills, the Aetolian commander Alexamenus charged at him and killed him with his lance. Afterwards the Aetolian troops seized the palace and set about looting the city but the inhabitants of Sparta were able to rally and rout them out of town. As Sparta was in turmoil Philopoemen entered the city with the Achaean army and made Sparta a member state of the League. The polis of Sparta was allowed to keep its laws and territory, but the exiles, and their rule of the Spartan warrior demos were not restored.

In 189 BC, the hostages taken by Rome, excluding Nabis' son, who fell ill and died, were allowed to return to Sparta. Still deprived of any port and suffering from political and economic problems from having the hostile exiles close by and not having access to the sea, the Spartans captured the city of Las, which was the home of many exiles and a member of the Union of free Laconians. The Acheans officially adopted this as the reason to finish Spartan independence once and for all. They demanded the surrender of the people responsible for the attack. The culprits responded by murdering thirty pro-Achaean citizens, seceding from the League and requesting Roman tutelage. The Romans, who wanted to see division in the League, did nothing about the situation. In 188, Philopoemen entered northern Laconia with an army and the Spartan exiles who insisted on returning to Sparta. He first massacred eighty anti-Achaeans at Compasium, and then had the wall that Nabis built around Sparta demolished. Philopoemen then restored the exiles and abolished Spartan law, introducing Achaean law in its place. Thus ended Sparta's role as a major power in Greece, while Achaea became dominant throughout the Peloponnese.

• Outline of the Roman-Spartan War (195 BC)
  

  HISTORIC BATTLES

  Roman-Spartan War (195 BC)

  The War against Nabis, or the Laconian War, of 195 BC was fought between the Greek city-state of Sparta and a coalition composed of Rome, the Achaean League, Pergamum, Rhodes, and Macedon. As a result of the war, Sparta lost its position as a major power in Greece. Subsequent Spartan attempts to recover the losses failed and Nabis, the last sovereign ruler, was eventually murdered. View Historic Battle »

  Background: In 205 BC, Nabis signed a peace treaty with Rome, but in 201 BC he attacked the territory of Messene, at that time an ally of both parties, which Sparta had ruled until the mid 4th century BC.

  Nabis' reforms: Nabis' rule was largely based on his social reforms and the rebuilding of Sparta's armed forces.

  Preparations: The Achaean League was upset that one of its members had remained under Spartan occupation and persuaded the Romans to revisit their decision to leave Sparta's territorial gains intact.

  Laconian campaign: Nabis drafted 10,000 citizens into his army and hired 3,000 additional mercenaries.

  Siege of Sparta: The Spartans initially held out against the allies, but their resistance was hampered by the fact that the Romans' large shields made missile attacks futile.

  Aftermath: Even though Sparta was a landlocked and effectively powerless state, the Romans wanted an independent Sparta to act as a counterweight against the growing Achaean League.

RESOURCES
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "War against Nabis", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.