In Alexandria there was the biggest library of the world, what happened to it?

Question

How did it get destroyed, by natural calamity or human mischief?

Answer 1

The library at Alexandria was destroyed by the Jihad operation in 7th century A.D. by Omar and his army who did not want to keep any document anywhere in the world which did not conform to the views given in the Holy Quran. This is the glaring example of intolerance to dissension and the damage it can cause to the priceless assets of the mankind.

It was burnt down and reduced to ashes. There was no natural calamity behind destruction of the library.

Answer 2

Ancient and modern sources identify four possible occasions for the destruction of the Library: Caesar's campaign in 48 BC, the attack of Aurelian in the 3rd century AD, the decree of Theophilius in 391 AD, and the Muslim conquest in 642 AD or thereafter. Each of these has been viewed with suspicion by other scholars as an effort to place the blame on particular actors. Moreover, each of these events is historically problematic. In the first and second case, there is clear evidence that the library was not in fact destroyed at those times. The third episode is often regarded as a myth, and the fourth episode is simply not documented, although some maintain that the final destruction of the Library took place at this time [6].

there is more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria

Answer 3

Actually it was destroyed to a large extent while Rome was still in power but after the Christians had been accepted. They burnt it down because all that was needed to be known was in the bible, according to them. To be fair it was only a strong sect of chritians but not all. They saw the library was pagan and felt it should be destroyed. The muslim conqueor of Alexandria, a man viewed as a barbarian by his fellow muslims, destroyed what was left of the library for much the same reasons.

Answer 4

It was set on fire several times, generally in times of war. It was a great tragedy--we are just now getting back some of the knowledge that was stored there. Copies of some of the books have been found, but most were lost forever. All the great thinkers of the world went to Alexandria to study there. Just think--if it hadn't burned, Christopher Columbus may have flown in an airplane!

Answer 5

Further to the correct information which other posters have listed, a few years ago a new library was built in Alexandria which is supposed to recreate the glories of the old. However, while it is a splendid building its collection is very poor.

Answer 6

The Burning of the Library of Alexandria
by Preston Chesser

http://ehistory.osu.edu/world/articles/ArticleView.cfm?AID=9

Finally not all the scrolls have been burned.
Many of them have been saved and been brought to Vatican library, to Sinai Monastery of St Catherine and Mount Athos Monasteries. NO public access though.

Answer 7

Yes the Great Library at Alexandria was the alrgest in the known world. Here's some information on its destruction.

Ancient and modern sources identify four possible occasions for the destruction of the Library: Caesar's campaign in 48 BC, the attack of Aurelian in the 3rd century AD, the decree of Theophilius in 391 AD, and the Muslim conquest in 642 AD or thereafter. Each of these has been viewed with suspicion by other scholars as an effort to place the blame on particular actors. Moreover, each of these events is historically problematic. In the first and second case, there is clear evidence that the library was not in fact destroyed at those times. The third episode is often regarded as a myth, and the fourth episode is simply not documented, although some maintain that the final destruction of the Library took place at this time [6].

Plutarch's Lives describes a battle in which Caesar was forced to burn his own ships, which in turn set fire to the docks and then the Library, destroying it[7]. This would have occurred in 48 BC, during the fighting between Caesar and Ptolemy XII. However, there is no corroborating evidence that the library was in fact destroyed at this time. Only 25 years later Strabo saw the library and worked in it. Thus, any damage sustained by this battle was probably slight.

The library seems to have been maintained and continued in existence until its contents were largely lost during the taking of the city by the Emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD), who was suppressing a revolt[citation needed]. The smaller library located at the Serapeum survived, but part of its contents may have been taken to Constantinople to adorn the new capital in the course of the 4th century.

In 391, Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of all pagan temples, and Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria complied with this request.[8]. Socrates Scholasticus provides the following account of the destruction of the temples in Alexandria in the fifth book of his Historia Ecclesiastica:


5th century scroll which illustrates the destruction of the Serapeum by Theophilus (source: Christopher Haas: Alexandria in late antiquity, Baltimore 1997)"At the solicitation of Theophilus bishop of Alexandria the emperor issued an order at this time for the demolition of the heathen temples in that city; commanding also that it should be put in execution under the direction of Theophilus. Seizing this opportunity, Theophilus exerted himself to the utmost to expose the pagan mysteries to contempt. And to begin with, he caused the Mithreum to be cleaned out, and exhibited to public view the tokens of its bloody mysteries. Then he destroyed the Serapeum, and the bloody rites of the Mithreum he publicly caricatured; the Serapeum also he showed full of extravagant superstitions, and he had the phalli of Priapus carried through the midst of the forum. Thus this disturbance having been terminated, the governor of Alexandria, and the commander-in-chief of the troops in Egypt, assisted Theophilus in demolishing the heathen temples."
The Serapeum housed part of the Library, but it is not known how many books were contained in it at the time of destruction. Notably, Paulus Orosius admitted in the sixth book of his History against the pagans: "[T]oday there exist in temples book chests which we ourselves have seen, and, when these temples were plundered, these, we are told, were emptied by our own men in our time, which, indeed, is a true statement." Some or all of the books may have been taken, but any books left in the Serapeum at the time would have been destroyed when it was razed to the ground.

As for the Museum, Mostafa El-Abbadi writes in Life and Fate of the ancient Library of Alexandria (Paris 1992):

"The Mouseion, being at the same time a 'shrine of the Muses', enjoyed a degree of sanctity as long as other pagan temples remained unmolested. Synesius of Cyrene, who studied under Hypatia at the end of the fourth century, saw the Mouseion and described the images of the philosophers in it. We have no later reference to its existence in the fifth century. As Theon, the distinguished mathematician and father of Hypatia, herself a renowned scholar, was the last recorded scholar-member (c. 380), it is likely that the Mouseion did not long survive the promulgation of Theodosius' decree in 391 to destroy all pagan temples in the City."
Although the actual circumstances and timing of the physical destruction of the library remains uncertain, it is however clear that by the 8th century AD, the library was no longer a significant institution and had ceased to function in any important capacity. Alexandria was not a major research center for the Islamic world. Moreover, if the collection had survived to the early 700s, it would very likely have been incorporated into the library of the Al-Azhar mosque (and later university) in Cairo. This collection has come down to the present intact, but does not include Alexandrine texts[9].

Answer 8

Destroyed in a "religious war" after Rome lost power in that part of the world

Answer 9

Humans.

Answer 10

It was destroyed by the calif Omar, that said: "these books either teach the same as the koran, and therefore they are not necessary. Thus, they will be burnt.
Or, they do not teach the same as the koran, and therefore they are not necessary. Thus, they will be burnt"