The Corinthian War was an ancient Greek military conflict between
Sparta and four allied states, Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos,
which were initially backed by Persia. The immediate cause of the
war
was a local conflict in northwest Greece in which both Thebes and
Sparta intervened. The deeper cause, however, was hostility towards
Sparta provoked by that city's unilateral domination of Greek
politics
in the nine years after the end of the Peloponnesian War. The war
was
fought on two fronts, on land near Corinth and Thebes and at sea in
the Aegean. On land, the Spartans achieved several early successes
in
major battles, but were unable to capitalize on their advantage, and
the fighting soon became stalemated. At sea, the Spartan fleet was
decisively defeated by a Persian fleet early in the war, an event
which effectively ended Sparta's attempts to become a naval power.
Taking advantage of this fact, Athens launched several naval
campaigns
in the later years of the war, recapturing a number of islands that
had been part of the original Athenian Empire during the 5th
century.
Alarmed by these Athenian successes, the Persians stopped backing the
allies and began supporting Sparta. This defection forced the allies
to seek peace. The Peace of Antalcidas, commonly known as the King's
Peace, was signed in 387 BC, ending the war.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_War
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Today's selected anniversaries:
301:
San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's
oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Saint Marinus.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marino)
1260:
Mamluk forces defeated a Mongol army in Palestine in the Battle of Ain
Jalut, marking the point of maximum westward expansion of the Mongol
Empire.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut)
1783:
The signing of the Treaty of Paris formally ended the American
Revolutionary War.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1783))
1901:
The National Flag of Australia, a Blue Ensign defaced with the
Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross, flew for the first time in
Melbourne.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Australia)
1976:
The Viking 2 spacecraft landed on Mars and took the first close-up,
color photos of the planet's surface.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_2)
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Wikiquote of the day:
"Your pretended fear lest error should step in, is like the man that
would keep all the wine out of the country lest men should be drunk.
It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy, to deny a man the
liberty he hath by nature upon a supposition that he may abuse it."
--
Oliver Cromwell
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell)