The article analyzes the financial policy of the Spartan king Nabis, the sources of revenue for the treasury and main items of expenditure. The author concludes that radical internal changes in Sparta and the king`s ambitious foreign policy plans affected the objectivity of ancient historians’ assessments of the Spartan reformer’s personality. However, the financial policy of Nabis reveals rationality and pragmatism of his decisions. The Spartan approach to overcoming financial and social crisis was only feasible through harsh methods typical of a tyrannical regime.
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