Pergamon
Pergamon lies on the north edge of the Caicus plain in the historic region of Mysia in the northwest of Turkey. The Caicus river breaks through the surrounding mountains and hills at this point and flows in a wide arc to the southwest. At the foot of the mountain range to the north, between the rivers Selinus and Cetius, there is the massif of Pergamon which rises 335 metres above sea level. The site is only 26 km from the sea, but the Caicus plain is not open to the sea, since the way is blocked by the Karadağ massif. As a result, the area has a strongly inland character. In Hellenistic times, the town of Elaia at the mouth of the Caicus served as the port of Pergamon. The climate is Mediterranean with a dry period from May to August, as is common along the west coast of Asia Minor.
Pergamon
Lysimachus, King of Thrace, took possession in 301 BC, but soon after his lieutenant Philetaerus enlarged the town, the kingdom of Thrace collapsed in 281 BC and Philetaerus became an independent ruler, and founder of the Attalid dynasty. His family ruled Pergamon from 281 until 133 BC: Philetaerus 281-263; Eumenes I 263-241; Attalus I 241-197; Eumenes II 197-159; Attalus II 159-138; Attalus III 138-133. The domain of Philetaerus was limited to the area surrounding the city itself, but Eumenes I was able to expand them greatly. In particular, after the Battle of Sardis in 261 BC against Antiochus I, Eumenes was able to appropriate the area down to the coast and some way inland. The city thus became the centre of a territorial realm, but Eumenes did not take the royal title. This final step was only taken by his successor Attalus I, after he defeated the Galatians in 238, whom Pergamon had paid tribute to under Eumenes I. Only at this point did an entirely independent Pergamene kingdom come into existence, which would reach its greatest power and territorial extent in 188 BC.