Battle of Cnidus

TheBattle of Cnidus(Greek:Ναυμαχία της Κνίδου) was a military operation conducted in 394 BC by theAchaemenid Empireagainst the Spartan fleet during theCorinthian War.A fleet under the joint command ofPharnabazusand former Athenian admiral,Conon,destroyed theSpartanfleet led by the inexperiencedPeisander,ending Sparta's brief bid for naval supremacy.

Battle of Cnidus
Part ofCorinthian War
AchaemenidsatrapPharnabazus II,in joint command with self-exiled Athenian admiralConon,was victorious against Sparta at the Battle of Cnidus. Coinage of Pharnabazus, circa 398-396/395 BC, showing his portrait and the prow of a warship with two dolphins, symbol of his achievement on the sea.
Date 394 BC Location Off the coast ofCnidus,in theAegean Sea (modern-day Yazıköy,Muğla,Turkey) 36°41′09″N27°22′30″E Result Achaemenid victory
Belligerents
Achaemenid Empire	Sparta
Commanders and leaders
Pharnabazus Conon	Peisander†
Strength
90 triremes	85 triremes
Casualties and losses
Minimal	Entire fleet
Cnidus class=notpageimage| Location of the Battle of Cnidus

The battle outcome was a significant boost for the anti-Spartan coalition that resistedSpartan hegemonyin the course of the Corinthian War.

Prelude

In 394 BC, KingAgesilaus IIof Sparta and his army were recalled fromIoniato help fight the Corinthian War. The Spartan fleet, under Peisander, also began a return to Greece, sailing out from its harbor at Cnidus with eighty-five triremes.

The "Greek" vanguard of the Achaemenid fleet, referred to as such only due to its consisting of Greek mercenaries, was commanded by Conon, while the PersiansatrapPharnabazusled the main body of the forces, a Phoenician fleet from theChersonese,to oppose the Spartans.The fleets met nearCnidus.According toIsocrates,KingEvagoras Iof Cyprus contributed the greatest part of the forces under Conon for the sea fight off Cnidus.

Battle

Sources are vague for the events of the battle itself. It appears that the Spartan fleet encountered advance elements of the Achaemenid fleet underCononand engaged them with some success. Then the main body of the Persian fleet arrived and put the Spartans to flight, forcing them to beach many of their ships. The Spartans suffered heavy casualties; according to Diodorus Siculus, fifty Spartantriremeswere captured by the Persians while the remaining triremes safely returned to Cnidus.Peisander saw retreat as disgraceful towards Sparta and was ultimately killed while fighting to defend his ship.

Aftermath

This battle ended the Spartans' attempt to establish a naval empire. Sparta never again engaged in major military efforts at sea, and within a few years Athens had reclaimed her place as the preeminent Greek sea power.

Following his victory, Conon raided the coast of thePeloponnesewith Pharnabazus in order to put pressure on Sparta, and then was sent with his fleet to Athens, where he supervised the rebuilding of thelong walls,which had been destroyed at the end of thePeloponnesian War.According to Pausanias, Conon commemorated the victory by establishing a sanctuary ofAphrodite(the patron goddess of Cnidus and a key deity for the Phoenicians) inPiraeus.

With Sparta removed from the scene, Persia re-established its dominance over Ionia and parts of the Aegean. ThePeace of Antalcidasin 387 BC officially ceded control of these areas to Persia; it would continue to hold them until the arrival ofAlexander the Greathalf a century later.

References

Sources

• Brownson, Carleton (1918).Xenophon in Seven Volumes.Vol. 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Brownson, Carleton (1921).Xenophon in Seven Volumes.Vol. 2. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

External links

• Rickard, J. (10 March 2016)."Battle of Cnidus, 394 BC".Military History Encyclopedia on the Web.