Eumenes III

(Aristonicus) Eumenes III
The statue of Eumenes III in Bergama, İzmir, Turkey
King of Pergamon
Reign	133–129 BC
Predecessor	Attalus III
Successor	Roman conquest

Greek	(Αριστόνικος) Ευμένης Γ΄
House	Attalid dynasty
Father	Eumenes II (?)
Mother	unknown
Religion	Greek Polytheism

Eumenes III (/juːˈmɛniːz/; Greek: Εὐμένης Γʹ; originally named Aristonicus; in Greek Aristonikos Ἀριστόνικος) was a pretender to the throne of Pergamon. He led the revolt 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. However, the revolt was eventually quelled by the Roman Republic in 129 BC when it dispatched the experienced Marcus Perperna to the region.

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Staking his Claim

When the Pergamene king, Attalus III, died in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans. 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 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 of the Plebs to allocate the bequest to the funding of his new laws, the Romans were slow in securing their claim.^[1] Aristonicus, who claimed to be the illegitimate son of the earlier Pergamene king, Eumenes II (197–160 BC), father of Attalus III, took advantage of the uncertainty and laid claim to the throne, taking the dynastic 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.^[2] Before being expelled from the area he had taken Samos, Myndus and Colophon in sea raids, and crucially, the Roman consul dispatched to put an end to his revolt, Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus, was killed after an attempt to take back Leucae.

Eumenes then sought support in the interior, promising freedom to both slaves and serfs 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.^[1] 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 as well as Apollonis. His cause was also furthered by the death of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia, who, along with Mithridates V of Pontus, Nicomedes II of Bithynia, and Pylaemenes of Paphlagonia, opposed the revolt in the hopes of winning the favor of Rome.^[1] It was around this time that he was joined by Blossius of Cumae, the Stoic, who had been a supporter of Tiberius Gracchus 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.^[3] Though the location of this encounter is disputed, it is thought to be Stratonicea on the Caicus in Lydia.^[4] Here, the revolt came to an end, with Eumenes being starved into submission and sent, alive, to Rome. His most prominent ally, Blossius, intimately aware of the wrath Rome would bring down upon him, killed himself.

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, and Cappadocia.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Africa, Thomas W. (1961). "Aristonicus, Blossius, and the City of the Sun". International Review of Social History. 6 (1): 110–124. doi:10.1017/S0020859000001784. JSTOR 44581450.
^ "Strabo, Geography, BOOK XIV". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
^ "Justinus: Epitome of Pompeius Trogus (5)". www.attalus.org. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
^ Broughton, T. R. S. (1934). "Stratoniceia and Aristonicus". Classical Philology. 29 (3): 252–254. doi:10.1086/361750. JSTOR 263872.

Hansen, Esther V. (1971). The Attalids of Pergamon. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press; London: Cornell University Press Ltd. ISBN 0-8014-0615-3.
Kosmetatou, Elizabeth (2003) "The Attalids of Pergamon," in Andrew Erskine, ed., A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Blackwell: pp. 159–174. ISBN 1-4051-3278-7. text
Robinson, E. S. G. (1954) "Cistophori in the Name of King Eumenes," Numismatic Chronicle 6: pp. 1–7.
Jones, Christopher (2004). "Events surrounding the bequest of Pergamon to Rome and the Revolt of Aristonicos: new inscriptions from Metropolis". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 17: 469–485. doi:10.1017/S1047759400008394.

Regnal titles
Preceded by Attalus III	King of Pergamon 133–129 BC	Succeeded by Roman conquest

v t e Hellenistic rulers
Argeads	Philip II Alexander III the Great Philip III Arrhidaeus Alexander IV
Antipatrids	Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes
Antigonids	Antigonus I Monophthalmus Demetrius I Poliorcetes Antigonus II Gonatas Demetrius II Aetolicus Antigonus III Doson Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender)
Ptolemies	Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra (regent) Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soter Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion
Monarchs of Cyrene	Magas Berenice II Demetrius the Fair Ptolemy VIII Physcon Ptolemy Apion Cleopatra Selene II
Seleucids	Seleucus I Nicator Antiochus I Soter Antiochus II Theos Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus III Ceraunus Antiochus III the Great Seleucus IV Philopator Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus V Eupator Demetrius I Soter Alexander I Balas Demetrius II Nicator Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes Alexander II Zabinas Cleopatra Thea Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Cleopatra Selene I Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus
Lysimachids	Lysimachus Ptolemy Epigonos
Attalids	Philetaerus Eumenes I Attalus I Eumenes II Attalus II Attalus III Eumenes III
Greco-Bactrians	Diodotus I Diodotus II Euthydemus I Demetrius I Euthydemus II Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Demetrius II Eucratides I Plato Eucratides II Heliocles I
Indo-Greeks	Demetrius I Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Apollodotus I Demetrius II Antimachus II Menander I Zoilos I Agathokleia Lysias Strato I Antialcidas Heliokles II Polyxenos Demetrius III Philoxenus Diomedes Amyntas Epander Theophilos Peukolaos Thraso Nicias Menander II Artemidoros Hermaeus Archebius Telephos Apollodotus II Hippostratos Dionysios Zoilos II Apollophanes Strato II Strato III
Monarchs of Bithynia	Boteiras Bas Zipoetes I Nicomedes I Zipoetes II Etazeta (regent) Ziaelas Prusias I Prusias II Nicomedes II Nicomedes III Nicomedes IV Socrates Chrestus
Monarchs of Pontus	Mithridates I Ctistes Ariobarzanes Mithridates II Mithridates III Pharnaces I Mithridates IV Philopator Philadephos with Laodice Mithridates V Euergetes Mithridates VI Eupator Pharnaces II Darius Arsaces Polemon I Pythodorida Polemon II
Monarchs of Commagene	Ptolemaeus Sames II Mithridates I Antiochus I Mithridates II Antiochus II Mithridates III Antiochus III Antiochus IV
Monarchs of Cappadocia	Ariarathes I Ariarathes II Ariamnes II Ariarathes III Ariarathes IV Ariarathes V Orophernes Ariarathes VI Ariarathes VII Ariarathes VIII Ariarathes IX Ariobarzanes I Ariobarzanes II Ariobarzanes III Ariarathes X Archelaus
Monarchs of the Cimmerian Bosporus	Paerisades I Satyros II Prytanis Eumelos Spartokos III Hygiainon (regent) Paerisades II Spartokos IV Leukon II Spartokos V Kamasarye Paerisades III Paerisades IV Paerisades V Mithridates I Pharnaces Asander with Dynamis Mithridates II Asander with Dynamis Scribonius's attempted rule with Dynamis Dynamis with Polemon Polemon Aspurgus Gepaepyris Mithridates III Cotys I
Monarchs of Epirus	Admetus Tharrhypas Alcetas I Neoptolemus I Arybbas Alexander I Aeacides Neoptolemus II Alcetas II Pyrrhus I Alexander II Olympias II (regent) Pyrrhus II Ptolemy Pyrrhus III Deidamia
Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories.

This page was last edited on 8 December 2023, at 20:24

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