Cleomenes III
In the years following the defeat of the reformist king Cleomenes III of Sparta at the Battle of Sellasia (222 BC), Sparta experienced a power vacuum that eventually led to the Spartan kingship being bestowed on a child, Pelops, for whom first Machanidas (d. 207 BC) and then Nabis acted as regents. Nabis, however, soon overthrew Pelops, claiming to be a descendant of the Eurypontid king Demaratus. Although Nabis styled himself as king and is called basileus on his coins, Livy and Polybius refer to him as a tyrant.