Attalus I of Pergamon

“ The Senate showed its spite against the successful Tribune by petty annoyances, such as allowing him only about a shilling a day for his official expenditure, and, as rumour said, by the assassination of one of his friends. But, while men like P. Scipio Nasica busied themselves with such miserable tactics, Tiberius brought forward another great proposal supplementary to his agrarian law. [Sidenote: Proposal of Gracchus to distribute the legacy of Attalus.] Attalus, the last king of Pergamus, had just died and left his kingdom to Rome. ”

“ In the meanwhile, Attalus Philometor of Pergamus, the son of Eumenes, died, and with him the race of Philetærus became extinct. The first kings of Pergamus whom the Romans had raised to greatness, were on the whole clever men and mild princes ”

“ They succeeded even in acquiring territory in this way; Aegina, for instance, which the allied Romans and Aetolians had wrested in the last war from Philip's allies, the Achaeans, was sold by the Aetolians, to whom it fell in terms of the treaty, to Attalus for 30 talents (7300 pounds) . But, notwithstanding the splendour of the court and the royal title, the commonwealth of Pergamus always retained something of the urban character; and in its policy it usually went along with the free cities. Attalus himself, the Lorenzo de' Medici of antiquity, remained throughout life a wealthy burgher ”

“ He began by threatening an attack on Elea, then abandoning the siege he ravaged the surrounding district, and then went on to attack Pergamum, the capital and stronghold of the kingdom. Attalus posted troops in front of the city and sent forward skirmishers of cavalry and light infantry to harass the enemy without meeting him in a regular engagement. ”

“ This was a city of Great Mysia, in Asia Minor, the capital of the kingdom of Pergamus, which was founded by a eunuch, named Philatera, who had been a servant to Docima, a commander of the troops of Antigonus.
Pergamus was assaulted by Philip, king of Macedon, in his war against Attalus the First, who had taken part with the Romans. All his efforts, however, being unavailing, he turned his rage and fury against the gods ”

“ The lesson was learnt by the Pergamene power, and fortunately the dynasty was too short-lived for a king to arise who should forget the crushing display of Roman power which had followed the Third Macedonian War, or for the realisation of that greater danger of a protectorate—a struggle for the throne which should lead one of the pretenders to appeal to a national sentiment and embark on a national war. Eumenes at his death had left a direct successor in the person of his son Attalus, who had been born to him by his wife Stratonice, the daughter of Ariarathes King of Cappadocia. ”

“ They [Pg 182] were defeated by Antiochus Soter, on which they withdrew into the mountains, and when circumstances had changed, they burst forth again: every one paid them tribute to escape their ravages. When the war broke out between Ptolemy Euergetes and Seleucus Callinicus, and afterwards between the former and Antiochus Hierax, they sold themselves, being thoroughly faithless, now to one now to the other, and they became the scourge of the whole of Asia, until to the astonishment of everybody, Attalus of Pergamus, refusing to pay them tribute any longer, attacked, and defeated them ”

“ Next Attalus himself, being much called for by the multitude, (for he was a well-known man,) came in prepared for the combat by a good conscience, since he was truly exercised in the Christian discipline, and had always been amongst us a witness of the truth. He was led all round the Amphitheatre, with a tablet carried before him, on which was written in Latin, "This is Attalus the Christian." And the people being exceedingly enraged against him, the Governor, having understood that he was a Roman, ordered him to be taken back among the rest that were in the prison ”

“ Alike in vigour, restlessness, and violence, they persecuted each other to the death. Antiochus died a fugitive in a Thracian city under the blows of Celtic assassins, and his royal brother fell in the following year in an unsuccessful fight with Attalus I, the conqueror of the Galatians and ruler of the kingdom of Pergamus. ”

