Library of Pergamon

The Library of Pergamon was one of the largest in the ancient world. Second only to the great Library at Alexandria, the Attalid dynasty constructed it in direct emulation of its Alexandrian equivalent. It contained some 200,000 volumes of text, documented on early parchment known as 'pergaminus', as opposed to the Egyptian papyrus used at Alexandria. This caused the Alexandrians (who controlled the flow of Papyrus) no small amount of envy. The Library was designed with a gap between the outer walls and the bookshelves to aid air circulation, intended to prevent the region's natural humidity affecting the parchment. Legend says that Mark Antony, at the behest of Cleopatra, cleared the library of its entire catalogue and gifted it to his lover, ruining the collection and shrouding its true scope in mystery.