The famous Spartan débâcle at Leuktra was a gamechanger both politically and militarily. Having won the Peloponnesian War and inherited the Athenian hegemony of the Greek world, Sparta for the next three decades had proven unbeatable in hoplite battle. All that was to change during one afternoon in the high summer of 371 BCE. Kleombrotos was killed with most of his royal guard when Epameinondas' Theban phalanx, which he had stacked 'fifty-shields deep' and fronted with the veteran Sacred Band, mowed down that of the Spartan king's. Moreover, the Theban general's use of what we know as the oblique order foreshadowed the combined arms tactics that was to be fully developed by Philip II of Macedon (onetime political hostage held in the house of Epameinondas), and subsequently employed to brilliant effect by his son Alexander the Great during his eye-opening success against the Persian Empire. The innovative generalship of Epameinondas had given the Thebans a critical victory over the best hoplite force in Greece. Crucially, the fall of their king virtually signalled the end of Sparta's hegemony over the Greek world, facilitating the, albeit brief, rise of Thebes.
| ISBN: | 9781804517697 |
| Publication date: | 26th April 2025 |
| Author: | Nic Fields |
| Publisher: | Helion & Company an imprint of Helion and Company |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 168 pages |
| Series: | From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE |
| Genres: |
Military history |
The famous Spartan débâcle at Leuktra was a gamechanger both politically and militarily. Having won the Peloponnesian War and inherited the Athenian hegemony of the Greek world, Sparta for the next three decades had proven unbeatable in hoplite battle. All that was to change during one afternoon in the high summer of 371 BCE. Kleombrotos was killed with most of his royal guard when Epameinondas' Theban phalanx, which he had stacked 'fifty-shields deep' and fronted with the veteran Sacred Band, mowed down that of the Spartan king's. Moreover, the Theban general's use of what we know as the oblique order foreshadowed the combined arms tactics that was to be fully developed by Philip II of Macedon (onetime political hostage held in the house of Epameinondas), and subsequently employed to brilliant effect by his son Alexander the Great during his eye-opening success against the Persian Empire. The innovative generalship of Epameinondas had given the Thebans a critical victory over the best hoplite force in Greece. Crucially, the fall of their king virtually signalled the end of Sparta's hegemony over the Greek world, facilitating the, albeit brief, rise of Thebes.
Leûktra 371 BC features in the following genres: Military history
Leûktra 371 BC is available in Paperback
Leûktra 371 BC was written by Nic Fields and published by Helion & Company an imprint of Helion and Company
Leûktra 371 BC has 168 pages
Yes it is part of From Alexander to Adrianople 3000 BCE-400 CE series
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