“ Owing to the troubles incident to the Gallic invasion of Greece and Asia Minor, he is not disturbed.
263 His nephew, Eumenes I, succeeds. His power increases, and he defeats the Seleucidæ in a battle.
241 Attalus I succeeds. He achieves a decisive victory over the Gauls, and makes friends with Rome. Pergamus becomes a great art centre.
197 Eumenes II succeeds. Height of splendour of the kingdom, which now covers the greater part of western Asia Minor. Eumenes becomes the ally of Rome in her wars against the Persians and Syrians. ”

“ For the Governor, to please the people, gave up Attalus also again to the wild beasts. But they, in the Amphitheatre, having passed through all the instruments of torture, that ever were invented, and endured a most severe conflict, were at last put to death. Alexander without uttering a groan or a syllable, but conversing in his heart with God. But Attalus, when he was placed on the iron seat, and scorched, when the vapour went up from his body, said to the crowd, in the Roman tongue; "Behold this is man-eating, which yourselves do; but we neither eat men, nor do any other evil thing." ”

“ By clever management the third Attalus was induced, in repayment of his father’s obligations to the Romans, to bequeath his entire dominions as a legacy to the Republic. In vain did his illegitimate half-brother, Aristonicus, dispute the validity of so extraordinary a testament; the Romans, aided by Mithridates IV., then monarch of Pontus, easily triumphed over such resistance as this unfortunate prince could offer, and having ceded to their ally the portion of Phrygia which had belonged to the Pergamene kingdom, entered on the possession of the remainder. ”

“ Accordingly Attalus led the Aegosagae back to the Hellespont;430 and after negotiations with the people of Lampsacus, Ilium, and Alexandria, conducted in a friendly spirit because they had preserved their loyalty to him, he returned with his army to Pergamum. ”

“ Who would not regard Attalus, the next in age, as a king, not only because he sees him in such a powerful position now, but also because the day is near when he will ascend the throne owing to the age and weakness of Eumenes, who has no legitimate son? (He had not yet acknowledged the one who succeeded him.) What advantage would there be in trying to gain by violent means what would shortly come to him of its own accord? A fresh storm had burst on the realm in an invasion of the Gauls which could with difficulty be withstood even by the combined and harmonious efforts of the two monarchs. ”

“ Now when Alaric was about to depart from Rome, he declared Attalus, one of their nobles, emperor of the Romans, investing him with the diadem and the purple and whatever else pertains to the imperial dignity. And he did this with the intention of removing Honorius from his throne and of giving over the whole power in the West to Attalus. With such a purpose, then, both Attalus and Alaric were going with a great army against Ravenna. ”

“ Under the consul Laevinius, therefore, the Roman people, having entered the Ionian Sea for the first time, coasted along the whole of Greece with their fleet, as if in triumph; for it carried all the spoils of Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and Africa; and a laurel that grew up [50] in the general's ship, promised certain victory. Attalus, king of Pergamus, came of his own accord to their assistance; the Rhodians, too, came, who were a naval people, and who struck terror into all parts by sea with their ships, while the consul did the same on land with his horse and foot. ”

“ Eumenes II., king of Pergamus, who, like his father Attalus I., feared the encroachments of Macedonia, denounced at Rome this infraction of the old treaties. The fear with which a powerful prince inspired him, and the gratitude which he owed to the Republic for the aggrandisement of his kingdom after the Asian war, obliged him to cultivate the friendship of the Roman people. In 582 he came to Rome, and, honourably received by the Senate, forgot nothing which might excite it against Perseus, whom he accused of ambitious designs hostile to the Republic. ”

“ Aristonicus was believed to have been born of an Ephesian concubine of the king. [509] We know nothing of his personality, but the history of his two years' conflict with the Roman power proves him to have been no figure-head, but a man of ability, energy and resource. A strictly national cause was impossible in the kingdom of Pergamon; for there was little community of sentiment between the Greek coast line and the barbaric interior. But the commercial prosperity of the one, and the agricultural horrors of the other, might justify an appeal to interest based on different grounds. ”

