KINGS OF PERGAMON. Eumenes III (Aristonikos), usurper, 133-130 BC. Cistophorus (Silver, 28 mm, 12.60 g, 12 h), Apollonis, year 3 of his revolt = 132/1. ΒAΣΙΛΕΩΣ EYMENOY Cista mystica from which snake coils; around, ivy wreath with fruits. Rev. AΠ-OΛ Two snakes coiled around a bow case; in their coils, ΒΑ - ΕΥ; on bow case, Γ; above, thunderbolt; to left, laureate head of Dionysos (?) to left; to right, laureate head of Zeus to right. Kleiner & Noe Series 2. Kurth S301. SNG Copenhagen Supp. 947. SNG von Aulock 2897. Rare. A beautifully toned example of this historically important issue. Very fine.



This fascinating coin was struck by Eumenes III, originally named Aristonikos, who led a remarkable and ideologically charged revolt in the late 2nd century BC. Following the death of King Attalos III in 133 BC, who had controversially bequeathed the wealthy and strategically significant Kingdom of Pergamon to Rome, Aristonikos challenged Roman authority by claiming to be a son of Eumenes II and thus the rightful heir to the throne. Adopting the regnal name Eumenes III, he rallied considerable support among various disenfranchised groups and initiated a broad resistance against Roman annexation.

Aristonikos' uprising was not a fleeting or minor episode - it evolved into a significant and at times successful insurrection. He managed to gain control over parts of western Asia Minor, and although he failed to take Pergamon itself, his movement posed a serious enough threat that Rome had to intervene militarily. His political project included the foundation of a new state, Heliopolis (“City of the Sun”), which, according to ancient sources, was to be based on radical social reform, including the redistribution of land and the liberation of slaves. These ambitions attracted support from segments of the rural poor, freedmen, and enslaved people, collectively referred to as the Heliopolitae.

Aristonikos has long drawn the attention of historians precisely because of these ancient reports of revolutionary, even utopian ideals. His movement has often been interpreted as one of the earliest examples of an attempted social revolution in the Hellenistic world. However, modern scholarship remains divided on the true nature and scope of these reforms. While some scholars see in Aristonikos a proto-revolutionary figure aligned with Stoic or popular ideals, others caution that much of what we know stems from Roman and elite Greek sources, which may have exaggerated or misunderstood the role of slaves and the intent behind the so-called Heliopolitan state.

Ultimately, Rome responded decisively. After years of conflict, Consul Marcus Perperna defeated Aristonikos in 129 BC. Taken alive to Rome, he was paraded in a triumph and executed by strangulation, in keeping with Roman practice for foreign usurpers.

The coins of Aristonikos, including this example, conform to the standard cistophoric type widespread in the Pergamene realm, showing no portrait but maintaining continuity in the monetary system. His royal claim is subtly indicated by the inscription BA-EY, the abbreviation of ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΜΕΝΟΥ = '[coin] of King Eumenes' - the regal name adopted by the pretender.