Carr, John Sparta's Kings

In ancient Greece, Sparta was unique in that it had a dual kingship in which two kings from different clans, the Agiades and the Eurypontides, ruled simultaneously. This institution was already well developed in the 8th century BC, when Theopompos from the Eurypontid clan emerged as the first registered Spartan king. Between Theopompos and the Agiades Kleomenes III, who died in 222 BC, at least fifty-seven men held the office of Spartan king. For almost the entire period, Spartan kingship was primarily a military office, and so the kings epitomise much of Sparta's military history. Wherever the main Spartan battles took place, the kings were there. Of course, the character of the king in question often determined the outcome of a battle or campaign. Leonidas I at Thermopylae is an example of this. At the other end of the scale, the young and non-martial Pleistoanax twice refused to meet the Athenians when sent against that city. John Carr provides a chronological account of the kings and their achievements (or lack thereof), from the founding clan of the Herakleidai to Cleomenes III and his successor, the dictator Nabis, and the Roman conquest in the mid-2nd century B.C. The book is not intended to be a complete history of Sparta. It is intended to be a history of human interest and a war history, drawing attention to the personal qualities of the kings as well as to their (or their generals') military achievements and, where appropriate, their policies.