Critolaus of Megalopolis vs Cyrus the Younger

Critolaus was elected strategos of the Achaean League, succeeding Diaeus. He continued the anti-Roman policy and escalated tensions with Rome, leading the League toward open conflict.

Critolaus refused Roman demands to disband the Achaean League and separate Sparta, Corinth, and other cities from it. This defiance led to the Roman declaration of war and the start of the Achaean War.

Critolaus led the Achaean army against the Roman forces of Metellus at Scarpheia in Locris. The Achaeans were routed, and Critolaus was killed in the battle. This defeat effectively ended Achaean resistance in central Greece.

Cyrus the Younger was appointed by his father Darius II as satrap of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia, and commander of all Persian forces in Anatolia. This gave him a power base for his ambitions.

Cyrus provided financial and military support to Sparta against Athens in the Peloponnesian War. He befriended the Spartan general Lysander, helping Sparta achieve final victory at Aegospotami in 405 BC.

Cyrus's forces engaged Artaxerxes II's army at Cunaxa, near Babylon. Cyrus personally led a charge against his brother but was killed in the fighting. His death ended the rebellion and left the Greek mercenaries stranded.

Cyrus gathered a Greek mercenary army of about 13,000 men and marched from Sardis to Babylon to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II. The expedition was recorded by Xenophon in the Anabasis.