PERGAMON - BERGAMA - İZMİR - WESTERN TURKEY The Secrets of Ancient Pergamon Pergamon was an ancient city in Aeolis, currently located 26 km (16 miles) from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of Bakırçay Nehri (River Caicus). Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are to the north and west of the modern city of Bergama in Northwestern Turkey… Some ancient historians and authors regarded it as a colony of the Arcadians, but the various origin stories all belong to legend. The ancient times historians reconstructed a complete history for it due to confusion with the distant Teuthrania. Pergamon became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic Period, under the Attalid Dynasty, 281 BC –133 BC. Pergamon is cited in the Book of Revelation as one of the Seven Biblical Churches of Asia… Pergamon in Antiquity Xenophon provides the earliest surviving documentary mention of Pergamon.[2] Captured by Xenophon in 399 and immediately recaptured by the Persians, it was severely punished in 362 after a revolt. It did not become important until Lysimachus, King of Thrace, took possession, 301 BC, but soon after his lieutenant Philetaerus enlarged the town, the Kingdom of Thrace collapsed and it became the capital of the new kingdom of Pergamon which Philetaerus founded in 281, beginning the Attalid dynasty. In 261 he bequeathed his possessions to his nephew Eumenes I (263-241 BC), who increased them greatly, leaving as heir his cousin Attalus I (241-197 BC)… The Kingdom of Pergamon (colored olive), shown at its greatest extent in 188 BC The Attalids became some of the most loyal supporters of Rome in the Hellenistic world. Under Attalus I (241–197 BC), they allied with Rome against Philip V of Macedon, during the first and second Macedonian Wars, and again under Eumenes II (197–158 BC), against Perseus of Macedon, during the Third Macedonian War. For their support against the Seleucids, the Attalids were rewarded with all the former Seleucid domains in Asia Minor... As a consequence of its rise to power, the city expanded greatly. Until 188 BC, it had not grown significantly since its founding by Philetaerus, and covered circa 21 hectares (52 acres). After that, a massive new city wall was built, 4 km (2.5 miles) long and enclosing an area of approximately 90 hectares (220 acres)… The Attalids ruled the city with intelligence and generosity. Many documents survive showing how the Attalids supported the growth of towns by sending in skilled artisans and ceaftsmen and by remitting taxes. They allowed the ancient cities in their domains to maintain nominal independence. They sent gifts to nearby cultural sites like Delphi, Delos, and Athens. They defeated the invading Celts. They remodeled the Acropolis of Pergamon after the Acropolis in Athens. When Attalus III (138 BC – 133 BC) died without an heir in 133 BC, he bequeathed the whole of Pergamon to Rome in order to prevent a civil war... Roman Period in Pergamon Not everyone in Pergamon accepted Romes rule. Aristonicus, who claimed to be Attalus brother as well as the son of Eumenes II, an earlier king, led a revolt among the lower classes with the help of Blossius. The revolt was put down in 129 BC, and Pergamon was divided among Rome, Pontus, and Cappadocia… Pergamon was briefly the capital of the Roman province of Asia, before the capital was transferred to Ephesus (today known as Efes)… After a slow decline, the city was favoured by several imperial initiatives under Hadrian (117 - 138). It was granted the title of metropolis and as a result of this an ambitious building programme was carried out: massive temples, a stadium, a theatre, a huge forum and a theatre were built. In addition, at the city limits the shrine to Asclepius (The God of Healing) was expanded into a lavish spa... The Sanctuary of Asclepius grew in fame and was considered one of the most famous therapeutic and healing centers of the Roman world. Galen, after Hippocrates the most famous physician of antiquity, was born at Pergamon and received his early training at the Asclepeion… Pergamon reached the height of her greatness under Roman Imperial Rule and was home to about 200,000 inhabitants... The Library of Pergamon was renowned, and second only to the Library of Alexandria, although not approaching Alexandria in scholarship. The city was an early seat of Christianity and was granted a bishopric by the second century. Pergamon is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, as a dwelling place of Satan and a location of his throne, and that an early bishop named Antipas was martyred there… The city suffered badly during the third century and was badly damaged by an earthquake in 262 and was sacked by the Goths shortly after… Anatolia – Turkey was invaded by the Persian Sassanid Empire in c.620 and after the Persians were driven out by Byzantine forces, Pergamon was rebuilt on a much smaller scale by Emperor Constans II... Pergamon was sacked by the armies of Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik on their way to the siege of Constantinople (today Istanbul)in 717… Middle Ages in Pergamon With the defeat of the Byzantine army at the Malazgirt Savaşı (Battle of Manzikert), the Seljuk Turks were effectively in control of all