The Great Library’s Demise Was Anticlimactic and Without Drama
There is no archaeological evidence to support any account of a cataclysmic destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria. The likeliest culprit is something more prosaic and petty: budget cutbacks. Egypt’s Ptolemaic Dynasty had generously supported the Great Library. They did so because they believed in its mission, and also because its presence lent their capital city of Alexandria significant prestige as the ancient world’s greatest educational center. That changed after the Romans conquered Egypt in 30 BC. The new rulers had no particular attachment to the Great Library, so they did not support it like the Ptolemaic rulers had.
Additionally, Alexandria in the Roman saw many riots between its Greek, Jewish, and native Egyptian populations. That was not the most inviting environment for scholars. More significantly, Emperor Marcus Aurelius suspended the Mouseion’s revenue, eliminated its members’ stipends, and expelled all foreign scholars from Alexandria. The Great Library’s significance in the ancient world was based not on its being a repository of scrolls, but on its scholarship. When Marcus Aurelius essentially fired the scholars and forbade new students, he effectively shut down the Great Library’s operations. It would be analogous to the fate of MIT or Harvard, if all their professors were fired, and out of state students were prohibited from setting foot in Boston.
