The Ancient Library of Alexandria.

Alexandria… It is a port city in Egypt, named after Alexander the Great, famous for its lighthouse, but also a center of science that hosted famous scientists of that period, and has a very important place in the history of science. city.

In this article, we would like to give brief information about how Alexandria became a science center, the scope of the Alexandria Library and museum, which branches of science were studied here, and how the library was burned.

Centuries ago, when Alexander the Great came to power, a powerful period began in the Mediterranean, and Alexandria, which he founded, became an important port city. The fact that Ptolemy I. Soter, who took over the administration after the death of Alexander the Great, first established a library and museum in Alexandria, turned this port city into a science city at the same time. When we look at history, the emergence of scientific developments is largely dependent on the approaches of societies to science and the support of administrators to science. It is very interesting at this point that Soter established a library and museum in Alexandria to support the development of science.

The library and museum of Alexandria became the most famous center of that period. Consider a library; In this library and the museum attached to it, there should be an example of animals and plants in all known countries at that time, an observatory and a botanical garden should be established, and there should be houses in which different branches of science were taught. Considering this, we can say that the library and the museum constitute a large complex structure. What made Alexandria, a city where the foundation of Hellenistic culture was laid, was popular at that time; It has been a library and a museum.

The Library of Alexandria was the library with the largest collection of Antiquity. The library, which is stated to have approximately 900,000 manuscripts, also included a large staff of staff. It is stated that the works were written on papyrus and stored in the form of rolls.

It is rumored that the library, which was supported by the king, also served as a publishing house. Greek translations and copies of many manuscripts belonging to civilizations such as Greek, Mediterranean, Middle East and Iran have been prepared here. Great importance was attached to improving the collection of the Library of Alexandria, and large sums were paid to obtain a manuscript from a distant place when necessary.

The development of science through the Library of Alexandria

Thanks to its geographical location and its library, Alexandria became the center of famous scientists of the period. The science houses in the complex we call the library hosted many scientists from different branches and played an important role in the development of science.

If we give an example of some of these scientists; the first name we should mention; is Euclid. Euclids is the name who established the largest mathematics school in the library and prepared the work called "Elements" (Stoikheia), which formed the basis of geometry education in the West.

Apollonios also became an important member of the school of mathematics. Apollonios, who examined ellipses and parabolas in his book "About Conics", has an important place for later periods with this work. In addition to this, he was also interested in irrational numbers, was also interested in astronomy and especially worked on the moon.

Archimedes; He founded the school of mechanics and found the "Archimedes Screw". Archimedes Screw; It is a device with spiral-shaped cylinders inside that is used to draw water. It is said that Archimedes, who is known as a mechanical genius, built celestial spheres and a kind of plantarium to depict celestial bodies, according to a rumor. Archimedes, who is also a genius in the field of mathematics, is also the person who found the number "pi" used to calculate the area of ​​​​the circle. Ktesibios, who also found water clocks, and Hero, who was more interested in mechanical toys, were among the important representatives of the mechanical school. In this school, it is very important to find instruments such as "Odometer" for measuring road length and "Dioptra" for measuring ground.

The Alexandria Library has also hosted important names in the field of medicine. At the beginning of these names is Herophilos. Herophilos is a name that has gained a great reputation as a general practitioner and teacher. In addition to the cadaver examinations he made in Alexandria, the examinations he made in areas such as the brain, nervous system, pulse and diet are also important. After Herophilos, Erasistratos, who suggested that autopsy should be done to find the cause of death after suspicious deaths and did research on respiration, became another important name in the field of medicine.

If we talk about astronomy and scientists working in this field within the Alexandria Library; At the beginning of these names, we can say that the Chief Librarian Eratosthenes. The observations of Eratosthenes on the earth's globe and his studies on the sun are important. His work named “Geography” was used as a basic work for a long time. Hipparchus and Ptolemy, who were also important observant astronomers, were other important representatives of the school of astronomy. Ptolemy's studies on optics, his work "Almagest", which is also a broad summary of Greek astronomy, is important for the history of science. He also carried out important studies in the field of geometry.

Thanks to all these studies and scientists, the Alexandria Library has hosted different groups from other regions from time to time. The schools in the library were also the institutions that gave lectures to the outsiders.

The unfortunate event in the history of science; Burning of the Library of Alexandria

Books are the most valuable materials throughout history as a source of knowledge, but they are also the first to suffer in a negative situation. It is remarkable to encounter similar situations throughout history, albeit in different geographies. The great science center of antiquity; The end of the Library of Alexandria was tragic; The library was burned. Most of the manuscripts in the library were destroyed in this way.

Various arguments have been put forward regarding the burning of the library. The most well-known of these; During the siege of Egypt by Julius Caesar in 47 BC, the library was damaged and many of the works were destroyed. It is stated that the other sources that survived this event were destroyed after they converted to the Christian faith, because they were in the nature of spreading paganism. The date of this event is stated as 391 and it is said that all the artifacts left from the library were burned in the city's baths.

burning of the Library of Alexandria; Although there is no clear information, it shows a significant similarity with what was done in the following centuries to prevent the spread of information in different cultures. dissemination of information; tried to be prevented by the elimination of information sources.