Nabis, who ruled Sparta from approximately 207 to 192 BCE, is often described as both a king and a tyrant, depending on the perspective and sources. His status is complex because he operated outside traditional Spartan norms while exercising significant authority.
Nabis, the Last King of Sparta
Nabis was a descendant of the Eurypontid royal family and the son of Demaratus. His wife, Agapina (or Apiga or Appia), was the niece of the former tyrant of Argos, Aristomachus. Aristomachus was an ally and friend of Cleomenes III. Nabis had a son, Armenas, who was captured by the Roman general Titus Flamininus and died in captivity.
During Nabis’s reign several significant conflicts occurred, including the First Macedonian War, the Second Macedonian War and the war against Nabis himself. Upon seizing the throne, Nabis executed two rival claimants and set himself the goal of re-establishing Spartan hegemony.
When the Second Macedonian War broke out Nabis allied with the Macedonians and Philip V of Macedon gifted him the city of Argos. However, after Flamininus reached Greece, he maintained neutrality. After taking Argos, Nabis implemented radical measures, including expelling the oligarchs and redistributing their property.
Nabis: Tyrant or King of Sparta
Nabis was initially the guardian of the minor Pelops, son of Lycurgus. He succeeded Machanis in this position after Machanis died in battleat Mantinea, killed by Philopoemen. In 206 BCE, Nabis ousted Pelops and seized power. He proclaimed himself king with the help of mercenary troops, following the successful repulsion of Philopoemen’s attack. Nabis claimed to be a descendant of the great Eurypontid king of Sparta, Demaratus.
On his coins, he bore the title of “King,” but most ancient historians, including Plutarch, Diodorus Siculus, Livy and Polybius, referred to him as a “Tyrant.” Both Polybius and Livy describe him as bloodthirsty and violent. Polybius records that Nabis exiled the prominent citizens of the cities he conquered and gave their wives to slaves. He also writes that Nabis demanded huge sums from wealthy landowners and, if they refused, used a torture device known as the “Apega of Nabis,” named after his wife, Apega.
Plutarch and Diodorus primarily relied on Polybius’ accounts of Nabis, making Polybius and Livy the main primary sources about his reign. However, both historians manifest an obvious bias in their accounts. Polybius was a personal friend of Aemilius Paullus and had pro-Roman tendencies, while Livy was Roman himself. Additionally, Polybius was a member of the oligarchy that Nabis opposed to support the poor. This may explain his animosity toward Nabis from the perspective of class conflict.
War with the Romans
The Roman Consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus, whom the Achaeans convinced that Nabis was dangerous (195 BCE), demanded the surrender of Argos. Nabis refused, prompting Flamininus to attack Laconia. Livy, though a Roman, is the only historian to present accounts from both sides. He provides us with a detailed negotiation dialogue between Nabis and Flamininus. In his letters, Flamininus accused Nabis of being a tyrant who held Laconia and Argos hostage. He portrayed himself and Rome as the “saviors” and “liberators” of Greek cities from tyrants and despots.
Nabis, however, denied the accusations of tyranny. He accused the Romans of double standards and hypocrisy. He pointed out that they had previously recognized him as a legitimate king. During the Second Macedonian War, the Romans had made a peace agreement with Nabis. He had even sent them mercenaries to assist in their war against the Macedonians. Nabis not only proclaimed himself as a legitimate king but also as a protector of the poor, in accordance with the principles of Lycurgus.
Nonetheless, during the war, Flamininus forced Nabis to surrender Argos and Gytheium, where Nabis had maintained his fleet. The boundaries of his state were reduced to a small area around the city of Sparta, as 24 coastal cities seceded to form the Free Laconians. Nabis soon sought to reclaim the territories he had previously controlled and allied himself with Rome’s enemies, the Syrian king Antiochus the Great, and the Aetolian League.
Aetolians betray Nabis and the fall of Sparta.
Initially, Nabis achieved some success, recapturing Gytheium after a small naval battle with the Achaeans. However, the powerful Philopoemen, who had defeated him twice before—in 201 BCE in Messenia and in 200 BCE in Arcadia—immediately moved against him. In a decisive battle that took place in the difficult terrain east of the Tegea-Sparta road (identified by Livy as Mount Barbosthenes), Nabis was defeated. He and the remnants of the Spartan army fled to Sparta, which he had fortified with walls, while the army of the Achaean League plundered the outskirts of the city for a month without interference.
Desperate, Nabis appealed to the Aetolians, who were at enmity with the Achaeans and the Romans, for assistance. However, the Aetolians not only abandoned him but also treacherously murdered him. They sent a force of a thousand horsemen to Sparta, thirty of whom, privy to the plot, attacked Nabis. This happened while he was inspecting the Spartan army and the Aetolians killed him with spears and swords. The Aetolians then attempted to capture the city but met heroic resistance from its inhabitants.
The Achaeans and Philopoemen seized the opportunity, sending a large military force to Sparta. They conquered the city and incorporated it into their League.
Thus ended ancient Sparta and the reign of its heroic last king.
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