Who Attacked The Library Of Alexandria In Ancient Times?

2025-07-11 14:09:31 224

3 Answers

Olive
Olive
2025-07-14 18:18:01
the Library of Alexandria's destruction feels like the ultimate cold case. The truth is messier than most people realize - it wasn't one catastrophic event but death by a thousand cuts. Julius Caesar's accidental fire in 48 BCE definitely started the decline, burning maybe 40,000 scrolls. But generations later, during Zenobia's rebellion, Emperor Aurelian's siege in 272 CE wrecked the Bruchion district where the main library stood. Then came Christian extremists in 391 CE tearing down the Serapeum temple, which housed a daughter library.

Here's where it gets controversial - the Muslim conquest story from 7th century chronicler John of Nikiu claims Caliph Omar ordered the burning of remaining texts in 642 CE, saying they either contradicted Quran (making them dangerous) or agreed with it (making them redundant). But many modern historians call this Islamic golden age propaganda, since contemporary Arab sources don't mention it.

What's fascinating is how each attacker had different motives - Caesar was military expediency, Christians were religious zeal, Muslims (if it happened) were ideological purity. The real tragedy? We'll never know how much advanced mathematics, astronomy or medicine turned to ashes. Sometimes I imagine alternative histories where the library survived - maybe we'd have flying machines in the Middle Ages or cured diseases centuries earlier.
Cole
Cole
2025-07-15 03:57:03
Studying ancient history feels like piecing together a puzzle where half the pieces are missing, especially with the Library of Alexandria. Most folks blame Caesar, but the full story's more complicated. Yes, his troops accidentally torched part of it during the 48 BCE siege, but the library kept operating for centuries after. The bigger blow came from religious fanaticism - first Christian mobs destroying 'pagan' knowledge in 391 CE, then possibly Muslim conquerors later.

What's wild is realizing how much we lost. Entire works by Archimedes, the complete histories of Babylon, maybe even early versions of Homer's epics - all gone because different groups saw knowledge as threatening. The library wasn't just books; it was the internet of antiquity, where scholars from across the Mediterranean shared ideas. Its destruction set human progress back immeasurably.

Modern archaeology suggests the library declined gradually rather than burning in one epic disaster. But that almost makes it sadder - centuries of neglect and small-scale destruction chipping away at humanity's collective memory until nothing remained.
Quincy
Quincy
2025-07-16 00:08:20
I've always been fascinated by the Library of Alexandria and its tragic destruction. From what I've read, the library suffered multiple attacks over centuries, but the most infamous one was during Julius Caesar's civil war in 48 BCE. His forces set fire to ships in the harbor, and the flames spread to parts of the library. It wasn't a targeted attack on knowledge, more like collateral damage in a brutal power struggle. Later, I learned about other possible culprits like Emperor Aurelian's troops in the 3rd century CE during the Palmyrene revolt, and the Christian Emperor Theodosius I's anti-pagan purge in 391 CE. Each era brought new threats to this treasure house of ancient wisdom.

The mystery deepens when you consider Muslim conquest narratives from 642 CE, though modern scholars debate this account's reliability. What breaks my heart is imagining all those lost scrolls - works by Aristotle, plays by Sophocles, entire civilizations' memories gone forever. The library's fate reminds me how fragile knowledge can be when caught in humanity's endless conflicts.
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