Alexander II (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, romanized: Alexandros; c. 390–368 BC) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from around 370 BC until his death in 368 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty through his father Amyntas III.
Alexander II (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος, romanized: Alexandros; c. 390–368 BC) was king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon from around 370 BC until his death in 368 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty through his father Amyntas III.
Alorus or Aloros (Ancient Greek: Ἄλωρος) was a town of ancient Macedonia in the district Bottiaea, placed by Stephanus of Byzantium in the innermost recess of the Thermaic Gulf. According to the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax it was situated between the Haliacmon and Lydias. The town is chiefly known on account of its being the birthplace of Ptolemy, who usurped the Macedonian throne after the murder of Alexander II of Macedon, son of Amyntas, and who is usually called Ptolemaeus Alorites. It was also the birthplace of Pantauchus, the general of Alexander the Great.
It is located near the modern Kypseli.
The kingdom of Macedonia was an ancient state in what is now the Macedonian region of northern Greece, founded in the mid-7th century BC during the period of Archaic Greece and lasting until the mid-2nd century BC. Led first by the Argead dynasty of kings, Macedonia became a vassal state of the Achaemenid Empire of ancient Persia during the reigns of Amyntas I of Macedon (r. 547 – 498 BC) and his son Alexander I of Macedon (r. 498 – 454 BC). The period of Achaemenid Macedonia came to an end in roughly 479 BC with the ultimate Greek victory against the second Persian invasion of Greece led by Xerxes I and the withdrawal of Persian forces from the European mainland.
During the age of Classical Greece, Perdiccas II of Macedon (r. 454 – 413 BC) became directly involved in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Classical Athens and Sparta, shifting his alliance from one city-state to another while attempting to retain Macedonian control over the Chalcidice peninsula. His reign was also marked by conflict and temporary alliances with the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the Odrysian Kingdom. He eventually made peace with Athens, thus forming an alliance between the two that carried over into the reign of Archelaus I of Macedon (r. 413 – 399 BC). His reign brought peace, stability, and financial security to the Macedonian realm, yet his little-understood assassination (perhaps by a royal page) left the kingdom in peril and conflict. The turbulent reign of Amyntas III of Macedon (r. 393 – 370 BC) witnessed devastating invasions by both the Illyrian ruler Bardylis of the Dardani and the Chalcidian city-state of Olynthos, both of which were defeated with the aid of foreign powers, the city-states of Thessaly and Sparta, respectively. Alexander II (r. 370 – 368 BC) invaded Thessaly but failed to hold Larissa, which was captured by Pelopidas of Thebes, who made peace with Macedonia on condition that they surrender noble hostages, including the future king Philip II of Macedon (r. 359 – 336 BC).
Perdiccas III (Greek: Περδίκκας Γ΄) was king of the Hellenic kingdom of Macedonia from 365 BC to 360 BC, succeeding his brother Alexander II.
Son of Amyntas III and Eurydice, he was a child when in 369 BC his brother Alexander II was killed by their brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros, who then ruled as regent. In 365 BC, Perdiccas killed Ptolemy and assumed government.
Eurydice (Greek: Εὐρυδίκη – from ευρύς eurys, "wide" and δίκη dike, "right, custom, usage, law; justice", literally "wide justice") was an Ancient Macedonian queen and wife of king Amyntas III of Macedon.
She was the daughter of Sirras and through her mother, Irra, she was the grand-daughter of the Lynkestian king Arrhabaeus, member of the Doric Greek Bacchiadae family. Eurydice had four children: Alexander II, Perdiccas III, Philip II, all of whom would be crowned kings, a daughter Eurynoe, and through her son Philip, she was the paternal grandmother of Alexander the Great. Literary, inscriptional and archaeological evidence indicates that she played an important public role in Macedonian life and acted aggressively in the political arena.
Ptolemy of Aloros (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος), was sent by King Amyntas III of Macedon as an envoy to Athens c. 375–373 BC. After Amyntas' death, he began a liaison with his widow, Eurydice. In 368 BC, he assassinated her son, Alexander II, in order to gain control of the throne. His actions were not well-regarded by the leading families of Macedon, who called in the Theban general, Pelopidas, to re-establish peace. As part of the peace settlement, Philip, Alexander II's younger brother, was taken as a hostage back to Thebes. As Alexander II's younger brother, Perdiccas III, was under-age when Alexander II was killed, Ptolemy of Aloros ruled as regent.
Ptolemy ruled as a regent for Perdiccas III until Perdiccas killed him in 365 BC.