King’s Peace

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King’s Peace

ancient Greek history

Also known as: Peace of Antalcidas

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June 30, 2026

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The King's Peace, also known as the Peace of Antalcidas, was a treaty established in 386 BCE that significantly altered the political landscape of ancient Greece. This agreement dictated that the Persian king would control all of Asia Minor, including Cyprus and Clazomenae. In return, other Greek city-states were granted autonomy, though Athens retained control of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros. The treaty also led to major shifts in power within Greece, with Thebes forced to relinquish its control over Boeotia. This peace marked a period where Anatolia became firmly under Persian control for the next 50 years.1

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ancient Iran
Artaxerxes I to Darius III
…request, and dictate the so-called King’s Peace of 387–386 bce. Once again the Greeks gave up any claim to Asia Minor and further agreed to maintain the status quo in Greece itself.
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…request, and dictate the so-called King’s Peace of 387–386 bce. Once again the Greeks gave up any claim to Asia Minor and further agreed to maintain the status quo in Greece itself.
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Agesilaus II
The Peace of Antalcidas (387), which ended the war, included a clause guaranteeing the Greek cities their independence. Agesilaus used this clause as an excuse to force the dissolution of Thebes’s Boeotian League. In two sieges (378 and 377) he reduced Thebes to near starvation. By…
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The Peace of Antalcidas (387), which ended the war, included a clause guaranteeing the Greek cities their independence. Agesilaus used this clause as an excuse to force the dissolution of Thebes’s Boeotian League. In two sieges (378 and 377) he reduced Thebes to near starvation. By…
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Artaxerxes II
…the settlement known as the King’s Peace, or the Peace of Antalcidas, by which Artaxerxes decreed that all the Asiatic mainland and Cyprus were his, that Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros were to remain Athenian dependencies, and that all the other Greek states were to receive autonomy.
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…the settlement known as the King’s Peace, or the Peace of Antalcidas, by which Artaxerxes decreed that all the Asiatic mainland and Cyprus were his, that Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros were to remain Athenian dependencies, and that all the other Greek states were to receive autonomy.
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ancient Greek civilization
The King’s Peace
The ensuing Peace of Antalcidas, or King’s Peace, of 386 specified that Asia, including Cyprus and Clazomenae, was to belong to the king of Persia. (Ionian Clazomenae was included because Athens had interfered there and also because its status—whether it was an island…
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The ensuing Peace of Antalcidas, or King’s Peace, of 386 specified that Asia, including Cyprus and Clazomenae, was to belong to the king of Persia. (Ionian Clazomenae was included because Athens had interfered there and also because its status—whether it was an island…
Read More