Attalus II Philadelphus (Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

: Attalos II Philadelphos, Ἄτταλος Β' ὁ Φιλάδελφος, which means "Attalus the brother-loving", 220 BC – 138 BC) was a King of Pergamon

Pergamon

Pergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...

 and the founder of modern-day Turkish city Antalya

Antalya

Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...

. He was the second son of Attalus I Soter

Attalus I

Attalus I , surnamed Soter ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis , 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...

 and wife queen Apollonis

Apollonis

In Greek mythology, Apollonis was one of the three Muses that were daughters of Apollo. Her sisters were Cephisso and Borysthenis....

 (?), and ascended the throne first as co-ruler alongside his ailing brother Eumenes II in 160 BC, whose widow Stratonice of Pergamon

Stratonice of Pergamon

For other persons with the same name, see StratoniceStratonice was a Princess from Anatolia and through marriage was a Queen of Pergamon.-Life:...

 he married in 158 BC upon Eumenes' death.

Prior to becoming King, Attalus was already an accomplished military commander. In 190 BC, he resisted an invasion by the Seleucids

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

 and the following year (189 BC) led his forces to fight alongside the Roman Army under Gnaeus Manlius Vulso

Gnaeus Manlius Vulso

Gnaeus Manlius Vulso was a Roman consul for the year 189 BC, together with Marcus Fulvius Nobilior. He led a victorius campaign against the Galatian Gauls of Asia Minor in 189 BC during the Galatian War. He may have been awarded a triumph in 187BCE...

 in Galatia

Galatia

Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...

. In 182 BC he again fought the Seleucids, successfully meeting the army of Pharnaces I of Pontus

Pharnaces I of Pontus

Pharnaces I , fifth king of Pontus and was of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two siblings: a brother called Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called Laodice who...

. Finally, he assisted the Romans again in 171 BC, joining Publius Licinius Crassus

Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC)

Publius Licinius Crassus was Roman consul for year 171 BC, together with Gaius Cassius Longinus.He was the son of Gaius Licinius Varus, possibly related to the Gaius Licinius Varus who was consul in 236 BC and who was still alive in 219 BC...

 in Greece for the Third Macedonian War

Third Macedonian War

The Third Macedonian War was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army...

.

Attalus II also made frequent diplomatic visits to Rome, and gained the esteem of the Romans. At one point, they offered him assistance to overthrow his brother, but he declined. After he became King, they assisted him in his own battles against Prusias II in 156 BC – 154 BC and sided with him in helping pretender Alexander Balas

Alexander Balas

Alexander Balas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom 150-146 BC, was a native of Smyrna of humble origin, but gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne...

 to seize the Seleucid throne from Demetrius I

Demetrius I Soter

Demetrius I , surnamed Soter , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire....

 in 150 BC and Nicomedes II Epiphanes

Nicomedes II Epiphanes

Nicomedes II Epiphanes was the king of Bithynia from 149 to c. 127 BC. He was fourth in descent from Nicomedes I. Nicomedes II was the son and successor of Prusias II and Apame IV...

 seize the Bithynia

Bithynia

Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...

n throne from his father Prusias II the following year.

Attalus II expanded his kingdom with the help of his good friend Ariarathes V of Cappadocia

Ariarathes V of Cappadocia

Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator was son of the preceding king Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and Antiochis. Previously called Mithridates, he reigned 33 years, 163–130 BC, as king of Cappadocia. He was distinguished by the excellence of his character and his cultivation of philosophy and the liberal...

, and founded the cities of Philadelphia and Attalia

Antalya

Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...

. He was well-known as a patron of the arts and sciences, and was the inventor of a new kind of embroidery

Embroidery

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....

.
In his old age, he relied upon his chief minister, named Philopoemen (Φιλοποίμην), to help him govern.