Where parchment was invented — Pergamon's acropolis, the Asclepeion healing complex, and the Great Altar of Zeus
Bergama (ancient Pergamon) is a small town in western Turkey 100km north of İzmir that contains one of the most spectacular Hellenistic and Roman cities in existence — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014. The Attalid kings of Pergamon (241–133 BCE) made their city a centre of culture to rival Alexandria: their library contained 200,000 volumes (the rivalry with Alexandria, which blocked papyrus exports, led to the invention of parchment — "pergamena" in Latin, derived directly from the city's name). The acropolis, set dramatically on a steep hill above the modern town, preserves the terra…
Pergamon emerged as a major power in the 3rd century BCE under the Attalid dynasty, who sided with Rome against the Macedonians and built their city on the profits of that alliance. At the death of the last Attalid king Attalus III in 133 BCE, the kingdom was bequeathed to Rome and became the province of Asia. The Great Altar of Zeus (180–160 BCE) — the most spectacular monument of the Hellenistic world — was excavated by German engineer Carl Humann in the 1870s and transported to Berlin, where it anchors the Pergamon Museum. The city remained an important Byzantine centre and the seat of one…