Battle of Aegospotami

A Greek trireme

Date	405 BC
Location	Aegospotami, Hellespont, present-day Turkey
Result	Decisive Spartan victory; Athens is besieged and surrenders. End of Peloponnesian War

Belligerents

Sparta, Persia, Corinth
Peloponnesian League

Athens, Delian League

Commanders and leaders

Lysander (nominally under Aracus)

Conon, Philocles, Adeimantus, son of Leucolophides

Strength

180 ships

170 ships

Casualties and losses

Minimal

150 Ships,
3,000 sailors executed

The naval Battle of Aegospotami (/iːɡəsˈpɒtəmaɪ/ ee-gəs-POT-ə-my) took place in 405 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. In the battle, a Spartan fleet under Lysander destroyed the Athenian navy. This effectively ended the war, since Athens could not import grain or communicate with its empire without control of the sea.

In 405 BC, following the severe Spartan defeat at the Battle of Arginusae, Lysander, the commander who had been responsible for the first Spartan naval successes, was reinstated in command. Since the Spartan constitution prohibited any commander from holding the office of navarch more than once, he was appointed as a vice-admiral instead, with the clear understanding that this was a mere legal fiction.

One of Lysander's advantages as a commander was his close relationship with the Persian prince Cyrus. Using this connection, he quickly raised the money to begin rebuilding the Spartan fleet. When Cyrus was recalled to Susa by his father Darius, he took the unorthodox step of appointing Lysander as satrap of Asia Minor. With the resources of this entire wealthy Persian province at his disposal, Lysander was able to quickly reconstitute his fleet.

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Wikipedia