It was the birthplace of Apollonius of Perga, one of the most notable ancient Greek mathematicians for his work on conic sections.

A unique and prominent feature for a Roman city was the long central water channel in the centre of the main street which contained a series of cascading pools and which would have been remarkable even today in a semi-arid area where summer temperatures reach over 30 degrees Celsius.

Perge was situated on the coastal plain between the Rivers Catarrhactes (Düden Nehri) and Cestrus (Aksu), about 11 km from the mouth of the latter.

Herodotus mentions that Pamphlyians sent aid to the military campaign of Xerxes against the Greeks, so it must have been under the control of the Achaemenids.

According to Diodorus Siculus, Perge was one of the cities that rebelled against the Achaemenid rule during the Great Satraps' Revolt in 360 BC.

[25] Perge became renowned for the worship of Artemis, whose temple stood on a hill outside the town, and in whose honour annual festivals were celebrated.

Plancia Magna (d. 122), daughter of the governor Marcus Plancius Varus, was the greatest benefactor and instigator of public buildings and was honoured with statues erected by the town council.

[35] In the first half of the 4th century, during the reign of Constantine the Great (324-337), Perga became an important centre of Christianity, which soon became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

St. Matrona of Perge of the 6th century was a female saint known for temporarily cross-dressing to avoid her abusive husband.

[35] Excavations started in 1946 and have uncovered many monumental buildings: a theatre, a stadium, palaestra, a temple of Artemis and two churches.

The south gate is particularly monumental and includes 2 towers 3 storeys high with conical roofs and a horseshoe-shaped square behind.

Under Hadrian in 121 AD, a triumphal arch was inserted into the northern wall of the courtyard and the facades were covered in precious marbles and decorated with columns and statues.

The south baths created in the 1st c. AD is one of the best preserved buildings and is noteworthy for its size and monumentality, and for the large collection of sculptures found there.

Hadrian's nymphaeum was beautifully decorated with numerous sculptures including the river god Cestrus under whom water cascaded.

It is located at the edge of the acropolis to capture the outflow of the abundant water supply and from there fed the channel that flowed through the city.

He wrote a series of eight books describing a family of curves known as conic sections, comprising the circle, ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola.