In 508 bc, after defeating a Spartan effort to restore authoritarian Peisistradid rule in Athens, Cleisthenes and the Athenian citizenry overthrew aristocratic rule in the city-state and replaced it with a form of direct popular rule that rapidly evolved into the world’s first genuine democracy. The reforms made by Cleisthenes and his popular allies at that time formed the foundation for an ever-evolving direct and participatory Athenian democracy that lasted for nearly two centuries before its demise by military defeat. The political structure of the city-state was reorganized to bring citizens from different places together in self-governance; the Assembly was accorded full political powers, and all Athenian citizens were made equal before the law and equally entitled to participate in the governance of the city-state. Central to direct democratic governance were random selection of officeholders by sortition and frequent rotation in office. Further reforms during the succeeding decades made Athenian governance still more democratic and – after brief authoritarian interruptions during and immediately after the Peloponnesian War – more committed not only to democracy but also to the rule of law, until ultimate military defeat by Macedon in 322 bc.