Pergamon, located in present day Hungary was a Greek city state along the coast in Asia Minor. The city changed hands many times and was occupied by the Persian empire for hundreds of Years. When Alexander invaded Pergamon was a top Greek city to “liberate” from the Persians. After Alexander died one of his generals Lysimachus took Pergamon as apart of his territory. He left one of his subordinates, Flitatus, in charge of the city which he expanded, fortified, and consolidated its power.

The city expanded its military, and won minor battles against the Seleucid and Macedonian empires. The king of Pergamon made a very strategically smart decision by allying himself with Rome, as they had common enemies like the two previously mentioned empires. The kingdom of Pergamon benefited greatly from this alliance and helped the Romans defeat the Macedonian and Seleucid armies in decisive pitched (land) battles. Because the Roman empire had too much territory under its control already, Rome decided to give much of the former Seleucid Empire to the kingdom of Pergamon. The Pergamene kingdom had very competent successors and they fended of numerous invasions from the northern barbarian tribes called the Galatians, and continued to expand their borders.

The people of Pergamon were widely respected and boasted a fervent culture. The kings of Pergamon constructed newer longer city walls that stretched over 2.5 miles. King Eumenes the second ordered the construction of the acropolis of Pergamon modeling it after the acropolis that was built in Athens hundreds of years earlier. Eumenes and his successor Atilius also worked to complete a massive construction project, the library of Pergamon. This library was very costly and time consuming, but it was an extraordinary success. This library was only second to the one built in Alexandria. Pergamon was also famed for the quality of the parchment paper they produced. In fact, the “par” in the word parchment comes from the Pergamene word parc which means from Pergamon.

Unfortunately, Rome kept a loose grip on Asia minor and the Pergamene kingdom was attacked and looted. Rome slowly came back to fend off the invaders and defend its ally. However, after a series of domestic infights like civil wars and power struggles, the Pergamene kingdom was vastly diminished. After a ruler came out on top successful and in control of the empire he was assassinated and left his kingdom to the Romans because he had no heir. The Romans did not restore the Pergamene kingdom and absorbed its territories into the larger Roman empire in the province of Asia minor.