Attalid dynasty
Innis contrasts the scholarly pursuits of the Attalid dynasty at Pergamum with what he sees as the dilettantism of Alexandria. He writes that Eumenes II who ruled from 197 to 159 BC established a library, but was forced to rely on parchment because Egypt had prohibited the export of papyrus to Pergamum. Innis suggests that the Attalids probably preserved the masterpieces of ancient Greek prose. He notes that Pergamum had shielded a number of cities from attacks by the Gauls. "Its art reflected the influence of the meeting of civilization and barbarism, a conflict of good and evil, in the attempt at unfamiliar ways of expression."