The ancient city of Pergamon, which was added to the World Heritage List in 2014, is one of the settlements that is permanently inhabited and, due to its strategic location, has never disappeared from the historical scene, although it has been exposed to invasions and destruction in the course of its history.
In the Bakırçay Basin, where the ancient city of Pergamon was founded, traces of settlement from prehistoric times to the 7th, 6th and 5th centuries BC can be seen on the founding hill of Pergamon. Trace back to BC. Points. "Perg" or mountain "means" fortress "or" fortified place "and forms the name Pergamon.
He founded in 283 BC The Kingdom of Philetairos and continued its existence as a politically, economically and culturally powerful kingdom in its region for 150 years.
The city, which came under Roman rule at the will of Attalus III, one of the kings of Pergamon, became the capital of the province of Asia (133 BC). When the Roman Empire began in the 3rd century BC. Beginning to lose power and split in two, Bergama took shape under the influence of a new religion - Christianity. Pergamon was exposed to Arab raids in the 8th century AD and joined the territory of the Principality of Menteşe at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1345 it was incorporated into the Ottoman lands by Orhan Gazi and the Turkish era began in the city.
City map of Pergamon; The city is divided into an upper and a lower town. In the upper town the peristyle planned and ornate palaces of the kings, the Temple of Athena, the 4th with its architectural details, the discovery of the Pergamons Pergaminae Chartae The library of Pergamon was the most important library of antiquity, with 200,000 volumes of works written in rolls or in the form of a book (codex) written on both sides.
The most striking work of the city's architectural program is the Zeus Altar, which was erected as a result of the decisive victory of the Pergamons against the Galatians and Seleucids in Magnesia during the reign of Eumenes II (180 BC). Zeus and Athena relief group, light gods Apollo, Artemis and Leto group Helios, his sister Eos the redhead of the dawn, moon goddess Selena, Nyx, battle goddess Eris, fate-throwing Moiralas, star god Orion group Poseidon, Amphitrite, Nereus, Doris The relief of the group, Tethys , with their high plastic properties are among the most important works of antiquity.
With its 10,000 seats on a steep hillside theater, its mobile stage building and its architectural connection with the Temple of Dionysus, it is one of the most famous theaters of antiquity. 11. The high-pressure water pipeline, which started in the Hellenistic period from Mount Madra at an altitude of 900 m, consists of 45 km long, 240,000 earth pipes for the water supply of the Pergamon castle hill, is an architectural achievement of the inhabitants of Pergamon.
In the lower town there were other social structures such as the sanctuaries of Hera and Demeter, the largest known gymnasium of the Hellenistic period, the lower agora, houses and shops.
In the lower town there were other social structures such as the sanctuaries of Hera and Demeter, the largest known gymnasium of the Hellenistic period, the lower agora, houses and shops.
With the increasing population, the city expanded from the city wall, which during the reign of Eumenes II. (197-1599 BC) The Red Court (basilica) and the Asklepion sanctuary are among the most important structures of this expansion.
