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This video comes as a culmination of previous Units of History episodes on individual elements of the Spartan Army like the Spartan Royal Guard and the Spartan Skiritai. In this history documentary we bring it all together to see how all these forces came together. We cover this in the mechanical process from making the initial decision to go to war to the mustering and deployment of troops in battle.

We begin by looking at the reasons why Sparta might go to war in the first place. This can best be understood according to two main time periods of Spartan history, the archaic and the classical period. The former saw Sparta engage in direct conquest against its neighbors while the latter saw Sparta expand through the formation of the Peloponnesian league. Each of these methods would have different triggers for conflict.

We then discuss the process by which a war was declared. This involved the internal politics in Sparta, discussions within the Peloponnesian league, seeking approval from the gods, and so on. But finally once a war had been declared it was time to summon the Spartan army. We again talk about what this looked like in early versus late Spartan history with examples from the Greco Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. Its all a fascinating process that we hope to cover more of in the future. Stay tuned for more Units of History episodes and How to Raise an Army episodes!

Sources and Suggested Reading
"Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History" by Roel Konijnendijk
T. Figueira, ‘The Spartan hippeis’, in S. Hodkinson and A. Powell (eds.), Sparta & War (2006), 57-84

Credits:
Research: Roel Konijnendijk
Writing: Roel Konijnendijk
Narration: Guy Michaels
Artwork: Penta Limited
Editing: Penta Limited

#History
#Sparta
#Warpath