18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Library Wars in the Old Age!

One of, the world’s oldest and largest library, the other was born 100 years later as a rival to it. The interesting existence of these two unique libraries and the culture wars between them.

The Library of Alexandria was a library with the largest collection of Antiquity with 900,000 manuscripts. BC. 3 It was founded by the Ptolemaic dynasty in the Egyptian city of Alexandria at the beginning of the century. It was built as part of the research institute known as the Alexandria Museum.

It is one of the most important works created in human history. As it is known, Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria. After the death of Alexander, Ptolemy I, son of Lagus, one of their commanders, declared his kingdom in Egypt.

The capital of this new state was the city of Alexandria, and the new king would completely repair and develop this city and make it the most famous capital of the period. Unlike other kings, Ptolemy he had wanted to live in peace rather than expand his country’s borders. He was fond of art and science.

The most important work he created in Alexandria was the museum and the library attached to the museum. A beautiful place, especially around the palace, was chosen for its establishment. In the museum there was a sample of animals and plants in all countries known of that period. There was also a botanical garden and an observatory. An anatomy hall was opened to examine the human body through autopsy. On this science site, houses were built for physics, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, literature, and physiology.

Undoubtedly, the most important part of the museum was its library. The director of the library was authorized to receive any written work he could find. Every book that came to Egypt would definitely be brought to the library. Here, a copy is made and the copy was given to its owner, and the original book would stay in the library. Officers sent abroad for different books would buy and bring books they found in other countries. Thus, all kinds of works that were scattered and doomed to disappear were gathered in a safe place.

The biggest book heaven on earth: Library of Alexandria.
The biggest book heaven on earth: Library of Alexandria.

Pergamon Library (Bergama-İzmir) was established almost a hundred years after the library of Alexandria. Pergamon, built by Eumenes II (the end of the 3rd century) and located at the northern end of the Acropolis, has become one of the most important libraries of the ancient world.

It was made by the Attalos dynasty by trying to liken the library of Alexandria. It contained around 200,000 texts written on “Pergaminus” parchments, instead of the Egyptian papyrus used in Alexandria.

The use of parchment caused great jealousy among the Alexandrians, who controlled the Papyrus flow. After all, they were one another’s arch-rivals in the cultural sphere.

In the library of Alexandria, names such as mathematics scholar Euclides, mechanical scientist Archimedes, medical scientist Heterofilos, astronomer Eratosthenes, Ptolemy worked here. However, the Pergamon library was also invited to the palace by Peripatoscu and Platonist scientists during the time of Pergamon King Attalos I, especially Antigonos of Karystos, Krates of Mallos, historian Cleanthes and the mathematician Apollonios of Perga. Among these summoned people, Krates from Mallos, who is known for making criticisms of Homer’s poems, must have been appointed as the head of the library. As a matter of fact, according to the sources we received information on this subject, Krates established the grammar school in Pergamon and interpreted Homer as allegorically, unlike the one in the Library of Alexandria.

Pergamon city
Pergamon

Galenos (AD 130-200) from Pergamon also mentioned that the Library of Alexandria and the Pergamon Library were competing with each other in obtaining manuscripts, and as a result of their behavior, fake manuscripts emerged due to the high demand in the book market.

In fact, this competition between Alexandria and Pergamon Library has reached such an advanced level; An embargo was placed on the papyrus exported from Egypt to Pergamon, and the Kings of Pergamon gave importance to the production of parchment (pergament) in order to provide the necessary writing material by using animal skins.

As a last word, although the winner of this beautiful race is not known, it is obvious that Pergamon was the winner of the parchment paper. Parchment is derived from the Latin Charta Pergamena, meaning Pergamon Paper, and it has passed to all languages from here. But an important issue that needs to be corrected here is that Parchment was actually produced and used in Anatolia before that.

