Mike Anderson's Ancient History Blog: Sparta’s Two Messenian Wars and the Military Government. Following the annexation of Aigytis, Sparta maintained contact with the remnants of the Aipytid Kingdom located at Stenykharos northwest of Sparta on the west side of the Taygetos Mountains.
But after the Spartans annexed the Taygetan Minyai (a surviving clan of the Mycenaean Age located on the Laconian side of the Taygetos), they were emboldened to move for control of the west side of the mountain range. The First Messenian War (740-720 B.C.) was the outcome of that desire. Online Lecture: ‘Ancient Greeks Up Close and Personal’ Book Review: Ancient Greece. The Iliad.