of Anatolia - Turkey, but they withdrew to central and eastern Anatolia – Turkey to consolidate their gains as the Sultanate of Rum and Pergamon returned to Byzantine control. The decline of the Sultanate of Rum in the late 12th century saw the rise of the Anadolu Beylikleri (Anatolian Beyliks) and with the continuing weakness in the Byzantine Empire, and the expansion of the Anatolian Beyliks, Pergamon was absorbed into the Karesi Beyliği (Karasids Beylik) by 1336. Competition among the Anatolian Beyliks resulted in the takeover of the Karasids Beylik by the Ottoman Turkish Beylik - the fore-runner of the Ottoman Turkish Empire - in 1357… The Ottoman Turkish Sultan Murad III had two large alabaster urns transported from the ruins of Pergamon and placed on two sides of the nave in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul… Mai Sites in Pergamon Upper Acropolis The Great Altar of Pergamon is now on sidplay in the Pergamon Museum, in Berlin. The base of this altar remains on the upper part of the Acropolis. It was perhaps this altar, believed to be dedicated to Zeus, that John of Patmos referred to as Satans Throne in his Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:13). A smaller frieze on a wall inside the Altar of Pergamon depicted the life of Telephus, son of Heracles and legendary founder of Pergamon… Other important buildings still in existence on the upper part of the Acropolis include: The Hellenistic Theater with a seating capacity of 10,000. This had the steepest seating of any known theater in the ancient world.[7] The Sanctuary of Trajan (also known as the Trajaneum) The Sanctuary of Athena The Library of Pergamum The Royal palaces The Heroön - a shrine where the kings of Pergamon, particularly, Attalus I and Eumenes II, were worshipped. The Temple of Dionysus The Upper Agora The Roman baths complex Diodorus Pasporos heroon Arsenals Pergamons library on the Acropolis (the ancient Library of Pergamum) was the second largest in the ancient times. When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because of competition and shortages, the Pergamenes invented a new substance to use in codices, called pergaminus or pergamena (parchment) after the city. This was made of fine calfskin, a predecessor of vellum. The library at Pergamom was believed to contain 200,000 volumes of books, which Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present… The site is today easily accessible by the Bergama Acropolis Gondola from the base station in northeastern Bergama… Lower Acropolis in Pergamon The lower part of the Acropolis has the following buildings the Upper Gymnasium the Middle Gymnasium the Lower Gymnasium the Temple of Demeter the Sanctuary of Hera the House of Attalus the Lower Agora and the Gate of Eumenes At foot of Acropolis Sanctuary of Asclepius Three kilometers south of the Acropolis at (39 7 9 N, 27 9 56 E), down in the valley, there was the Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as the Asclepium), The God of Healing. The Asclepium was approached along an 820 meter colonnaded sacred walk way. In this place people with health problems could have had bath in the Sacred Spring Water and in the patients dreams Asclepius would appear in a vision to tell them how to cure their illness… Archeology has found lots of gifts and dedications that people would make afterwards, such as small terra-cotta body parts, no doubt representing what had been healed. Galen, the most famous doctor in the ancient Roman Empire and personal physician of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, worked in the Ascelpium for many years. Important buildings in the Asclepium include: the Roman theater the North Stoa the South Stoa the Temple of Asclepius a circular treatment center (sometimes known as the Temple of Telesphorus) a healing spring an underground passageway a library the Via Tecta (or the Sacred Way, which is a colonnaded street leading to the sanctuary) and a propylon Serapis Temple Pergamons other notable structure is the great temple of the Egyptian gods Isis and / or Serapis, known today as the Red Basilica (or Kızıl Avlu in Turkish), about one kilometer south of the Acropolis. It consists of a main building and two round towers within an enormous temenos or sacred area. The temple towers flanking the main building had courtyards with pools used for ablutions at each end, flanked by stoas on three sides. At this temple in the year 92 Saint Antipas, the first Bishop of Pergamum ordained by John the Apostle, was a victim of an early clash between Serapis worshipers and Christians. An angry mob is said to have burned Saint Antipas alive inside a Brazen Bull incense burner, which represented the bull god Apis. In the 1st century AD, the Christian Church at Pergamon inside the main building of the Red Basilica was one of the Seven Churches to which the Book of Revelation was addressed. Revelation 2:12. The forecourt is still supported by the 193 m wide Pergamon Bridge, the largest bridge substruction of antiquity… For more please take a look at HISTORY BOOK OF TURKEY group page on Facebook https://facebook/groups/396697177119405/
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 17:39:03 +0000
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