By Eman Abdallah Kamel
Eman is a writer and engineer. She is interested in searching and writing about Egypt’s landmarks.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. The library’s roots go back to the Ptolemaic period.
At the beginning of the Ptolemaic rule of Egypt, the ancient library was one of the wonders of that city. It was also one of the largest libraries of its time.
By the end of the Ptolemaic era in Egypt, during the reign of Cleopatra VII (51-30 BC). The library began to be burned and destroyed during the battles for power.
Then the library was subjected to many incidents of vandalism and theft. Especially during the late Roman era in Egypt.
In 2002, the library was rebuilt under the name of Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The Egyptian government, with some help from UNESCO, built the library at the cost of 220 million dollars.
The new Library of Alexandria contains electronic and printed resources. There are also 4 museums, a planetarium, cultural theaters, research centers, galleries, convention centers, and discussion forums.
The History of the Library
This section includes:
- Foundation
- Description
- Library Collection
- The Destruction of the Library
1. Foundation
In 332 BC, Alexander III of Macedon ended the Persian rule of Egypt. Then he founded Alexandria on the shore of the Mediterranean, becoming the capital of Egypt. He was greatly influenced by the Assyrian Library of Nineveh, which inspired him to combine all the different works of all the countries he conquered in one place under Greek power as a universal library. But this concept changed with the change of rulers. The library was initially an intellectual center in the service of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Later, when the Romans ruled Egypt, the library fell under the protection of the emperors.
After the death of Alexander, the library was built during the reign of his friend Ptolemy I, known as Soter (323-284 BC).
The Ptolemies offered free housing, tax breaking, and good salaries to the scientists to attract them to the library. The scholars attracted by privileges were Strabo, Zenodotus, Aristophanes, Eratosthenes, Herophilus, Euclid, and Archimedes.
2. Description
There were two locations for the library:
The mother library, or Mouseion, meaning the museum, was located on the grounds of the royal palace and contained between 400,000 and 700,000 manuscripts. The Mouseion consisted of an Academy of Sciences, a research center, and a library. The main academy building and library building were connected by a network of paths and columns. There were also botanical gardens and animal displays to please the scientists. Also, there was an outdoor amphitheater called Exedra.
By the time of Ptolemy III, known as Eurgertes, a secondary library existed in the temple of Serapeum. It was in Rhachotis, a poor neighborhood in southwest Alexandria. Serapeum contained around 42,800 manuscripts.
3. Library Collection
Scholars contributed a lot to the library, but they wanted the best and most accurate copies of all the books available in the world. They were willing to buy, borrow, or steal to get it.
During the reign of Ptolemy Urgerts, the library borrowed from Athena official copies of the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, giving Athena a huge sum of money as a guarantee of their return. Library clerks made superb copies of these books in high-quality manuscripts. They preserved the originals and returned the imitations to Athens.
Another story said that during starvation in Athens, ambassadors from the Library of Alexandria forced the sale of valuable manuscripts owned by Athena in exchange for food. In addition to purchasing books, the Ptolemies obtained books by plunder.
It was widely reported that upon entering the port of Alexandria. Ships were searched and whatever books they were carrying were seized. A copy was made and handed over to the original owner, but the original has been kept for the library.
4. The Destroy of the Library
The first story of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria goes back to Julius Caesar. Around 48 BC, Caesar went to Alexandria during his pursuit of Pompey during the Roman Civil War. When he reached Egypt, he knew that Pompey was dead. But he found himself embroiled in another civil war. It was between Ptolemy XII and his sister Cleopatra VII on Egypt’s throne. After Caesar had sided with Cleopatra, Ptolemy’s army proceeded to besiege Caesar and Cleopatra inside Alexandria. It was said that Caesar set fire to some ships in the port. The fire spread to the sidewalks and then to the neighborhoods of the neighboring city. According to this story, contemporary writers have estimated that about 40,000 manuscripts were lost during that fire.
Then many events led to the destruction of the library. Especially during the last period of Roman rule in Egypt, through that period, Roman persecution of the Egyptians increased, which led to an increase in vandalism, robbery, and looting.
That situation continued until the year 641 AD, with the arrival of the conqueror Islamic leader Amr bin Al-Aas to Egypt to end the rule of Romans in Egypt. The Egyptians praised him at the time for their liberation from the Romans.
