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'''Alexander II''' was king of
Macedon from 370-368 B.C., following the death of his father
Amyntas III. He was the eldest of the three sons of Amyntas and Eurydice.
Although he had already attained his majority, Alexander was very young when he ascended to the throne. This caused immediate problems for the new king as enemies to the dynasty resumed war. Alexander was simultaneously faced with an
Illyrian invasion from the north-west and an attack from the east by the pretender Pausanias. Pausanias quickly captured several cities and threatened the queen mother, who was at the palace in
Pella with her young sons. Alexander defeated his enemies with the help the
Athenian general Iphikrates, who had been sailing along the Macedonian coast on the way to recapture
Amphipolis.
At the request of the Aleuadai, Alexander intervened in a civil war in
Thessaly. 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 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 was compelled to hand over hostages, including his younger brother
Philip.
Alexander was assassinated during a festival at the instigation of Ptolemy. Although Alexander's brother
Perdiccas III became the next king, he was under age, and Ptolemy was appointed reagent.
==Related articles==
Kings of Macedon
==Related Links==
Ancestry of Alexander II
History of Macedonia
