To: bert
It is not at all clear how much destruction of the library can be attributed to Ceasar and even his critics grant that any damage was incidental to burning the Egyptian Navy of Ptolemy XIII. The Library and adjoining buildings were clearly open for business almost immediately after the siege in 48 BC and for centuries later. The library survived at least until the time of the Caliphate, but did not survive it. One story has it that when Caliph Omar’s General Amr asked for instructions on what to do with the library Omar wrote back, “If those books are in agreement with the Quran, we have no need of them; and if these are opposed to the Quran they are heresy, therefore destroy them all.”
20 posted on
12/11/2010 5:58:59 AM PST by
Lonesome in Massachussets
(Socialists are to economics what circle squarers are to math; undaunted by reason or derision.)
To: Lonesome in Massachussets
Right. There's a persistent myth that Caesar burned the library, but since it is known to have continued to exist thereafter, and the line that describes the event cites "some books which chanced to be there". The library was known as "the ships' library" because its founder had ships in the very busy port searched, any books found removed and copied, and the copies taken back to the ship, with the original archived.
25 posted on
12/11/2010 6:42:18 AM PST by
SunkenCiv
(The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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