caption father dynasty predecessor successor mother death_date birth_date image article_title name reign
a pergamon hellenistic portrait bust of attalus i king of attalus attalid dynasty eumenes i eumenes ii antiochis 197 bc -lrb- aged 72 -rrb- 269 bc atalopergamo.jpg attalus i
 attalus i soter -lrb- `` savior '' -rrb- 241 -- 197 bc
attalus i

attalus i -lrb- -rrb- , surnamed soter -lrb- , `` savior '' ; 269 -- 197 bc -rrb- ruled pergamon , an ionian greek polis -lrb- what is now bergama , turkey -rrb- , first as dynast , later as king , from 241 bc to 197 bc .
he was the second cousin and the adoptive son of eumenes i , whom he succeeded , and was the first of the attalid dynasty to assume the title of king in 238 bc .
he was the son of attalus and his wife antiochis .
attalus won an important victory over the galatians , newly arrived celtic tribes from thrace , who had been , for more than a generation , plundering and exacting tribute throughout most of asia minor without any serious check .
this victory , celebrated by the triumphal monument at pergamon -lrb- famous for its dying gaul -rrb- and the liberation from the gallic `` terror '' which it represented , earned for attalus the name of `` soter '' , and the title of `` king '' .
a courageous and capable general and loyal ally of rome , he played a significant role in the first and second macedonian wars , waged against philip v of macedon .
he conducted numerous naval operations , harassing macedonian interests throughout the aegean , winning honors , collecting spoils , and gaining for pergamon possession of the greek islands of aegina during the first war , and andros during the second , twice narrowly escaping capture at the hands of philip .
attalus was a protector of the greek cities of anatolia and viewed himself as the champion of greeks against barbarians .
during his reign he established pergamon as a considerable power in the greek east .
he died in 197 bc , shortly before the end of the second war , at the age of 72 , having suffered an apparent stroke while addressing a boeotian war council some months before .
he and his wife were admired for their rearing of their four sons .
he was succeeded as king by his son eumenes ii .
