Siege of Sparta

271 BCE.

Shown on the map at 37.082°, 22.424°.

The siege of Sparta took place in 272 BC and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, (r. 297–272 BC) and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I (r. 309–265 BC) and his heir Acrotatus, and Antigonus Gonatas. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Antigonid victory. Following his defeat in Italy by the Roman Republic, Pyrrhus was forced to retreat back to Epirus. On his return to Epirus, he declared war against Antigonus Gonatas (r. 283–239 BC), managing to take control of Macedon except for some coastal parts. In 272 BC, he was approached by a Spartan prince, Cleonymus, a claimant to the Spartan throne who had been overlooked. Pyrrhus saw this invitation as an opportunity to extend his wars of conquest to the Peloponnese and invaded Sparta. Despite the majority of the Spartan army campaigning in Crete, the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defence led by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus.

Text from the Wikipedia article Siege of Sparta, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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