Antigonus III Doson
Cleomenes III abolished the ephors in 227 BC, and replaced them with an position called the patronomos. His abolishment of the ephorship allowed Cleomenes to cement his role as king and prevent anyone from stopping his political reforms. His coup resulted in the death of four of the five ephors, along with ten other citizens. However the ephorate was restored by the Macedonian King Antigonus III Doson after the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC. Although Sparta fell under Roman rule in 146 BC, the position existed into the 2nd century AD, when it was probably abolished by Roman Emperor Hadrian and superseded by imperial governance as part of the province of Achaea.