Battle of Cnidus participant Conon
The Battle of Cnidus (Greek: Ναυμαχία της Κνίδου) was a military operation conducted in 394 BC by the Achaemenid Empire against the Spartan naval fleet during the Corinthian War. A fleet under the joint command of Pharnabazus and former Athenian admiral, Conon, destroyed the Spartan fleet led by the inexperienced Peisander, ending Sparta's brief bid for naval supremacy.
The battle outcome was a significant boost for the anti-Spartan coalition that resisted Spartan hegemony in the course of the Corinthian War.Prelude
In 394 BC, King Agesilaus II of Sparta and his army were recalled from Ionia to help fight the Corinthian War. The Spartan fleet, under Peisander, also began a return to Greece, sailing out from its harbor at Cnidus with eighty-five triremes.The "Greek" vanguard of the Achaemenid fleet, referred to as such only due to its consisting of Greek mercenaries, was commanded by Conon, while the Persian satrap Pharnabazus led the main body of the forces, a Phoenician fleet from the Chersonese, to oppose the Spartans. The fleets met near Cnidus. According to Isocrates, King Evagoras I of Cyprus contributed the greatest part of the forces under Conon for the sea fight off Cnidus.