Agesilaus, Eurypontid king of Sparta, had twice rescued Sparta from attacks by the Theban leader Epaminondas but had taken no part in the subsequent Battle of Mantineia.
Agesilaus, commanding a body of Greek mercenaries in 361, is abroad serving Tachos, or Teos (also known as Zedhor), second king of the native Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt.
Tachos, however, insists on leading the Egyptian army himself, and Agesilaus, after quarreling with his ally, supports a military revolt in Egypt that places the young pretender Nectanebo II on the throne.
A rival pretender almost succeeds in overthrowing the new king, but Agesilaus defeats him and leaves Nectanebo firmly established as ruler. (Tachos flees to the protection of Artaxerxes II in Persia, where he will die an exile.)
