Alexander I of Epirus

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Alexander I

Coin of Alexander I. Obverse: head of

Zeus. Reverse: thunderbolt, caption

ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟY ΤΟΥ ΝΕΟΠΤΟΛΕΜΟΥ.

Reign

343/2 - 331 BC

Predecessor

Successor

Born

c. 370 BC

Died

331 BC

Spouse

Cadmeia of Epirus

Father

Religion

Alexander I of Epirus

(

Ἀλέξανδρος Α'

; c. 370 BC

– 331 BC),

also known as

Alexander

(

Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μολοσσός

), was a king of

(343/2–331 BC) of the

As the son of

and brother of

, Alexander I was an uncle and brother-in-law of

. He was also related to

; Pyrrhus' father

was his first cousin.

Biography

[

]

ruled jointly with his brother

. When Neoptolemus died in

c. 357 BC, his son Alexander was only a child and Arrybas became the sole

king. In c. 350 BC, Alexander was brought to the court of

in order to protect him. In 343/2 in his late 20s, Philip made him king of

Epirus, after dethroning his uncle Arybbas.

When Olympias was repudiated by her husband in 337 BC, she went to her brother,

and endeavoured to induce him to make war on Philip. Alexander, however,

declined the contest, and formed a second alliance with Philip by agreeing to

marry the daughter of Philip (Alexander's niece)

. During the wedding

in 336 BC, Philip was assassinated by

In 334 BC, Alexander I, at the request of the Greek colony of

(in

), crossed over into

, to aid them in battle against several

, including the

and

. After a victory over the

and Lucanians near

in 332 BC, he made a treaty with the

. He then took

from the Lucanians,

from the Bruttii, and

on the Adriatic coast. Through

the treachery of some Lucanian exiles, he was compelled to engage under unfavourable circumstances in the

and was killed by a Lucanian. He left a son,

, and a daughter, Cadmea.

In a famous passage,

speculates on what would have been the outcome of a military showdown between

and the

. He reports that as Alexander of Epirus lay mortally wounded on the battlefield at

Pandosia he compared his fortunes to those of his famous nephew and said that the latter "waged war against women".

References

[

]

livius.org

. 21 April 2019

. Retrieved

1 May

2019

Ellis, J. R.,

Philip II and Macedonian Imperialism

, Thames and Hudson, 1976, pp. 90–1, 156–7

Hammond, N. G. L.,

Philip of Macedon

, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994, p. 51

Epitome of Pompeius Trogus

, viii.6, ix.6, xii.2

, viii.3, 17, 24

Noctes Atticae

, xvii.21

External links

[

]

Birth and kingship dates are incorrect)

Preceded by

343/2–331 BC

Succeeded by

rulers

(pretender)

(regent)

with

(regent)

[

]

with

's attempted rule with

with

(regent)

Hellenistic rulers were preceded by

in most of their territories.

International

National

People

Other

This page was last edited on 12 April 2026, at 18:57

(UTC)

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