v49_0208 - MISIA - PERGAMO Unité, (MB, Æ 23)

MYSIA - PERGAMON

(133-67 BC)

Pergame, located about twenty kilometers from the Mysian coast was in a fertile region. The city experienced a period of splendor under the energetic domination of the Attalids. Pergamos had been the place where the eunuch Philetario kept the treasure of Lysimachus, composed of more than 9,000 talents (more than 200 tons of metal). Philetario first betrays Lysimachus for Seleucus, before proclaiming himself independent, keeping the jackpot for his own account, the origin of the proverbial prosperity of Pergame. The new kingdom would experience significant economic prosperity after the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC. By dying in 133 BC, Attalus III bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans who created the province of Asia with Pergamum for capital. The city was famous for its library and its sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius.