Eumenes III

(Aristonicus) Eumenes III
(Aristonicus) Eumenes III
	The statue of Eumenes III inBergama,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 namedAristonicus;in GreekAristonikosἈριστόνικος) was a pretender to the throne ofPergamon.He led therevoltagainst the Pergamene regime and found success early on, seizing various cities near the coast of Anatolia, including the island ofSamos,and killing the Roman ConsulPublius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus.However, the revolt was eventually quelled by the Roman Republic in 129 BC when it dispatched the experiencedMarcus Perpernato the region.

Staking his Claim[edit]

When the Pergamene king,Attalus III,died in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to theRomans.Though he stipulated that Pergamum and the rest of the Greek cities were exempt from this bequest, it mattered little to the Romans, withTiberius Gracchusin 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 theTribune of the Plebsto 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 thedynasticname, Eumenes III.

Revolt[edit]

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 convincedLeucaeto revolt and only left the region after being driven out by defeat to the Ephesians in a naval battle off the coast ofCyme.^[2]Before being expelled from the area he had takenSamos,MyndusandColophonin 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 backLeucae.

Eumenes then sought support in the interior, promising freedom to bothslavesandserfswhom 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, seizingThyatiraas well as Apollonis. His cause was also furthered by the death ofAriarathes V of Cappadocia,who, along withMithridates V of Pontus,Nicomedes II of Bithynia,andPylaemenesof Paphlagonia, opposed the revolt in the hopes of winning the favor of Rome.^[1]It was around this time that he was joined byBlossius of Cumae,theStoic,who had been a supporter ofTiberius Gracchusand promised to found a state called Heliopolis in which all were to be free.

Downfall[edit]

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 beStratoniceaon theCaicusinLydia.^[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 theTullianum prison.Perperna's successor in Asia,Manius Aquillius,subsequently oversaw the organisation of the area, dividing the Pergamene kingdom among Rome,Pontus,andCappadocia.

References[edit]

^^a ^b ^cAfrica, 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".perseus.tufts.edu.Retrieved2018-12-07.
^"Justinus: Epitome of Pompeius Trogus (5)".attalus.org.Retrieved2018-12-07.
^Broughton, T. R. S. (1934). "Stratoniceia and Aristonicus".Classical Philology.29(3): 252–254.doi:10.1086/361750.JSTOR 263872.

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Staking his Claim[edit]

Revolt[edit]

Downfall[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]