Plausibility Check: A Spartan Empire

Is it possible for Sparta to develop further from a city-states into an empire? And, if so, how would it culture be like. Would they keep their intense militaristic culture, even after being spread out?
 
Is it possible for Sparta to develop further from a city-states into an empire? And, if so, how would it culture be like. Would they keep their intense militaristic culture, even after being spread out?

I don't think the other states would have allowed an may have formed a league to stop them. You did have the Peleponnesian League, if that counts in a way.
 
It would need massive, massive social reform. They need to expand the franchise of homoioi and let them marry early and generally change how they handle these men. They also would probably benefit from some actual walls around Sparta.

Sparta's military was mostly there to police the helots. After the Peloponnesian Wars, they went off on a bit of empire-building in Asia Minor and were for the most part successful until the Corinthian War. Manumission for helots was fairly common and they could use those men to settle newly-conquered land in exchange for military service.

They also need to adapt their tactics, by which I mean be more open to combined arms. They had a small number of cavalry, and this needs to be expanded, especially if they want to conquer large tracts of land. Skirmishers were overlooked but still utilised in the form of fighting helots and perioeci.
 
As municipal said, Sparta needed reform. Sparta was a awesome city and culture, but it wasn't built for empire building. With reform though it could.
 
It would need massive, massive social reform. They need to expand the franchise of homoioi and let them marry early and generally change how they handle these men. They also would probably benefit from some actual walls around Sparta.

Sparta's military was mostly there to police the helots. After the Peloponnesian Wars, they went off on a bit of empire-building in Asia Minor and were for the most part successful until the Corinthian War. Manumission for helots was fairly common and they could use those men to settle newly-conquered land in exchange for military service.

They also need to adapt their tactics, by which I mean be more open to combined arms. They had a small number of cavalry, and this needs to be expanded, especially if they want to conquer large tracts of land. Skirmishers were overlooked but still utilised in the form of fighting helots and perioeci.


agreed the available man power pool for sparta was low and became lower as time went on and was mostly pinned down controlling occupied territory in Morea.
By the time of its defeat at the hands of Thebes it had fewer than 5,000 front line soldiers. Additionally the Spartans were lacking in cavalry, archers (for cultural reasons) and were poor at seigecraft. Their limited supply of ships and naval officers did not help either.
To be sucessful would have required a romanesque conversion to social inclusivity and adaptability, especially in adopting new tactical and strategic concepts. In other words they would have to stop being Spartans.
 
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