<b>The History of the Peloponnesian War </b>is a historical account of the <b>Peloponnesian War</b> (431&ndash;404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by <b>Sparta</b>) and the Delian League (led by <b>Athens</b>). It was written by <b>Thucydides</b>, an Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History is divided into eight books.<br /><br /><b>Thucydides</b>&nbsp; (c. 460 &ndash; c. 400 BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of &quot;scientific history&quot; by those who accept his claims to have applied strict standards of impartiality and evidence-gathering and analysis of cause and effect, without reference to intervention by the gods, as outlined in his introduction to his work.<br /><br />Translated by <b>Richard Crawley</b>.<br />&nbsp;