Editing Pergamon (section)

===Roman period===
[[File:Mithridates VI Louvre.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Mithridates VI Eupator|Mithridates VI]], portrait in the [[Louvre]]]]
In 88 BC, [[Mithridates VI Eupator]] made Pergamon his headquarters in his [[First Mithridatic War|first war]] against Rome, in which he was defeated. The victorious Romans deprived Pergamon of all its benefits and of its status as a free city. Henceforth the city was required to pay tribute and accommodate and supply Roman troops, and the property of many of the inhabitants was confiscated. Imported Pergamene goods were among the luxuries enjoyed by [[Lucullus]]. The members of the Pergamene aristocracy, especially [[Diodorus Pasparus]] in the 70s BC, used their own possessions to maintain good relationships with Rome, by acting as donors for the development of the city. Numerous honorific inscriptions indicate Pasparus' work and his exceptional position in Pergamon at this time.<ref>On Diodorus Pasparus, see ''Altertümer von Pergamon''. 15.1, pp. 114–117.</ref>

Pergamon still remained a famous city, and was the seat of a ''[[conventus]]'' (regional assembly). Its [[neocorate]], granted by [[Augustus]], was the first manifestation of the [[Imperial cult of ancient Rome|imperial cult]] in the province of Asia. [[Pliny the Elder]] refers to the city as the most important in the province<ref>Pliny, ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis historia]]'' 5.126.</ref> and the local aristocracy continued to reach the highest circles of power in the 1st century AD, like [[Gaius Antius Aulus Julius Quadratus|Aulus Julius Quadratus]] who was [[consul]] in 94 and 105.

[[File:Kleinasien II.jpg|thumb|300px|Pergamon in the Roman province of [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], 90 BC]]
Yet it was only under [[Trajan]] and his successors that a comprehensive redesign and remodelling took place, with the construction of a Roman 'new city' at the base of the Acropolis. The city was the first in the province to receive a second neocorate, from Trajan in AD 113/4. [[Hadrian]] raised the city to the rank of [[metropolis]] in 123 and thereby elevated it above its local rivals, [[Ephesus]] and [[Smyrna]]. An ambitious building programme was carried out: massive temples, a stadium, a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatre]], a huge forum and an [[Roman amphitheatre|amphitheatre]] were constructed. In addition, at the city limits the shrine to [[Asclepius]] (the god of healing) was expanded into a lavish spa. This sanctuary grew in fame and was considered one of the most famous healing centers of the Roman world.

[[File:Modell Pergamonmuseum.jpg|thumb|A model of the acropolis of Pergamon, showing the situation in the 2nd century CE]]
In the middle of the 2nd century Pergamon was one of the largest cities in the province, and had around 200,000 inhabitants. [[Galen]], the most famous physician of antiquity aside from [[Hippocrates]], was born at Pergamon and received his early training at the Asclepieion. At the beginning of the 3rd century [[Caracalla]] granted the city a third neocorate, but a decline had already set in. The economic strength of Pergamon collapsed during the [[crisis of the Third Century]], as the city was badly damaged in an earthquake in 262 and was sacked by the [[Goths]] shortly thereafter. In [[late antiquity]], it experienced a limited economic recovery.