This work investigates the constitutional, administrative, and political structures of the Attalid Kingdom to determine how it functioned as a regional power in Asia Minor. R.E. Allen utilizes a comprehensive analysis of epigraphical evidence to re-evaluate the historical trajectory of the kingdom from its emergence in the third century B.C. through the Roman settlement of 188 B.C. The author provides a rigorous examination of civic, fiscal, and religious policies to challenge long-standing assumptions about the nature of Attalid governance. By synthesizing archaeological and textual data, the book establishes a new framework for understanding the internal mechanics of the Pergamene state.

Experts recognize this text as the first authoritative study of the Attalid Kingdom since the early twentieth century. Scholars frequently cite the book for its meticulous use of primary source evidence and its contribution to the constitutional history of Hellenistic kingdoms.