Eumenes III (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Γʹ; originally named Aristonicus; in Greek Aristonikos Ἀριστόνικος) was a pretender to the throne of Pergamon. He led the against the Pergamene regime and found success early on, seizing various cities near the coast of Anatolia, including the island of Samos, and killing the Roman Consul

Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus (c. 180 BC – 130 BC) was the natural son of Publius Mucius Scaevola and Licinia, and brother of Publius Mucius Scaevola. He was adopted at an unknown date by Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC), hi ...

. However, the revolt was eventually quelled by the Roman Republic in 129 BC when it dispatched the experienced Marcus Perperna to the region.

Staking his Claim

When the Pergamene king,

Attalus III Attalus III ( el, Ἄτταλος Γ΄) Philometor Euergetes ( – 133 BC) was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC. Biography Attalus III was the son of king Eumenes II and his queen Stratonice of Pergamon, and ...

, died in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. Though he stipulated that Pergamum and the rest of the Greek cities were exempt from this bequest, it mattered little to the Romans, with

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus ( 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the Roma ...

in particular eager to take advantage of this gift to fund his ambitious land reforms. As a result of the turmoil that stemmed from Gracchus encroaching on the prerogative of the Senate by attempting to use his power as the Tribune to allocate the bequest to the funding of his new laws, the Romans were slow in securing their claim. Aristonicus, who claimed to be the illegitimate son of the earlier Pergamene king,

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Σωτήρ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I a ...

(197–160 BC), father of Attalus III, took advantage of the uncertainty and laid claim to the throne, taking the

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

name, Eumenes III.

Revolt

Eumenes’ revolt was met with staunch opposition, coming not only from the Romans but also from the surrounding Greek cities. Indeed, in the earlier stages of the revolt, much of the conflict came against the Greek cities of the Anatolian coast. According to Strabo, Eumenes successfully convinced Leucae to revolt and only left the region after being driven out by defeat to the Ephesians in a naval battle off the coast of Cyme. Before being expelled from the area he had taken Samos,

Myndus Myndus () or Myndos ( el, ) was an ancient Dorian colony of Troezen, on the coast of Caria in Asia Minor, (Turkey), sited on the Bodrum Peninsula, a few miles northwest of Halicarnassus. The site is now occupied by the modern village of Güm ...

and Colophon in sea raids, and crucially, the Roman consul dispatched to put an end to his revolt,

, was killed after an attempt to take back Leucae. Eumenes then sought support in the interior, promising freedom to both

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

whom he referred to as ‘Heliopolitae’. It was the serfs, who comprised most of the workers in the interior, who were more receptive to his message; his ideals failed to take hold in cities, where the slaves were concentrated. However the extent to which he was a social revolutionary or simply a dynastic contender to the throne is uncertain, with desperation rather than a genuine desire at reform perhaps motivating his offer of freedom. Nevertheless, he initially found success in the interior, seizing

Thyatira Thyateira (also Thyatira) ( grc, Θυάτειρα) was the name of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now the modern Turkish city of Akhisar ("white castle"). The name is probably Lydian. It lies in the far west of Turkey, south of Istanbul ...

as well as Apollonis. His cause was also furthered by the death of

Ariarathes V of Cappadocia Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator ( grc-gre, Ἀριαράθης Εὐσεβής Φιλοπάτωρ; reigned 163–130 BC) was a son of the preceding king Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and queen Antiochis. He was distinguished by his contemporarie ...

, who, along with

Mithridates V of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates V Euergetes ( grc-gre, Μιθριδάτης ὁ εὐεργέτης, which means "Mithridates the benefactor"; fl. 2nd century BC, r. 150–120 BC) was a prince and the seventh king of the wealthy Kingdom of Pontus. Mi ...

Nicomedes II of Bithynia Nicomedes II Epiphanes (Greek: Νικομήδης ὁ Ἐπιφανής "Nicomedes God-Manifest") was the king of Bithynia from 149 to c. 127 BC. He was fourth in descent from Nicomedes I. Nicomedes II was the son and successor of Prusias II and ...

, and

Pylaemenes In Greek mythology, Pylaemenes ( Ancient Greek: Πυλαιμένης) may refer to two distinct characters: * Pylaemenes, king of the Eneti tribe of Paphlagonia. He claimed to be related to Priam through Phineus, as the latter's daughter Olizon ...

of Paphlagonia, opposed the revolt in the hopes of winning the favor of Rome. It was around this time that he was joined by

Blossius of Cumae Gaius Blossius (; 2nd century BC) was, according to Plutarch, a philosopher and student of the Stoic philosopher Antipater of Tarsus, from the city of Cumae in Campania, Italy, who (along with the Greek rhetorician, Diophanes) instigated Roman ...

, the

Stoic Stoic may refer to: * An adherent of Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and ...

, who had been a supporter of

and promised to found a state called Heliopolis in which all were to be free.

Downfall

Despite these gains, the revolt was dealt a blow in 130 BC by the appointment of Crassus’ successor: Marcus Perperna. The consul had prior experience with putting down slave revolts in Sicily, and the Romans reaped the rewards of this experience as Perperna, according to Justinus, subdued Eumenes in their first encounter. Though the location of this encounter is disputed, it is thought to be Stratoniceia on the Caicus in Lydia. Here, the revolt came to an end, with Eumenes being starved into submission and sent, alive, to Rome. His most prominent ally,

Blossius Gaius Blossius (; 2nd century BC) was, according to Plutarch, a philosopher and student of the Stoic philosopher Antipater of Tarsus, from the city of Cumae in Campania, Italy, who (along with the Greek rhetorician, Diophanes) instigated Roman ...

, intimately aware of the wrath Rome would bring down upon him, took his own life. After Eumenes arrived in Rome, he was paraded through the city, then executed by strangulation in the Tullianum prison. Perperna's successor in Asia, Manius Aquillius, subsequently oversaw the organisation of the area, dividing the Pergamene kingdom among Rome,

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

, and Cappadocia.

Staking his Claim

Revolt

Downfall

References

Further reading