Modern writers make different claims about who destroyed the Library of Alexandria. Some blame Julius Caesar while others blame a Christian mob or the invading Arabs. But who is really responsible for the Library’s demise?
Check out Al Muqaddimah’s video:
Support my work on Patreon at
The image used in the thumbnail and chapter titles is “Incendie Alexandrie“ by Hermann Goll, 1876 (:)
0:00 Introduction
1:56 Two libraries
3:49 The Museum
4:25 Peaked in the 200s BC
5:15 Decline
8:55 Papyrus
10:36 Julius Caesar
16:05 The Serapeum
20:46 Muslims
21:08 Three points
FOOTNOTES
[1] For a reality check on what we do and don’t know about the Library of Alexandria, see Roger S. Bagnall, “Alexandria: Library of Dreams,” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 146, no. 4 (December 2002), 348–62. On the methods of acquiring books, see also S. Johnstone, “A New History of Libraries and Books in the Hellenistic Period,” Classical Antiquity 33, no. 2 (October 2014), 364–65.
[2] Bagnall, “Alexandria: Library of Dreams,” 351–56; Diana Delia, “From Romance to Rhetoric: The Alexandrian Library in Classical and Islamic Traditions,” American Historical Review 97, no. 5 (December 1992), 1458–59.
[3] The location of the Museum is not known for certain, other than that it was part of the palace complex and close to the harbor: P. M. Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), 1:15; Delia, “From Romance to Rhetoric,” 1450. On ancient museums as temples to the Muses: Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 1:312–13.
[4] Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 1:315.
[5] Johnstone, “A New History of Libraries.”
[6] Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 1:318–19, 333–35.
[7] Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 1:86.
[8] Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, 1:85.
[9] Bagnall, “Alexandria: Library of Dreams,” 358–59.
[10] The view that Caesar’s fire did not affect the Museum Library is based in part on the phrase “storerooms of books” in Cassius Dio (). However, see Hendrickson’s comments in “The Serapeum: Dreams of the Daughter Library,” Classical Philology 111, no. 4 (2016), 460–61.
[11] Plutarch, Caesar 49.3; Gellius, Attic Nights .
[12] Strabo describes the Museum at .
[13] Lionel Casson, Libraries in the Ancient World (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2001), 47; Bagnall, “Alexandria: Library of Dreams,” 357–58; Hendrickson, “The Serapeum,” 461.
[14] For an introduction to the Serapeum, see Hendrickson, “The Serapeum.”
[15] Orosius says the book chests were emptied but doesn’t say what happened to the books (Histories against the Pagans ).
1 view
1505
516
1 month ago 01:08:15 1
Red Letter Media Investigates: The Villisca Ax Murder House
1 month ago 00:00:58 1
Healthy meal prepping doesn’t have to be boring :)
1 month ago 00:05:27 1
Самый продаваемый в мире препарат от рака! 👀
1 month ago 00:03:50 1
Freddie Mercury - Living On My Own (1993 Remix Remastered)
1 month ago 00:12:18 1
Brits consider Keir Starmer a ’LIAR’ in new poll as popularity dwindles - “WEAK, BORING, IDIOT!“
1 month ago 01:21:18 1
4🇰| Feeling Bored Discover the Power of Soothing Sounds! 🌊🎵#relaxingjazz #cafejazzmusic
1 month ago 00:01:00 1
Feeling Bored..? Discover the Power of Soothing Sounds! 🌊🎵#relaxingjazz #cafejazzmusic
1 month ago 00:04:08 1
ALEXIA(ICE MC) & SAYTRIZ 2024 - Summer Is Crazy (New Saytriz Version)
1 month ago 02:02:29 2
LUXURY Ibiza Chillout Lounge Music Mix
1 month ago 00:00:10 1
READ ON THE DESCRIPTION!! #countryballanimation #capcutedit
1 month ago 01:57:22 1
(Full Concert) 240902 aespa @ SYNK PARALLEL LINE Tour in Melbourne, Australia [4K Front Row Fancam]
1 month ago 00:03:53 1
Smash Mouth - All Star (Lyrics) | BUGG Lyrics
1 month ago 00:03:06 1
Evolve Onirique BIG WHEEL RANGE TEST!!! on 97mm street wheels
1 month ago 00:04:17 1
DEMO - ДЕМО – Солнышко 🔅
1 month ago 00:03:16 1
1931 Ford Model A Gateway Classic Cars #1529 Houston Showroom
1 month ago 02:23:18 1
Генерал Власов. История предательства.
1 month ago 00:25:38 1
Lava vs Lasers - Which Is More Destructive?
1 month ago 00:00:56 1
Blues Is Nothing But BORING!
1 month ago 00:05:20 1
[Suggestion] Let’s go camping - Easy Dialogue - Role Play
1 month ago 00:08:37 1
Don’t Let Your Baby’s Toys Hold Back Development (7 Key Toy Upgrades at 6 Months)
1 month ago 00:13:39 1
Коренные жители Японии не японцы?
1 month ago 00:00:23 1
a stupid little gamblecore/casino irony meme video
1 month ago 00:04:23 1
Paramore: Brick By Boring Brick [OFFICIAL VIDEO]
1 month ago 00:01:00 1
DRILLING MILLING TURNING CENTER MACHINE WITH SPINDLES ON BOTH ENDS