The Old Library of Alexandria, known as the Royal Library of Alexandria or the Great Library, is the largest library of its time. It was built by Ptolemy I. It is said that it was founded by Alexander the Great twenty-three centuries ago. It is also said that it was founded by Ptolemy II in the early third century BC, in the year (285). - 247) B.C. The library was exposed to many fires and its life ended in 48 B.C. In 2002 it was rebuilt under the name of the New Library of Alexandria.
Historians confuse the person who built the library. There are those who say that Alexander put it in his planning when building Alexandria, and he had the idea of building it. The library and its organization at his expense, then completed by his successor, Ptolemy II. Demetrius of Valery the Greek assembled the nucleus of the Library of Alexandria, while he was in Greece, who was working as a consultant to Ptolemy I. He was one of the organizers of the library. An architectural and objective planning was drawn up so that it expresses the balance of Greek thought and the sciences of the age. There is a difference in the year in which it was established, there are those who say that it was established in 330 BC, and there are those who say that it was established in 288 BC
In the year 48 BC, Julius Caesar burned 101 ships that were located on the shore of the Mediterranean in front of the Library of Alexandria after Ptolemy the Younger, Cleopatra's brother, besieged him after he felt that Julius Caesar was supporting Cleopatra over him. . While history also mentions that the library was severely damaged in 391 AD when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I ordered its destruction, and some historians put forward another theory that despite the fire of Theodosius I, the library had survived until the year 640 AD, when some historians say that it was completely destroyed during the reign of Amr ibn al-Aas to Egypt by order of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab. While other historians, such as Gustave Le Bon, deny any connection to Muslims and Amr ibn al-Aas in the library fire, and describe this accusation as a myth and legend, as they say that Amr ibn al-Aas entered Alexandria in the year 642 AD at a time when the Library of Alexandria did not exist until he burned it, as they say that it was proven that the Library of Alexandria Alexandria was burnt down to the last during the time of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar in the year 48 BC. It was not mentioned in the books of the ancients, such as Al-Yaqubi, Al-Baladhuri, Ibn Abd Al-Hakam, Al-Tabari, Al-Kindi, nor in the history of those who came after them and took from them such as Al-Maqrizi, Abu Al-Mahasin, Al-Suyuti, and others. According to the narration accusing Muslims of burning the library, after the Arabs entered Alexandria on December 22, 640 AD. With the destruction of the city walls, Amr ibn al-Aas happened to be acquainted with an old Christian theologian (disciple of the aforementioned Alexandrian philosopher Ammonius, known to the Arabs as Yahya al-Nahwi, and his writings contributed greatly to the transmission of Greek culture to the Arabs). After many religious debates between John and Amr regarding the Trinity, monotheism, and the divinity of Jesus Christ, John asked Amr to preserve the books in the Library of Alexandria because, according to John, "other than the storehouses, palaces, and gardens of the city, these books are of no use to Amr or his men." At that time, Amr was surprised and asked about the origin and usefulness of these books. John told him the story of the Library of Alexandria since its founding by Ptolemy II. But Amr Ibn Al-Aas replied that he could not act without taking the advice of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. Ibn al-Aas wrote a letter to Ibn al-Khattab, consulting him in the matter of the library and books. While John and Amr were waiting for a reply, the latter gave John permission to visit the library, accompanied by his student, the Jewish physician Philaretes (the author of a medical book on the pulse, the book wrongly attributed to John Philoponus). A few days later, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab’s response came, which Amr Ibn Al-Aas read and translated to the ears of both John and Philarettes, and in it there is what it means: “...As for the books that I mentioned, if they contain what agrees with the Book of God, then the Book of God is rich in them, and if they contain what is in them. It goes against the Book of God, so we don't need it." Thus, Amr ibn al-Aas ordered the distribution of books to the baths of Alexandria to be used to light the fires that keep the baths warm. The Muslim historian al-Qifti mentions in his book The Traditions of the Wise Men that the burning of these books continued for nearly six months, and that the only books that survived the fire were some of the books of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and some of the writings of Euclid the Mathematician and Ptolemy the geographer. The narration of the Arabs burning the books of the Serapeum library, as mentioned by Al-Qafti - who is the oldest and the first to mention it at all - is also mentioned in the books of sermons and consideration in mentioning the plans and effects