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The Siege of Sparta took place in 272 BC and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, ( 297–272 BC) and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I ( 309–265 BC) and his heir Acrotatus, and Macedon. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Macedonian 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 ( 283–239 BC), managing to take control of Macedon. 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. The Spartans were able to withstand the Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the siege. After this failure, Pyrrhus ravaged the Spartan hinterland whilst fending off counter-attacks by the victorious Spartans. On the invitation of an Argive ally, Pyrrhus attempted to seize Argos. The assault culminated in a fiasco with Pyrrhus being attacked by his Argive opponents, the pursuing Spartan army of Areus and a Macedonian army commanded by Antigonus Gonatas. Pyrrhus was killed in the ensuing battle in the streets of Argos, ending Epiriote hopes of establishing a hegemony in Greece. ==Background== In 281 BC, at the request of the Greek city of Tarentum, Pyrrhus, the King of the Greek state of Epirus, went with an army of 25,500 men and 20 elephants to Italy to help fight the Romans. The Romans had succeeded in conquering most of Italy and were now moving in to take the Greek cities in Magna Graecia. After arriving in Italy in 280 BC, Pyrrhus defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Heraclea, near Tarentum. Pyrrhus repeated his success against Romans by defeating another army at the Battle of Asculum. These victories proved to be very costly to Pyrrhus and he diverted his attention to Sicily, where the Greek states on the island were appealing for his help against Carthage. Despite defeating the Carthaginians and occupying most of the island, Pyrrhus' behaviour alienated him from his Greek allies and he was forced to abandon Sicily and return to the Italian mainland. Pyrrhus attacked the rebuilt Roman army and after the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum, Pyrrhus returned to Epirus after leaving a garrison at Tarentum. The war in Italy had drained Pyrrhus' financial and military resources. To increase his resources and bolster his standing, he declared war on King Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon. He ravaged part of the country before managing to defeat Antigonus at the Battle of the Aous. This defeat compelled Antigonus to flee to Thessaloniki, where he was protected by his strong navy. Following Antigonus' flight, Pyrrhus was able to gain control of most of Macedon and Thessaly, declaring himself King of Macedon. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Sparta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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