Who Burned the Library of Alexandria?

Who really burned the Great Library of Alexandria? Credit: Mary Harrsch / Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The past Library of Alexandria was 1 of the top quality achievements successful antiquity. It was a immense postulation of cognition from countless and varied sources and contained tens oregon perchance adjacent hundreds of thousands of scrolls. For this reason, the demolition of the room has been a taxable of keen involvement by galore lovers of knowledge. It is often regarded arsenic a large tragedy. But who really burned the Library of Alexandria?

What was the Library of Alexandria?

Firstly, fto america found an knowing of what precisely the Library of Alexandria truly was. It was portion of a ample halfway of learning successful Egypt successful the metropolis of Alexandria, called the Mouseion. It was built during the Ptolemaic play of Egypt. This was a clip during which a Greek dynasty ruled implicit the country (Hellenistic Era).

The room whitethorn person been built during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus successful the mid-third period BCE. It rapidly acquired galore scrolls from each sorts of sources. The Ptolemaic kings of Egypt supported it directly, owed to the ancient Greek love of knowledge.

The Library of Alexandria grew to tremendous proportions. At its height, it allegedly held anyplace betwixt forty 1000 to 4 100 1000 scrolls. It was possibly the top halfway of learning successful the past world. Nonetheless, the room is nary longer successful beingness but was famously burned. The question that remains is who was liable for this.

Did Julius Caesar pain the Library of Alexandria?

Numerous melodramatic events took spot during the reign of Julius Caesar. Therefore, it should beryllium nary astonishment that helium had a manus successful the burning of the Library of Alexandria. At 1 constituent during his warfare against Ptolemy XIII, the Greek forces surrounded him successful Alexandria, some by onshore and by sea.

To escape, Caesar acceptable occurrence to the force fleet successful the harbor of the city. This strategy worked, but the occurrence besides dispersed to the metropolis itself, causing the Library of Alexandria to pain down too. According to Plutarch, a Greek historian from the archetypal period CE:

Caesar was forced to repel the information by utilizing fire, which dispersed from the dockyards and destroyed the Great Library.

Thus, it appears straight-forward capable that Julius Caesar burned down the Library of Alexandria. This occurred successful 48 BCE.

ouuu this pb maine to much probe and this nonfiction was the lone happening one could find (quickly) that mentioned what whitethorn person been lost, which besides wasnt a full lot? https://t.co/UQO8dGw0VE

— they who locomotion silently 🔻 (@meatRelic) October 2, 2023

Did this truly destruct the Library of Alexandria?

However, things are not rather that simple. Some scholars judge that determination is grounds the Library of Alexandria inactive existed adjacent aft Caesar allegedly unintentionally acceptable it connected fire. Strabo, successful the aboriginal archetypal period BCE, visited Alexandria. In his writings, helium describes a sojourn to the Mouseion. According to immoderate scholars, this is grounds that the library, which was portion of the Mouseion, inactive existed.

However, different scholars enactment that Strabo ne'er really mentions the beingness of the room successful his day. In fact, his words seemingly connote that it was nary longer adjacent a thing. This is the presumption of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Other scholars effort to refute this by pointing to the information that Mark Antony allegedly talented 2 100 1000 scrolls to Cleopatra. This was aft Caesar had burned the Library of Alexandria. The logic goes that this indispensable mean that the room inactive really existed.

Otherwise, wherever would Cleopatra location each those scrolls? In fact, immoderate experts judge this acquisition was apt to replenish the library’s postulation aft galore of the scrolls had been burned successful 48 BCE.

The Septum astatine Alexandria. This country was utilized by the Library of Alexandria for other retention erstwhile it had tally retired of space. The country is present a portion of an archaeological excavation. Credit: Daniel Mayer, Wikipedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-4.0

The Serapeum, the ‘daughter library’

However, this statement ignores the information that determination was a ‘daughter library’ elsewhere successful Alexandria. This was called the Serapeum. It was really a temple, but it was besides utilized arsenic an overflow for the main Library of Alexandria. Therefore, erstwhile Mark Antony talented truthful galore scrolls (and carnivore successful mind, the root for this is precocious and the fig could easy person been exaggerated) to Cleopatra, they could person been placed successful the Serapeum.

This besides perchance explains distant different statement utilized successful favour of the Library of Alexandria inactive existing aft Caesar’s time. A student named Didymus Chalcenterus lived successful the precocious archetypal period BCE successful Alexandria. He was a precise prolific writer, allegedly producing thousands of works. Some scholars reason that helium indispensable person had entree to the library’s resources to beryllium capable to bash so.

However, the beingness of the Serapeum explains this satisfactorily. There is nary request to reason that the Library of Alexandria continued to beryllium aft Caesar burned it. In fact, determination does not look to beryllium immoderate nonstop notation to the room aft that event. Still, we cannot exclude the anticipation that it continued successful a overmuch much reduced form.

Did the Christians pain the Library of Alexandria?

Some sources property the last demise of the Library of Alexandria to the Christians. This is based connected the position that the Serapeum was simply an hold of the main library. Ancient sources picture a large onslaught connected the Serapeum successful the aboriginal Christian period.

In 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the authoritative religion of the Roman Empire. In the twelvemonth 391, helium issued a decree to prohibition the worship of pagan gods successful Alexandria. This included destroying each the pagan temples. Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, led a monolithic onslaught connected the Serapeum. He and his followers wholly destroyed it.

Some modern sources accidental the Serapeum nary longer functioned arsenic a room erstwhile this happened. However, the modern writer Aphthonius visited the Serapeum conscionable earlier it was attacked. He wrote:

On the interior broadside of the colonnade were built rooms, immoderate which served arsenic bookstores and were unfastened to those who devoted their beingness to the origin of learning. It was these survey rooms that exalted the metropolis to beryllium the archetypal successful philosophy.

This appears to corroborate that it inactive functioned arsenic a room erstwhile this Christian onslaught occurred. If this is close (and immoderate scholars bash quality this), past the Christians enactment a last extremity to the Library of Alexandria erstwhile they burned the Serapeum.

Did Arab Muslims pain the Library of Alexandria?

However, determination is besides different contented which is worthy investigating. In the seventh period CE, Arab Muslims invaded and conquered Egypt. In the thirteenth century, immoderate Arab sources claimed that they had burned the Library of Alexandria.

According to specified sources, Caliph Umar ordered its destruction. He allegedly said:

If those books are successful statement with the Quran, we person nary request of them; and if these are opposed to the Quran, destruct them.

However, the immense bulk of scholars contiguous bash not bargain into this story. There were astir six centuries betwixt the Arab conquest of Egypt and this lawsuit being described. None of the earlier accounts of the Arab penetration notation thing astir this. For these and different reasons, astir scholars judge that the Arabs did not, successful fact, pain the Library of Alexandria.