The Library of Alexandria in Egypt

The Library of Alexandria was established at the beginning of the 3rd century BC at the urging of Alexander the Great during the reign of Ptolemy II of Egypt. The Royal Library of Alexandria was once the largest in the world, and at its peak, it was estimated that the library housed four hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand scrolls. Although there are no actual records as to the accuracy of these numbers and there is evidence that many of these scrolls were duplicates, the Library of Alexandria was then, and remains to this day, a symbol of knowledge in the ancient world.

The library was comprised of several buildings that housed the massive accumulation of writing, and it was rumored that Ptolemy III insisted that all persons entering the city of Alexandria with books were forced to hand them over to officials so that the books could be copied by the official scribes. The originals were then put into the library's collection and the copies were given to the owner's of the works. This was said to be the reason that the library housed such a large collection. Because of the large collection, great scholars of the age were attracted to the library. While there, the scholars conducted research and taught in the library's many classrooms that could accommodate up to five thousand students. Various scholars who performed editing work on the texts in the library were bestowed with the title of librarian.

There are several conflicting stories as to what actually happened to the Library of Alexandria, and the subject has been debated by scholars for centuries. One story involves a fire started by Julius Caesar in 47 BC during his invasion of Alexandria. The enemy's fleet was set on fire in the harbor and it was thought that the fire spread to the library and subsequently destroyed it. However, there is very little evidence to support this theory. Another story reports that the library was destroyed during a civil war in the 3rd century AD, but it is widely thought by historians that the library survived into the 4th century AD. The most feasible explanation is that the library probably deteriorated over time due to several attacks during the course of many years. The most notable of these attacks being the order by the Emperor Theodosius in 391 AD to destroy all pagan temples-an order which would have included the great Library of Alexandria.