Alexander II of Macedon ( gr, Ἀλέξανδρος Β', Aléxandros) was an Argead king of the ancient kingdom of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

in 369–367 BC, following the death of his father

Amyntas III Amyntas III (Greek: Αμύντας Γ΄ της Μακεδονίας) (420 – 370 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 393 BC and again from 392 to 370 BC. He was the son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas, one of the sons ...

Family

He was the eldest of the three sons of king Amyntas and Queen Eurydice I. His brothers were Philip and Perdiccas III.

Reign

Although he had already attained his majority, Alexander was very young when he ascended to the throne in 369 BC. This caused immediate problems for the new king as enemies to the dynasty resumed war. Alexander simultaneously faced an Illyrian invasion from the north-west and an attack from the east by the pretender

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

. Pausanias quickly captured several cities and threatened the queen mother, who was at the palace in

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

with her young sons. Alexander defeated his enemies with the help of the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

general Iphicrates, who had been sailing along the Macedonian coast on the way to recapture

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...

. At the request of the Thessalian Aleuadae, Alexander intervened in a civil war in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

. He successfully gained control of Larissa and several other cities but, betraying a promise he had made, put garrisons in them. This provoked a hostile reaction from Thebes, the leading military power in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

at the time. The Theban general Pelopidas drove the Macedonians from Thessaly. He then neutralized Alexander by favoring the ambitions of Alexander's brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros, and forced Alexander to abandon his alliance with Athens in favor of Thebes. As part of this new alliance, Alexander had to hand over hostages, including his younger brother Philip. He would coin the name of the king's personal guard; the Pezhetairos, or the infantry companions. The name would be retooled under Philip II as the name of his pike infantry. Alexander was assassinated during a festival at the instigation of

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

. Although Alexander's brother Perdiccas III became the next king, he was under age, and Ptolemy became regent.

References

External links

History of Macedonia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander 02 Of Macedon 4th-century BC Macedonian monarchs 4th-century BC rulers Argead kings of Macedonia Murdered royalty of Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Theban hegemony Old Macedonian kingdom Year of birth unknown 369 BC deaths