Library of Alexandria

one of the largest libraries in the ancient world, located in Alexandria, Egypt

11 dated entries naming Library of Alexandria, drawn from 11 separate years between 284 BCE and 640 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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3rd century BC

284 BCEThe Ptolemaic court appoints Zenodotus of Ephesus as first Director of the Library of Alexandria.source
260 BCECallimachus of Cyrene, learned poet and grammarian, becomes chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria.source
245 BCEApproximate date – Callimachus produces the Pinakes, a subject index to the Library of Alexandria.source
234 BCEZenodotus of Ephesus, first librarian of the Library of Alexandriasource

1st century BC

48 BCEDecember – Battle in Alexandria: Forces of Caesar and his ally Cleopatra VII and those of rival King Ptolemy XIII and Queen Arsinoe IV. The latter two are defeated and flee the city, but during the battle part of the Library of Alexandria catches fire.source

3rd century

269Queen Zenobia conquers Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, parts of Mesopotamia and Anatolia and Egypt, giving her control of Rome's grain supply. The library at Alexandria is partly burned during a raid by Zabdas, general of Zenobia.source

4th century

335Theon of Alexandria, director of the Library of Alexandria (approximate date)source
389All pagan buildings in Alexandria, including the library, are destroyed by fire.source
391Flames destroy the great Library of Alexandria, established in the Mouseion in the fourth century BC. Among the items lost in the fire are works of science, including parchments by the Greek astronomer Aristarchus of Samos asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, and dozens of dramatic works by Euripides and Sophocles.source

5th century

405Theon of Alexandria, last director of the Library of Alexandria (approximate date)source

7th century

640December 22 – On orders of the Saracen leader, Amar, the Serapeum of Alexandria, containing works that had survived the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, is burned down, along with its collection of 500,000 manuscripts. This story may be apocryphal.source