Theban–Spartan wars

E766839

series of conflicts war

The Theban–Spartan wars were a series of 4th-century BC conflicts in ancient Greece that ended Spartan hegemony and briefly elevated Thebes to major power status under leaders like Epaminondas.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Theban–Spartan conflicts	4
Boeotian War (378–371 BC)	1
Theban campaigns under Epaminondas	1
Theban invasions of the Peloponnese	1
Theban–Spartan War	1
Theban–Spartan wars canonical	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8916184 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Theban–Spartan wars
Context triple: [Epaminondas, conflict, Theban–Spartan wars]

A. Theban wars
The Theban wars are a cycle of ancient Greek legendary conflicts centered on the city of Thebes, most famously including the stories of Oedipus’s sons and the battles of the Seven Against Thebes and the Epigoni.
B. Second Messenian War
The Second Messenian War was an early 7th-century BCE conflict in ancient Greece in which the Messenians, led by the hero Aristomenes, mounted a major but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Spartan domination.
C. Colchidian War
The Colchidian War, more commonly known as the Lazic War, was a 6th-century conflict between the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the Sasanian Persian Empire over control of the strategically vital region of Lazica in the Caucasus.
D. Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War was a major conflict in ancient Greece (356–346 BCE) sparked by disputes over control of the Delphic sanctuary, drawing in many Greek city-states and reshaping the balance of power in the region.
E. Second Sacred War
The Second Sacred War was a 4th-century BCE conflict in ancient Greece centered on control of the Delphic sanctuary and its political influence within the Greek world.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Theban–Spartan wars
Target entity description: The Theban–Spartan wars were a series of 4th-century BC conflicts in ancient Greece that ended Spartan hegemony and briefly elevated Thebes to major power status under leaders like Epaminondas.

A. Theban wars
The Theban wars are a cycle of ancient Greek legendary conflicts centered on the city of Thebes, most famously including the stories of Oedipus’s sons and the battles of the Seven Against Thebes and the Epigoni.
B. Second Messenian War
The Second Messenian War was an early 7th-century BCE conflict in ancient Greece in which the Messenians, led by the hero Aristomenes, mounted a major but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Spartan domination.
C. Colchidian War
The Colchidian War, more commonly known as the Lazic War, was a 6th-century conflict between the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and the Sasanian Persian Empire over control of the strategically vital region of Lazica in the Caucasus.
D. Third Sacred War
The Third Sacred War was a major conflict in ancient Greece (356–346 BCE) sparked by disputes over control of the Delphic sanctuary, drawing in many Greek city-states and reshaping the balance of power in the region.
E. Second Sacred War
The Second Sacred War was a 4th-century BCE conflict in ancient Greece centered on control of the Delphic sanctuary and its political influence within the Greek world.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	series of conflicts ⓘ war ⓘ
cause	Spartan occupation of Thebes ⓘ Theban resistance to Spartan hegemony ⓘ power struggle among Greek city-states after the Peloponnesian War ⓘ
conflictBetween	Sparta ⓘ Thebes ⓘ
consequence	creation of independent Messenian state at Messene ⓘ further fragmentation of Greek interstate system ⓘ paving the way for rise of Macedon under Philip II ⓘ permanent loss of Spartan control over Messenia ⓘ strengthening of Arcadian League ⓘ
describedIn	later accounts by Plutarch ⓘ works of Xenophon ⓘ
endTime	362 BC ⓘ
hasPart	Battle of Leuctra ⓘ Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) ⓘ linked to: Battle of Mantinea (362 BCE) Theban invasion of the Peloponnese ⓘ Theban revolt against Sparta ⓘ
historicalPeriod	Classical Greece ⓘ
locatedIn	ancient Greece ⓘ linked to: Greek Antiquity
mainBelligerent	Spartan hegemony ⓘ Theban League ⓘ linked to: Boeotian League
militaryInnovation	deep Theban left wing at Leuctra ⓘ oblique phalanx formation ⓘ
notableCommander	Agesilaus II ⓘ Cleombrotus I ⓘ Epaminondas ⓘ Pelopidas ⓘ
opponent	Peloponnesian League ⓘ
partOf	Greek interstate wars of the 4th century BC ⓘ
result	brief dominance of Thebes in Greek politics ⓘ end of Spartan hegemony in Greece ⓘ rise of Theban hegemony ⓘ weakening of Spartan military power ⓘ
significantEvent	Battle of Leuctra (371 BC) ⓘ linked to: Battle of Leuctra Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) ⓘ linked to: Battle of Mantinea (362 BCE) Theban invasions of Laconia ⓘ linked to: Theban invasion of the Peloponnese Theban liberation from Spartan garrison in the Cadmea (379 BC) ⓘ formation of the Boeotian army under Epaminondas ⓘ foundation of Megalopolis in Arcadia ⓘ restoration of Messenia as an independent state ⓘ
significantYear	362 BC ⓘ 369 BC ⓘ 370 BC ⓘ 371 BC ⓘ 379 BC ⓘ
startTime	4th century BC ⓘ

How these facts were elicited