Attalids

Attalids, the ruling dynasty of Pergamum in the third and second centuries BC; three of its members were called Attalus. The dynasty was founded c.282 when Philetaerus became ruler of Pergamum under Seleucid suzerainty, and it ended in 133 with the death of Attalus III, who bequeathed his dominions to Rome; they became the Roman province of Asia Minor. The Attalids ruled over what was constitutionally a Greek city-state, but they had wide powers of interference and ruled directly over the native population of the surrounding country. This country possessed natural resources including silver mines but its wealth, for which the Attalids were proverbial, lay in its agricultural produce and the dependent industries of wool and parchment (a word derived from Pergamum). The Attalids were devoted patrons of art and literature, and under their influence Pergamum became one of the most beautiful of all Greek cities, famous for its library and school of architecture.