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Sparta was a society that was based according to many historians on a caste system. The Spartan citizens were the highest caste , and they dominated the other groups in society. The other groups in Sparta included the helots and the Pereoki, ; this was a group of freemen who were not citizens and were usually craftsmen and traders.<ref>Plutarch, p. 113</ref>. To be a Spartan citizencitizens, a male or a female , had to be able to trace their ancestry back to the original Doric conquerors. They also could not be of helot extraction.<ref>Cartledge, 2001, p. 56</ref>. To be a Spartan citizen, one had to undertake the rigorous education of the agogeAgoge. Only those who had completed their education in the agoge Agoge was entitled to be a citizen.  Now there were some exceptions to this and these include a helot or a foreigner who was adopted by a ‘Spartiate’ family .<ref>Plutarch, p.69</ref>. To be a citizen the Spartan had to pay his own way in the agoge, that is he had to contribute to the running of the system and to supply his own armor. Failure to pay their way, meant that a Spartan could be expelled from the Spartan student body. The criteria for a Spartan citizen was very high. While the system ensured that the Spartans were dedicated and well-trained warriors it also led to problems replacing those who died in battle<ref>Cartledge, 2002, p. 118</ref>.  The population of Sparta was never very high. Even at its peak in the 6th century BCE , the number of Spartan citizens was approximately 9000. This is known from the size of the Spartan army at the time. By the time of the battle of Leuctra , the size of the Spartan citizen population, once again based on the size of their army was only 4,000. The Spartan citizen body had been dwindling over time.  This was even though the Spartans at various times of crisis had allowed some non-citizens to enrol enroll in the citizen body. The Spartan leadership had long been very nervous about the decline in the citizen numbers, especially as the helot population continued to grow. The exact reasons for this decline are not known. It is believed that over time that the Spartan birth rate declined. The exact precise reasons for this are not known. It may be a result of the rigorous agoge system and the fact that the family was not as important for men as their comrades in the agoge .<ref>Plutarch, Plutarch's. Morals (Boston, Cambridge University Press, 1891), p. 113</ref>,  Another reason for the diminution in the number of citizens was the fact that increasingly many Spartan citizens could no longer afford to pay their dues in the agoge system as that society became increasingly divided between rich and poor. The growing wealth of Sparta was concentrated in the hands of the few , and this meant that fewer men could meet the financial demands of a citizen.<ref>Cartledge, 2002, p. 123</ref>. This decline in the Spartan citizen meant that there were fewer soldiers over time to fight its wars. The sheer brilliance of the Spartan hoplite meant that for many centuries even though their armies was were getting smaller allowed them to overcome their enemies in battle. However, by the time of the battle of Leuctra , the Spartan army was simply just too small , and it was defeated for the first time in its history.