Source: Üreten, H.” Antikçağ Anadolu’sunda Bir Kültür Merkezi Pergamon – Kraliyet- Kütüphanesi” Türk Kütüphaneciliği 22, 4 (2008), s: 435-450

https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0skenderiye_K%C3%BCt%C3%BCphanesi

Related Articles

The colored skeletons of Çatalhöyük provide insight into the burial rituals of a fascinating society that lived 9000 years ago

18 March 2022

18 March 2022

New research provides new insights into how the inhabitants of the “oldest city in the world” in Çatalhöyük (Turkey) buried...

A 2100-year-old inscription found İn Türkiye: Antiochos of Commagene calls on the people to ‘obey and respect the law’

15 March 2024

15 March 2024

The ancient inscription found near Kımıldağı (Kımıl Mount) in Önevler village of Adıyaman’s Gerger district in 2023 will shed light...

A rare 2500-year-old saw, the first of its kind, discovered in Anatolia

28 November 2023

28 November 2023

Archaeologists conducting excavations in Çorum, the capital of the Ancient Hittite Empire in northern Turkey, discovered a 2,250-year-old saw. Recent...

Excavations at Körzüt Castle unearth 2 cuneiform inscriptions and a new Urartian Susi temple

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

During the rescue excavations carried out at the Körzüt Castle in the Muradiye district of Van province in eastern Turkey,...

Mosaics found in Türkiye’s Sinop belong to dining room of a wealthy family

24 June 2023

24 June 2023

The pebble mosaics unearthed during the excavation of a building complex in the province of Sinop on Turkey’s Black Sea...

Inscriptions That Could Change the History of Turkish Migration to Anatolia Are Disappearing: Esatlı Kaya Inscriptions

30 March 2025

30 March 2025

Researchers made a significant discovery during field research conducted in 1994 in Esatlı village, Mesudiye, Ordu. They introduced a series...

Remains of painkillers were found in 4500-year-old vessels during excavations at Küllüoba Höyük in Turkey

20 September 2022

20 September 2022

In the excavations of the Early Bronze Age Küllüoba Höyük (Kulluoba Mound) in Eskişehir, where the first urbanization structure of...

Archaeologists unearth orchestra floor in Black Sea Region’s Ephesus

10 December 2021

10 December 2021

During continuing excavations in the northwestern province of Düzce, archaeologists discovered the orchestra floor of the theater area in the...

İnscriptions in Turkey is Showing How Romans Tackled İnflation

21 March 2021

21 March 2021

The largest marble city in the world, located in western Turkey in the province of Muğla, draws attention with large...

The Tomb of Prince with a Monumental Pink Granite False Door Unearthed in Saqqara

23 April 2025

23 April 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, an Egyptian team has unveiled the tomb of Prince Waser-If-Re, son of Pharaoh Userkaf, the...

3500-year-old grape seed remains found in western Anatolia

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

Archaeologists at the Aşağıseyit Höyük (Aşağıseyit Mound) site in western Anatolia’s Denizli have uncovered a 3,500-year-old grape seed. Aşağıseyi Höyük...

Hidden Gods of Kurul Castle: Dionysus and Pan Figurines Capture Spotlight as Dig Resumes

10 July 2025

10 July 2025

Excavations are set to resume next week at the ancient Kurul Castle in Ordu, the first scientifically excavated archaeological site...

Rock tombs dating back 1,800 years have been discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Blaundus

1 October 2021

1 October 2021

In the ancient city of Blaundus, located in the Ulubey neighborhood of the western Anatolian city of Uşak, 400 rock-cut...

The Hittites Celebrated The Arrival of Spring With The Purilli Feast

23 March 2021

23 March 2021

Man is a being that lives in touch with nature. Spring is a season in which abundance gives many meanings...

Ancient Library With Unparalleled Architecture Found in Stratonikeia, Marble City of Gladiators

24 June 2025

24 June 2025

An ancient marvel, unique in design and history, is being unearthed in the heart of southwest Türkiye. Archaeologists working in...