126: Attalid Pergamon - Aristonicus and the City of the Sun

Following the aftermath of Pydna in 167, the Attalid dynasty in Pergamon enjoyed the next three decades as the most preeminent Greek power in the Aegean while competing with neighboring powers like Bithynia and the Galatians. Yet when Attalus III Philometor died childless in 133, his will dissolved the kingdom and bequeathed much of it to his official heir and executor, the Roman Republic. A bastard son of Eumenes II named Aristonicus rose up to claim the kingship for himself, leading a revolt that would see the establishment of a permanent Roman presence in Asia for over fifteen hundred years.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/09/27/126-attalid-pergamon-aristonicus-and-the-city-of-the-sun/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/126-attalid-pergamon-aristonicus-and-the-city-of-the-sun-transcript.pdf)

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