“ The assistance which King Attalus has given the Roman commanders with his fleet and other forces has been very gratifying to the senate. They will not themselves send assistance to Attalus against Antiochus since he is on terms of alliance and friendship with Rome, nor will they detain the auxiliaries which Attalus is furnishing longer than suits the king's convenience. When the Romans have made use of the resources of others they have always left liberty of action to others. ”

“ The resentment of the Gothic king was exasperated by the malicious arts of Jovius, who had been raised to the rank of patrician, and who afterward excused his double perfidy by declaring, without a blush, that he had only seemed to abandon the service of Honorius, more effectually to ruin the cause of the usurper. In a large plain near Ariminum, and in the presence of an innumerable multitude of Romans and barbarians, the wretched Attalus was publicly despoiled of the diadem and purple ”

“ The majority at Rome were thoroughly angry with king Eumenes, and believed that he had been playing a double game during the war, keeping up communications with Perseus, and watching his opportunity against them: and accordingly some men of high rank got Attalus under their influence, and urged him to lay aside the character of ambassador for his brother, and to speak in his own behalf; as the Senate was minded to secure a separate kingdom and royal government for him, because of their displeasure with his brother. ”

“ According to one story, Aratus supplied the money which was paid to Diogenes; and Athens, though it did not join the Achaean League, took no part against it in the social war. But in the troubles that followed Athens looked to Attalus of Pergamus as offering the most profitable alliance, and therefore—though not displaying much activity—she is found among those states opposed to Achaia and Macedonia, which looked for protection to Rome. ”

“ The ex-emperor Attalus danced at the marriage festival, which was celebrated with great pomp at Narbonne. In 415 Ataulphus crossed the Pyrenees into Spain and died at Barcelona, being assassinated by a groom. The most important fact in his history is his confession, recorded by Orosius, that he saw the inability of his countrymen to rear a civilized or abiding kingdom, and that consequently his aim should be to build on Roman foundations and blend the two nations into one. ”

“ The coast of the Hellespont was given to the Trocmi, the Tolostobogii took Aeolis and Ionia, and the Tectosagi received the inland districts. They levied tribute on the whole of Asia west of the Taurus, but fixed their own settlement on both sides of the Halys. Such was the terror of their name and the growth of their numbers that at last even the kings of Syria did not dare to refuse the payment of tribute. The first man in Asia to refuse was Attalus the father of Eumenes, and contrary to universal expectation, fortune favoured his courageous action ”

“ The coalition was joined moreover by those constant antagonists of Macedonia, the chieftains of the half-barbarous Thracian and Illyrian tribes, and lastly by Attalus king of Pergamus, who followed out his own interest with sagacity and energy amidst the ruin of the two great Greek states which surrounded him, and had the acuteness even now to attach himself as a client to Rome when his assistance was still of some value. ”

“ After defeating Attalus, and advancing to Pergamum, Prusias prepared a magnificent sacrifice andPrusias, king of Bithynia, attacks Attalus of Pergamum. brought it to the sacred enclosure of Asclepius, and after offering the victims, and having obtained favourable omens, went back into his camp for that day; but on the next he directed his forces against the Nicephorium, and destroyed all the temples and sacred enclosures, and plundered all the statues of men and the marble images of the gods. ”

“ There is no evidence of forgery and no contemporary suggestion of the sort. The bequest of Attalus, even if it was a forgery (Mommsen accepts it, iii. p. 55) , is of importance, as showing that a great many people did think that Rome was the best administrator. ”

“ The first days of the reign of Attalus were fair and prosperous. An officer of confidence was sent with an inconsiderable body of troops to secure the obedience of Africa; the greatest part of Italy submitted to the terror of the Gothic powers; the city of Bononia made a vigorous and effectual resistance; the people of Mediolanum, dissatisfied perhaps with the absence of Honorius, accepted, with loud acclamations, the choice of the Roman senate. At the head of a formidable army, Alaric conducted his royal captive almost to the gates of Ravenna ”