Founded around the ninth century B.C., Sparta’s kings oversaw ... Without Spartan participation in the war against Persia at the beginning of the fifth century B.C.— especially their heroic ...

First-hand account by Thucydides of the wars between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century BC, which reshaped the face of ancient Greece. Read by David Horovitch. Abridged by Tom Holland.

It was made up of lots of smaller states. These states were always squabbling and often went to war. Sparta and Athens fought a long war, called the Peloponnesian War, from 431 to 404BC.

The wheel of fortune might be turning in Najib’s favour. After 10 years of the 1MDB scandal during which fortune turned her back on him, is she now favouring the former prime minister? If so, it would ...