Parchment
Parchment progressively replaced papyrus. Legend attributes its invention to Eumenes II, the king of Pergamon, from which comes the name "pergamineum," which became "parchment." Its production began around the 3rd century BC. Made using the skins of animals (sheep, cattle, donkey, antelope, etc.), parchment proved easier to conserve over time; it was more solid, and allowed one to erase text. It was a very expensive medium because of the rarity of material and the time required to produce a document. Vellum is the finest quality of parchment. Pergamon (Greek: or ? ), or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Aeolis, today located 16 miles (26 km) from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bak?rcay), that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC. Pergamon is cited in the book of Revelation as one of the seven churches of Asia. Today, the main sites of ancient Pergamon are to the north and west of the modern city of Bergama. Eumenes II of Pergamon (? ?' ? ) (ruled 197–159 BC) was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. The son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, he followed in his father's footsteps and collaborated with the Romans to oppose first Macedonian, then Seleucid expansion towards the Aegean, leading to the defeat of Antiochus the Great at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC. Following the peace of Apamea in 188 BC, he received the regions of Phrygia, Lydia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, and parts of Lycia from his Roman allies, as they had no desire to actually administer territory in the Hellenistic east but wished for a strong state in Asia Minor as a bulwark against any possible Seleucid expansion in the future.[citation needed] He later fell out of favour with
he Romans after they suspected him of conspiring with Perseus of Macedon and consequently in 167 BC, the Romans made an abortive attempt to suborn his brother Attalus II, as a pretender to the Pergamene throne and refused Eumenes entry into Italy to plead his case.[1] One of the great achievements of Eumenes II was the expansion of the Library at Pergamon, one of the great libraries of the Ancient World and the place traditionally associated with the creation of parchment, although it had actually existed for centuries.[citation needed] He also built a stoa on the Athenian acropolis. Married to Stratonice of Pergamon, daughter of Ariarathes IV, King of Cappadocia, and wife Antiochis, they were the parents of Attalus III. Since their son was still a minor, the throne was assumed by his brother Attalus II, who married Eumenes' widow Stratonice.Vellum is derived from the Latin word “vitulinum” meaning "made from calf", leading to Old French “Velin” ("calfskin").[1] It is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is a near-synonym of the word parchment, but "vellum" tends to be the term used for finer-quality parchment. Vellum is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used. The manufacture involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame (a “herse”), and scraping of the skin with a hemispherical knife (a “lunarium” or “lunellum”). To create tension, scraping is alternated with wetting and drying. A final finish may be achieved by abrading the surface with pumice, and treating with a preparation of lime or chalk to make it accept writing or printing ink.[2] Modern "paper vellum" (vegetable vellum) is used for a variety of purposes, especially for plans, technical drawings, and blueprints.