of the Sheikh of Egyptian historians Taqi Al-Din by Maqrizi, and the index by Ibn Al-Nadim. Ibn Khaldun also supports in his book Introduction to Ibn Khaldun the account of the Arabs burning of the Library of Alexandria in view of the behavior of the Arabs in the same era, and examples of that behavior is Saad bin Abi Waqqas throwing the books of the Persians in water and fire, based on the order of Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, who sent Ibn Abi Waqqas, saying “If what is in it is guidance, then God has guided us with guidance from Him, and if it is misguidance, then God has sufficed us.” But this story is not true for many prominent historians. Some trace the burning of the Library of Alexandria to Julius Caesar (100-44 BC). One of the most important evidence for this claim is what Julius Caesar himself wrote in his book Alexandrian War, that the fires that his soldiers set to burn the Egyptian fleet in the port of Alexandria extended to devour a warehouse full of papyrus located near the port. However, from a geographical study of the location of the Library of Alexandria in the Bruchion district, far from the port, it becomes clear that this storehouse is impossible to be a library. Also, the suspicion that Julius Caesar burned the Library of Alexandria is easy to refute by reading the book Geography of the historian Strabo, who visited Alexandria around the year 25 BC. Which derives its scientific material from the historical sources that were present in the Library of Alexandria at that time. In addition, Cicero, the most famous historian of the Roman Empire, who was known for his fierce hostility to Julius Caesar, never mentioned the burning of the Library of Alexandria by Julius Caesar in his famous book Philippics, which is further evidence of Julius Caesar's innocence of that accusation. Despite this, some historians agree that Julius Caesar was indeed the one who burned the Library of Alexandria. One of these historians is Plutarch in his book Life of Caesar, which he wrote at the end of the first century AD, in which he mentioned that the Library of Alexandria had been burned by the fire started by Julius Caesar to destroy the Egyptian fleet stationed in the port of Alexandria. In the second century AD, in his book Attic Nights, the Roman historian Aulus Gellius mentions that the Royal Library of Alexandria was accidentally set on fire when some Roman soldiers belonging to Julius Caesar set some fires. In the fourth century, the pagan historians Ammianus Marcellinus and the Christian Orosius agreed that the Library of Alexandria had been mistakenly burned due to the fire started by Julius Caesar. But mostly here, these historians have confused the two Greek words bibliothekas, which means a group of books, and bibliotheka, which means a library. Accordingly, they thought that what was previously written about the burning of some books near the port and which are in some storehouses is a burning of the famous Library of Alexandria. Based on this, and in view of what was written by the aforementioned Roman historians, it is likely that the Royal Alexandrian Library was burned after Strabo's visit to the city around 25 BC. But before the beginning of the second century AD, otherwise these historians would not have mentioned the incident of burning it and wrongly ascribing it to Julius Caesar. The result is that the library was mostly destroyed by someone other than Julius Caesar, but the generations following the accident used to associate the fire that occurred in Alexandria during Julius Caesar's presence there with the burning of the library. But it is known that the Royal Library of Alexandria, or the Museum, as it was called, as it contained the origins of many of the mothers of books in the world, was not the only library located in the city of Alexandria, but there were at least two other libraries: the library of the Serapeum temple and the library of the Cesarion temple. The continuation of the intellectual and scientific life in Alexandria after the destruction of the royal library, and the prosperity of the city as the center of science and literature in the world between the first century A.D.
As we mentioned earlier, the library was part of the Museion, but at a later stage it gained great importance and size, and therefore it became necessary to create an annex close to it. It is believed that the annex or the "nascent library" was established by order of Ptolemy III Evergetes, as this annex was established on the plateau of the Rakotis neighborhood (known today as the Karmouz neighborhood), in a place in Alexandria far from the seashore in an ancient temple built by the early Ptolemies for the god Serapis and called the Serapeum. This library was able to withstand and cross the centuries, gaining, like its predecessor, great fame and importance around the world. Later, the Roman emperors preserved the library and upgraded its equipment with a central heating system by extending pipes through the walls in order to keep the air inside the underground storerooms dry.
The library was revived in a huge project carried out by Egypt in partnership with the UNESCO agency of the United Nations, where the library was rebuilt on a site close to the old library. The modern library was opened in October 2002.