European Series - Spartan Hegemony in the "Peloponnesian War"

Obviously, there is a lot of fighting in Greece, and the happiest one is the Persian Empire, which came back that day. At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, the Persians mainly sat on the mountain and watched tigers fight. However, after Sparta was preparing to compete with Athens at sea, Persia, which had been suppressed by the "Athenian Empire" in the Mediterranean Sea, began to directly intervene in the war. Its way of intervening in the war is not to directly participate in the war, but to provide economic support. In 408 BC, the Spartans, who were regained control of the Aegean Sea by Athens, persuaded the Persian governor of Asia Minor, Cyrus the Younger (not Cyrus the Great, but the son of Darius II), to provide A huge sum of money helped them expand their navy. In order to help the Greek "ally", the Persian prince even made additional investments two years later, using all the funds he could mobilize.

Sparta’s approach to Persia for help would probably make many people think that they were “traitors” of the Greeks, but politics is like this, there are no eternal enemies and no eternal friends. For a loose geopolitical system like ancient Greece, there was no higher-level "state" for everyone to defend. Of course, for those "Westerners" who took Greece as the source of civilization in later generations, of course, they are more willing to believe that "Greeks" fought against those powerful Asians in order to defend the so-called democracy and freedom.

In fact, the reason why little Cyrus was willing to support Sparta was not just for the benefit of the entire empire. As the governor of Asia Minor, a prince who has the opportunity to inherit the throne, he also hopes to increase his political capital to compete for the throne in the future. When both parties in this cooperation may rely on each other's support to covet the supreme power of the political group, the reasons for cooperation are even more sufficient. When Sparta defeated Athens and became the hegemon of Greece. The Spartans also reciprocated by sending troops to help their Persian allies and marching eastward to fight for the throne (401 BC". It's just that the politically minded prince was eventually defeated and killed (the Greeks retreated completely) .

Infighting among politicians is not our focus. In addition to making everyone feel that interests are the basis of political cooperation, this part is to illustrate how difficult the situation in Athens is. At the very least, the entire Asia Minor region has now become an ally of the Peloponnese. Unless Athens can also find an ally that matches its strength, it will be possible to turn the tables.

From the perspective of geographical strength, the Egyptians may be able to provide support if they are willing. However, Egypt at this time was still under the control of the Persian Empire, and it was impossible to become Athens' foreign aid. In fact, before the war. As the main grain producing areas in the Mediterranean region, both Sicily and Egypt used to be the main regions for Athens' grain imports. However, after the Battle of Sicily and Persia's support for Sparta, all Athens could count on was the Black Sea region.

A friend asked earlier, which sector is Athens referring to when importing grain from the Black Sea region. In fact, this plate is also very hot in the current politics in the end, that is "Crimea". To be more specific, it is the "Kerch Peninsula" in eastern Crimea, and the "Taman Peninsula" (Russia) in the east of the Kerch Strait. During the Peloponnesian War, the region was ruled by a kingdom called "Bosphorus". When it comes to the geographical label of "Bosphorus", I believe that people who have paid attention to European history will not be unfamiliar. The first strait through which the Black Sea enters the Mediterranean Sea, that is, the strait adjacent to Istanbul, is called the "Bosphorus Strait" (which can import the resources of the Bosphorus Kingdom into the Mediterranean region).