A small group of
Theban exiles, led by
Pelopidas, infiltrate the city of
Thebes and assassinates the leaders of the pro-Spartan government.
Epaminondas and
Gorgidas lead a group of young men who break into the city's armories, take weapons, and surround the Spartans on the
Cadmea, assisted by a force of
Athenianhoplites. In the Theban assembly the next day, Epaminondas and Gorgidas bring Pelopidas and his men before the audience and exhort the Thebans to fight for their freedom. The assembly responds by acclaiming Pelopidas and his men as liberators. Fearing for their lives, the Spartan garrison surrenders and are evacuated. The Thebans of the pro-Spartan party are also allowed to surrender; they are subsequently executed.
The Thebans are able to reconstitute their old Boeotian confederacy in a new, democratic form. The cities of
Boeotia unite as a federation with an executive body composed of seven generals, or
Boeotarchs, elected from seven districts throughout Boeotia.
A
Spartan attempt to seize
Piraeus brings Athens closer to Thebes. The Athenian mercenary commander
Chabrias successfully faces off the larger army of
Agesilaus II near Thebes. At the advance of Agesilaus' forces, instead of giving the order to charge, Chabrias famously orders his men at ease—with the spear remaining pointing upwards instead of towards the enemy, and the shield leaning against the left knee instead of being hoisted against the shoulder. The command is followed immediately and without question by the mercenaries under his command, to be copied by their counterparts beside them, the elite
Sacred Band of Thebes under the command of
Gorgidas. This "show of contempt" stops the advancing Spartan forces, and shortly afterwards Agesilaus withdraws.[1]
Dionysius I's third war with
Carthage proves disastrous. He suffers a crushing defeat at Cronium and is forced to pay an indemnity of 1,000
talents and cede the territory west of the Halycus River to the Carthaginians.
Roman Republic
The
Servian Wall is constructed around
Rome to prevent the city from being captured or sacked (see
390 BC). This is the first
fortification that the
Romans build around their home city.[2]
Athens, in preparing for participation in the
Spartan-Theban struggle, reorganises its finances and its taxation, inaugurating a system whereby the richer citizens are responsible for the collection of
taxes from the less rich.
The
Peace of Antalcidas (
387 BC), includes a clause guaranteeing the Greek cities their independence. The Spartan King
Agesilaus II uses this clause as an excuse to force the dissolution of Thebes' Boeotian League. In two sieges, he reduces Thebes to near starvation.
Learning that the
Spartan garrison of
Orchomenus (in
Boeotia) is leaving for an expedition to
Locris, Pelopidas sets out with the Sacred Band of Thebes and a small force of
cavalry, intending to seize the city while it is unguarded. However, as the Thebans approach the city, they learn that a sizable force has been dispatched from Sparta to reinforce the
garrison at Orchomenus and is approaching the city. Pelopidas retreats with his force, but before the Thebans can reach safety at Tegyra, they meet the original Spartan garrison returning from Locris. In the ensuing
Battle of Tegyra, the Thebans rout the larger Spartan force.
Athens tries to retire from the Theban-Spartan war and makes peace with
Sparta. However, the peace is quickly broken.
Sparta attacks
Corcyra, enlisting
Syracusan help. Athens comes to the island's aid. The Athenian general,
Timotheus, captures Corcyra and defeats the Spartans at sea off Alyzia (
Acarnania).
Cyprus
The King of
Salamis,
Evagoras, is assassinated. He is succeeded by his son,
Nicocles, who continues his father's liberal Hellenising policy in
Cyprus, encouraged by
Isocrates, who writes his Exhortation to Nicocles.
The
Persian King
Artaxerxes II launches an invasion of
Egypt to bring that country back under Persian rule. The invasion is led by
Pharnabazus. After initial successes, the Greek
mercenaries fighting for the Persians push on towards
Memphis. However, King
Nectanebo I is able to gather his forces and repulse the Persian invasion.
A fresh peace congress is summoned at
Sparta. At the peace conference, the Spartan King
Agesilaus II (with the support of
Athens) refuses to allow the
Thebans to sign the treaty on behalf of all
Boeotia. The Theban
statesmanEpaminondas, who is
boeotarch (one of the five magistrates of the Boeotian federation), maintains Thebes' position, even when it leads to the exclusion of Thebes from the peace treaty.
Thebes' actions at the peace congress lead to a war between Sparta and Thebes. The Spartans have an army stationed on Thebes' western frontier, waiting to follow up their diplomatic success by a crushing military attack. However, at the
Battle of Leuctra, the Theban generals,
Epaminondas and
Pelopidas, win a decisive victory over the Spartans under the other Spartan king,
Cleombrotus I (who is killed in the battle). Epaminondas wins the battle with a tactical innovation which involves striking the enemy first at their strongest, instead of their weakest, point, with such crushing force that the attack is irresistible. As a result of this battle, the Boeotian federation is saved.
Athens does not welcome the Theban victory, fearing the rising aggressiveness of
Thebes. After the Theban victory, the old alliance between the
Persians and the Thebans is restored.
With the unexpected defeat of Sparta by the Thebans, the
Arcadians decide to re-assert their independence. They rebuild
Mantinea, form an
Arcadian League and build a new federal city,
Megalopolis.
It is suggested that the original
comet associated with the
Kreutz Sungrazers family of comets passes
perihelion at this time. It is thought to have been observed by
Aristotle and
Ephorus during this year.
With the support of Thebes, the
Arcadian capital city of
Megalopolis is completed and a democratic system is set up with an Assembly of Ten Thousand and a Council of fifty.
^An Illustrated Encyclopedia: "The Uniforms of the Roman World", Kevin F. Kiley (2012). Roman Republic Timeline 753–132 BC, p. 14.
ISBN978-0-7548-2387-2