Nabis (Sparta)

Nabis ( Greek  Νάβις ; † 192 BC ) was from 207 to 192 BC. Chr. King of Sparta . With his reign, Sparta's independent politics ended.

Tetradrachm of Nabis

While the predominantly hostile ancient tradition brands Nabis as an illegitimate ruler and tyrant who had no dynastic claim to kingship, many modern researchers assume that Nabis actually came from a branch of the Eurypontids .

Accession to power and reforms

Nabis - an unusual name for a Spartan presumably of Semitic origin - was used around 245 BC. Born in 207 BC at the latest. First came to power as regent for the minor king Pelops , after whose death, for which the sources make him partly responsible, he himself became king. It may have come from 491 BC. King Damaratus was overthrown . Nabis continued the reforms of the former king Cleomenes III in the domestic area . (including the liberation of helots or - more likely - slaves, strengthening the position of the king), his position was similar to that of a Hellenistic monarch and therefore also abolished the traditional Spartan dual kingship. The Gerusia was also consequently disempowered; Nabis, who wore a diadem and probably also dressed in purple, was also the first Spartan king to reside in a palace. In the opinion of several modern researchers, Nabis also endeavored economically for a fundamental modernization, probably systematically promoted long-distance trade and the credit system and founded several new places.

Foreign policy

In constant foreign policy conflict with the Achaean League , Nabis alternated between the Macedonian King Philip V , who betrothed his daughters to Nabis' sons, and the Romans . 201 BC His troops attacked Messene. For a few years Nabis managed to maintain Sparta as an independent power and to build up its own sea power. In the war between Philip V and the Romans he was initially on the side of the Antigonids , and 197 BC. He succeeded in occupying Argos , which Philip had to vacate. Allegedly Philipp Nabis had given the city, to which the Achaeans also claimed, voluntarily; nevertheless, Nabis then came to an understanding with the Romans and switched sides.

After the victory over Philip V, however, Sparta's Greek enemies, who feared Nabis' growth in power, called on the Romans for help. 195 BC Roman troops led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, together with the Achaeans, waged a campaign against Sparta, which was actually still allied with Rome. The attack on Messene served as a pretext. Nabis could not withstand the overwhelming odds, but could avoid total defeat. But he was forced to give up Argos again and Sparta's power was severely curtailed. However, it was allowed to keep its independence as well as the city walls that Nabis had built.

In the following years Nabis suffered a defeat against the Achaeans under Philopoimen and tried in a desperate situation to defeat Antiochus III. and to join the Aitolians ; but he was in 192 BC Murdered by an Aetolian officer when he feared that Nabis could come to an understanding with Rome. A little later, Philopoimen forced the connection of Sparta to the Achaean League.

Afterlife as a "tyrant"

As with many ancient figures, the image of Nabis in the tradition (e.g. Polybius , Titus Livius ) is heavily distorted, since the main source Polybius, himself an Achaean politician, tried to put him in a negative light. So he was known as an allegedly archetypal tyrant z. B. the invention of a special torture instrument ( Apega ) in the form of an " iron maiden " attributed. The literary sources even hide the fact that Nabis was king, as evidenced by inscriptions, but consistently refer to him as a tyrant. In modern research, however, as I said, Nabis is increasingly seen as a legitimate Spartan king and reformer who failed because of the foreign policy constellation.

literature

• Nikos Birgalias: Nabis: un prince hellénistique? In: Victor Troncoso (ed.): Diadochos tes Basileias. Madrid 2005, pp. 139-151.
• Paul Cartledge: Hellenistic Sparta . In: Paul Cartledge - Anthony Spawforth (Ed.): Hellenistic and Roman Sparta . New York 2002, pp. 3-90.
• Hans Volkmann : Nabis. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 3, Stuttgart 1969, column 1350 f.
• Karl-Wilhelm Welwei : Nabis. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 8, Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-01478-9 .

Remarks

1. ↑ Diodor 27, 1 ( English translation ).