Corinthian war major battles
The Corinthian war lasting 395 B.C to 387 B.C ranks as one the greatest and bloodiest wars ever to be fought since man first recorded history. Tales, legends, and scholarly work have been written about the Corinthian War that pitted Sparta against four states: Athens, Argos, Thebes and Corinth. There is much debate on what was the precursor of the war, but historians believe that political intrigues, personal grudges, and jealously as some of the causes. This war never provided any meaningful value to the antagonist; the only beneficiaries of this war were the Persians, who forced Agesilaus to withdraw his army from Ionia. The Corinthian war was fought on both land, and sea. On land, the Spartans won major victories, but they fared very badly in the sea. The course of this war was defined by four major battles as will be explained by this article.
Battle of Haliartus
This battle was fought in 395 B.C pitting Sparta against Thebes. The Spartans were defeated, and their leader Lysander killed as he marshaled his troops to capture the town of Haliartus. This war signaled the start of the Corinth war that caused untold suffering to many people in Greece, and the surrounding lands.
Battle of Corinth
This battle was fought in 394 B.C. In this battle, 14,000 Spartans soldiers faced a combined force of 26,000 Corinthians, Argives, Thebans and Athenians. Despite facing an army nearly twice its size, the Spartans won the battle. This was, however, a pyrrhic victory as they were forced to leave the Corinth Isthmus to the allies due to the high causality on their side.
Battle of Coronea
This battle led by King Agesilaus II was fought in 394 B.C. The Spartans defeated a combined army of the Argives and the Thebans. This battle ranks as one the bloodiest to be ever be fought in the Corinthian war. In the words of Xenophon, a Greek philosopher, and historian “shield pressed against shield, the killed, and they were killed in turn.
Battle of Cnidus
This battle was fought in 394 B.C pitting the Persians, and the Athenians versus the Spartans. The Spartans were handed a crashing defeat in the process their leader Pisander was killed. The final defeat of the Spartans marked the end of the Corinthian war as the Spartan attempt to be a maritime power was crushed.
