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Lyttian War
The Lyttian War was an internal conflict fought from around 220 BC to about 216 BC between two coalitions of Cretan city-states, led by Knossos and Polyrrhenia respectively.
The events of the war are recorded by the historian Polybius. It is considered "the greatest war in Cretan history" during Antiquity.
The prelude to the conflict in Crete was the commercial war between the cities of Rhodes and Byzantium about the toll introduced by the Byzantines for all ships passing through the Bosporus on their way to the Pontus Euxinus. Posing a huge threat to Hellenistic trade, the conflict was ended in 220 BC with a compromise.
Meanwhile, in Crete the allied cities of Knossos and Gortys had gained control of the whole island, except for the Spartan colony of Lyttos which alone resisted. When the Rhodian navarch Polemocles returned from the war against Byzantium, the Knossians thought that he could be helpful to their efforts against Lyttos. So they asked the Rhodians for assistance and Polemocles arrived with three decked and three undecked ships.
Soon after his arrival, however, the people of Eleutherna accused him of assassinating a citizen, Timarchus, and, in response, they declared war on the Rhodians.
Meanwhile, the Knossians and their allies had moved against Lyttos, but then, for some unknown reason, the alliance broke up and the Cretans began to quarrel with each other. Thus, the cities of Polyrrhenia and Lappa, along with some other communities, defected from the Knossians and allied with the Lyttians.
In Gortys the citizens were divided on the question of alliance and a civil war broke out in the city. The elder Gortynians remained loyal to Knossos, while the younger Gortynians favoured the Lyttians.
Taken by surprise by the sudden reverse, the Knossians asked the Aetolian League for help. The Aetolians were already present in Kydonia and sent 1000 warriors as assistance.
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Lyttian War AI simulator
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Lyttian War
The Lyttian War was an internal conflict fought from around 220 BC to about 216 BC between two coalitions of Cretan city-states, led by Knossos and Polyrrhenia respectively.
The events of the war are recorded by the historian Polybius. It is considered "the greatest war in Cretan history" during Antiquity.
The prelude to the conflict in Crete was the commercial war between the cities of Rhodes and Byzantium about the toll introduced by the Byzantines for all ships passing through the Bosporus on their way to the Pontus Euxinus. Posing a huge threat to Hellenistic trade, the conflict was ended in 220 BC with a compromise.
Meanwhile, in Crete the allied cities of Knossos and Gortys had gained control of the whole island, except for the Spartan colony of Lyttos which alone resisted. When the Rhodian navarch Polemocles returned from the war against Byzantium, the Knossians thought that he could be helpful to their efforts against Lyttos. So they asked the Rhodians for assistance and Polemocles arrived with three decked and three undecked ships.
Soon after his arrival, however, the people of Eleutherna accused him of assassinating a citizen, Timarchus, and, in response, they declared war on the Rhodians.
Meanwhile, the Knossians and their allies had moved against Lyttos, but then, for some unknown reason, the alliance broke up and the Cretans began to quarrel with each other. Thus, the cities of Polyrrhenia and Lappa, along with some other communities, defected from the Knossians and allied with the Lyttians.
In Gortys the citizens were divided on the question of alliance and a civil war broke out in the city. The elder Gortynians remained loyal to Knossos, while the younger Gortynians favoured the Lyttians.
Taken by surprise by the sudden reverse, the Knossians asked the Aetolian League for help. The Aetolians were already present in Kydonia and sent 1000 warriors as assistance.