Source: wikimedia.org
What is the Description of the Modern Library of Alexandria and its Sections?
1. Description
The main library building is in the form of a 160-meter-long cylinder, with the upper part being cut at an angle. The roof angle prevents the harmful effects of sea spray and allows the upper floors to enjoy natural light.
The library, according to UNESCO, has eight million books on shelves, and the main reading room is 20,000 square meters (220,000 square feet). The library also contains special collections on Mediterranean civilizations and a wide range of science, technology, arts, and humanities.
2. Library Sections
Let’s explore the main library sections.
The Main Library:
The main library provides information, in many forms, through books, maps, manuscripts, multimedia, and electronic resources.
Specialized Libraries:
This section includes 6 libraries, the most important of which are:
- The Arts and Multimedia Library: The Arts and Multimedia Library includes a rich collection of printed and audiovisual materials in the arts. The printed set includes books and music notes. The audiovisual materials include documentaries and educational programs.
bibalex.org
Who was Taha Hussein?
Taha Hussein was an Egyptian writer and critic. He is considered one of the most prominent figures in the modern Arab literary movement.
He lost his sight as a child. Taha studied at Al-Azhar, then joined the National University in Egypt when it opened in 1908. In 1914, he was sent to Europe to complete his studies. He returned to Egypt to work as a professor of history and then professor of the Arabic language.
He served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, then Director of Alexandria University, and then Minister of Education.
- Taha Hussein Library for the Visually Impaired: The Taha Hussein Library relies on the latest innovations in information technology to enable the visually impaired to read, write, and use the Internet.
- The Children’s Library: The Children’s Library offers a range of educational and cultural fields. Plus fun resources for kids from 6 to 11 years old. It provides a wide range of subjects, from arts to zoology. There is also a computer lab where you can explore many interesting websites and learn how to search in the library.
- The Young People’s Library: The Young People’s Library offers a wide world of knowledge, entertainment, culture, and information for people 12-16 years old. The Youth Library won the UNESCO Digital Arts Prize in 2007. It also won three awards at the Cyber-Fair International Competition, the largest online educational event, for three consecutive years: Silver Award in 2008, First Prize in 2009, and Platinum Award in 2010.
- Rare Books Section: The section houses a rich collection of rare books, maps, and special collections. It also contains 66,000 books from private collections donated to the library by public figures. It also contains 66,000 books from private collections donated by public figures to the library.
Manuscripts Center:
The Manuscripts Center is part of the cultural communication sector. It aims to explore the depths of the Arab and Islamic heritage of the manuscript through indexing, verification, and study. The center consists of three sections:
- Academic Studies and Events Department: This section collects and translates the scientific studies concerned with the Arab and Islamic heritage in its various manifestations and its links with other ancient civilizations.
- Indexing and Verification Unit: It includes a group of researchers and experts in cataloging Arabic and Islamic manuscripts. These experts cataloged complete manuscript collections, such as the Iscorian Codex in Spain.
- Original manuscripts section: This section contains a variety of original manuscripts, the most important of which are the manuscripts of the Alexandria Municipal Library, the donated collections: the manuscripts of Sheikh Al-Hosari, the manuscripts of the Holy Quran Memorization Society in the Egyptian city of Damanhur, the manuscripts of the Malta Library illustrated, and many manuscripts donated by individuals.
Who was Sheikh Al-Hosary?
Sheikh Al-Hosary was famous for his accurate recitation of the Holy Quran. Al-Hosari memorized the entire Qur’an at the age of eight. He studied and taught at Al-Azhar University. In 1960, he recited the Noble Qur’an at the First Islamic Conference in India. In 1962, he was appointed vice-president of the Noble Qur’an Review Committee at Al-Azhar, then its chair.
In 1977, he read the Holy Quran in the United Nations during his visit to it at the request of Arab and Islamic delegations.
The Goals of Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The new library is an extension of the old library. Both of which have the same goals. The goal of the ancient library was to bring together world cultures in one place.
The modern library also gathers under its roof many sources in different languages, rare books, museums, and ancient manuscripts to document facts. Which made it a gathering place for civilizations. It’s also a great place to search.
Sources
©Eman Abdallah Kamel, 2022
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