Eumenes II Soter (; ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the

Attalid dynasty The Kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamene Kingdom, or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; ). The ...

of Pergamon.

Biography

The eldest son of king

Attalus I Attalus I ( ), surnamed ''Soter'' (, ; 269–197 BC), was the ruler of the Greek polis of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) and the larger Pergamene Kingdom from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the adopted son of King Eumenes I ...

and queen Apollonis, Eumenes was presumably born prior to 220 BC and was the eldest of four sons to Attalus I. Eumenes followed in his father's footsteps upon becoming king and collaborated with the Romans to oppose first Macedonian, then Seleucid expansion towards the Aegean, leading to the defeat of Antiochus the Great at the

Battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the Roman consul, consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied ...

in 190 BC. He had refused to marry a daughter of

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

upon noticing that he was about to engage in a war against the Romans. He then had married Stratonice of Pergamon, daughter of Ariarathes IV (King of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

) and his wife Antiochis, and their son was named Attalus III.

Expansion of the kingdom

Eumenes had followed his father's footsteps and aided the Romans whenever he could, firstly in the Syrian War, where he both informed them by sending his brother Attalus II and sided with the Romans, successfully aiding Rome in defeating Antiochus III in the

. He then aided the Romans in the War against Nabis where he aided both the Aetolian and Achaean leagues to defeat the Spartan tyrant

Nabis Nabis may refer to: * Nabis of Sparta, reigned 207–192 BCE * Nabis (art), a Parisian post-Impressionist artistic group * ''Nabis'' (bug), a genus of insects * NABIS, National Ballistics Intelligence Service, a British government agency See a ...

, and lastly in the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman fe ...

where he aided the Romans in defeating the Macedonian and Thracian army in the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back ...

against

Perseus of Macedon Perseus (; – 166 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 179 until 168BC. He is widely regarded as the last List of kings of Macedonia, king of Macedonia and the last ruler from th ...

. He was then at war with the Bithynian king Prusias I in 183 BC, although being defeated, he received Roman support which ended in his victory. Following the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC, he received the regions of

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

Pisidia Pisidia (; , ; ) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey. Among Pisidia's set ...

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...

, and parts of

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

from his Roman allies. By dividing Asia Minor between their allies

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and Pergamon, the Romans made sure that neither state would be able to become too powerful in the region.

Falling out of favour with the Romans

Eumenes later fell out of favour with the Romans after they suspected him of conspiring with

. In order to avert suspicion, he sent his congratulations to Rome by his brother Attalus II after the defeat of Perseus. Attalus was received courteously, and in 167 BC the Romans made an abortive attempt to install Attalus on the Pergamene throne. Eumenes in alarm set out to visit Rome in person to plead his case, but on his arrival at Brundusium (

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

) was ordered to leave Italy at once. In the event, the ties of kinship proved strong, and Eumenes remained as ruler. He also warred with Pharnaces I, who attempted to enlist the aid of the Seleucids, under Seleucus IV but due to the peace of Apamea, denied siding with him. Later on, in around 179 BC, after suffering losses, Pharnaces sued for peace. When Eumenes' health began to weaken, his brother Attalus II ascended to the throne as a co-ruler in 160 BC.Strabo
13.4.2
Hansen, pp. 44–45; Hurwit, p. 271. Since Eumenes' and Stratonice's son was still a minor, the throne was assumed by Attalus, who also married Stratonice in 158 BC upon becoming king.

Legacy

Eumenes II was a shrewd ruler and politician, who raised his state to a powerful monarchy. During his reign Pergamum became a flourishing city, where men of learning were always welcome, among them Crates of Mallus, the founder of the Pergamene school of criticism. Eumenes adorned the city with splendid buildings, amongst them the great altar with the frieze representing the Battle of the Giants. His great achievement was the expansion of the Library at Pergamon, one of the great libraries of the Ancient World and the place traditionally associated with the creation of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, although it had existed for centuries. He also built a

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

on the Athenian acropolis.

Notes

References

*Hansen, Esther V. (1971). ''The Attalids of Pergamon''. Ithaca, New York:

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University, an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. It is currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, maki ...

; London: Cornell University Press Ltd. . *Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed., ''A Companion to the Hellenistic World''. Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174.
text
*

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

, ''Histories'', Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (translator); London, New York. Macmillan (1889); Reprint Bloomington (1962)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Authority control Kings of Pergamon 2nd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia Ancient Greek generals Year of birth unknown 159 BC deaths