ABSTRACT
Nabis (reigned 207–192 BC) A king of Sparta. His father’s name, Demaratus, suggests possible descent from the Eurypontid king demaratus. In 207 he succeeded Machanidas as guardian of the young King Pelops on whose death that year he seized the throne. He engaged the support of a guard of mercenary soldiers and Cretan pirates. He may have been maligned by the tradition that he tried to reimpose the reforms of cleomenes (2) III in a brutal manner. He was sole king and conducted an active foreign policy of opposition to the Achaean Confederacy. He raided Megalopolis in 204, failed to take Messene in 201 and was defeated by the Achaean general philopoemen in 200. In the Second Macedonian War which followed he at first supported philip (3) v, who betrayed Argos to him, but then attempted to change sides. However, the Roman general Titus Flamininus in 195 accused him of tyranny and compelled him to renounce his claim to Argos and the ports of Laconia. He tried to regain his lost ports in 193 with the help of Aetolia, but was defeated by Flamininus and Philopoemen. The following year he was murdered by Aetolians when they took over control of Sparta. See P. Cartledge and A.J.S. Spawforth (1989) Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, London: Routledge.
