Pictures, images and photos of Pergamon ( Bergama ), archaeological site, Turkey. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. The Kingdom of Pergamon was ruled by Eumenes II in 197-159 B.C who expanded the Library of Pergamon. The copying of ancient manuscripts was a lucrative business in the ancient world and the Library Alexandria had the monopoly of the great books and the Egyptian papyrus that they were copied onto. When the Library of Pergamon to began to rival that in Alexandria and the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt banned the export of papyrus to Pergamon. Not to be defeated the Library at Pergamon invented a substitute, Parchment, which is made from animal skin and could be cut into squares and bound into the first books known as codex. In 133 B.C Attalus III of Pergamon died without an heir and left the Kingdom of Pergamon to the Roman Empire. Under the rule of Mark Anthony, Cleopatra took the opportunity to persuade him that the books of the Library of Pergamon would be better housed in the Library of Alexandria, so Pergamon lost is great library and slowly declined. The archaeological site of Pergamon is one of the most dramatic sites of antiquity. The white Corinthian columns of the Temple of Trajan are visible from miles away. Started by Emperor Trajan the construction of the Temple was finished by Hadrian (117 AD). From the Acropolis one of the steepest amphitheatres of the ancient world descends down the hillside. Capable of holding an audience of 10,000 the theatre was constructed in the 3rd cent. B.C. Under the rule of Emperor Caracalla (211-217 AD) the theatre was given a Roman makeover. The Upper Acropolis Great Altar of Pergamon constructed by Eumenes II in the first half of the 2nd cent. B.C was excavated in 1878 by German engineer Carl Humann. The thousands of fragments of the freeze were reconstructed by Italian restorers in Berlin. The Pergamon Museum was built to house the great altar.

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Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pergamon
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