LEUKTRA 371 BCE: Sparta's Twilight

1-952002

Details how Thebes shattered Sparta's hoplite supremacy at Leuctra, ending its hegemony and ushering in a new era of tactical innovation under Epameinondas. The Theban general's use of what we know as the oblique order foreshadowed the combined arms tactics that was to be fully developed by Philip II of Macedon and subsequently employed by his son Alexander the Great during his eye-opening success against the Persian Empire. The innovative generalship of Epameinondas had given the Thebans a critical victory over the best hoplite force in Greece, and crucially, this signaled the end of Sparta's hegemony over the Greek world. Contains 23 black and white photos, 4 color plates, and 4 black and white maps.