The great libraries of the ancient world served as archives for empires, sanctuaries for sacred writings, and depositories of literature and chronicles.

Ancient Near East

; The Royal Library of

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

(2500–2350 B.C.) in modern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. : 20,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments, dated to 2500–2350 B.C., were found in the Royal Library of Ebla. ;

Bogazköy Archive The Bogazkoy archives are a collection of texts found on the site of the capital of the Hittite state, the city of Hattusas (now Bogazkoy in Turkey). They are the oldest extant documents of the state, and they are believed to have been created i ...

(1900–1190 B.C.),

Hattusa Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittites, Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great ...

(modern Bogazkoy) : This archive contains the largest collection of Hittite texts ever discovered, with approximately thirty thousand inscribed cuneiform tablets. The tablets had also been classified according to a precise system. ; The

Library of Ashurbanipal The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian Empire, is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BCE, including texts in ...

(established 668–627 B.C.) in

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

(near modern

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) : Long considered the first systematically collected library, it was rediscovered in the 19th century. While the library had been destroyed, many fragments of ancient

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

tablets survived, and have been reconstructed. Large portions of The

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

were among the recovered texts. ;

Nuzi Nuzi (Hurrian Nuzi/Nuzu; Akkadian Gasur) at modern Yorghan Tepe (also Yorgan Tepa and Jorgan Tepe), Iraq was an ancient Mesopotamian city 12 kilometers southwest of the city of Arrapha (modern Kirkuk) and 70 kilometers southwest of Sātu Qala, ...

(modern Yorgan Tepe) (1500 B.C.) : This archive consisted of over 6,000 tablets written primarily in Babylonian cuneiform; however, a select few were composed in the indigenous

Hurrian language Hurrian is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language spoken by the Hurrians (Khurrites), a people who entered northern Mesopotamia around 2300 BC and had mostly vanished by 1000 BC. Hurrian was the language of the Mitanni kingdom in northern Mesopotami ...

. ;

Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

(modern

Ras Shamra Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

, Syria) (1200 B.C.) : Several thousand texts, including diplomatic archives, census records, literary works and the earliest privately owned libraries ever recovered. Even though the tablets were written in several different languages, the most important aspect of the library was the 1,400 texts written in

Ugaritic Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeology, archaeologists in 1928 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycl ...

, unknown when the library was discovered in 1928. ;

Tell Leilan Tell Leilan is an archaeological site situated near the Wadi Jarrah in the Khabur River basin in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. The site has been occupied since the 5th millennium BC. During the late third millennium, the site was ...

(Northeast Syria) (1900 B.C.) : This archive housed over a thousand clay tablets. ; Mari (modern

Tell Hariri Mari (Cuneiform: , ''ma-riki'', modern Tell Hariri; ) was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Its remains form a tell 11 kilometers north-west of Abu Kamal on the Euphrates River western bank, some 120 kilometers south ...

, Syria) (1900 B.C.) : The archive held approximately 15,000 tablets which included works on litigation, letters, foreign negotiations, literary, and theological works. ; The

Academy of Gondishapur The Academy of Gondishapur or Academy of Jondishapur (, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur), also known as the Gondishapur University, was one of the three Sasanian centers of education (Ctesiphon, Ras al-Ayn, Gundeshapur) and academy of learning ...

in western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, established during the Persian

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

in the 3rd through 6th centuries. : The breadth of this institution was enormous and included a university, teaching hospital, and a library with over 400,000 titles.Mirrazavi, F. (2009)
"Academy of Gundishapur"
''Iran Review''. Retrieved March 31, 2013. The academy was the epitome of the Sassanid Empire with its faculty proficient in the conventions of

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

and ancient Persian as well as classical Indian scholarship. ;

Sarouyeh Sarouyeh () was a large library in ancient pre-Islamic Iran. The 10th century chronicler Ahmad ibn Rustah refers to it as "Sarough" (). The ''Fars Nameh'' of Ibn Balkhi calls it ''Haft Halkeh'' (). The library, located near where the city of Isfa ...

: A large library in ancient pre-Islamic Iran, near Isfahan, of uncertain date possibly dating back to the

Pishdadian dynasty The Pishdadian dynasty ( ) is a mythical line of primordial kings featured in Zoroastrian belief and Persian mythology. They are presented in legend as originally rulers of the world but whose realm was eventually limited to ''Ērānshahr'' or Gr ...

Classical Antiquity

;The

Library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, ...

(fl. 285–145 B.C.) : This library was part of a larger research institution called the

Mouseion The Mouseion of Alexandria (; ), which arguably included the Library of Alexandria, was an institution said to have been founded by Ptolemy I Soter and his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Originally, the word ''mouseion'' meant any place that was ...

, which was dedicated to the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

s, the nine goddesses of the arts during the reign of

Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the G ...

. The Library quickly acquired many

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

s, possibly ranging from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height. The library's decline began under

Ptolemy VIII Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon (, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphōn'', "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the Opulent"; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon (, ''Physkōn'', "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was t ...

in 145 B.C., who appointed a palace guard as head librarian as a political favor. The Part or all of the Library's collection, may have been accidentally burned during

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was a civil war during the late Roman Republic between two factions led by Julius Caesar and Pompey. The main cause of the war was political tensions relating to Caesar's place in the Republic on his expected ret ...

in 48 B.C., but it is unclear how much was actually destroyed. While

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

relates that the entire library was destroyed,

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

says that only the storehouses along the docks containing great numbers of books were destroyed. Given numerous accounts of the library's use in the Roman period, it is likely, however, that the entire library was not destroyed. Casson concludes that the library was likely destroyed by

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

in 270 AD, during the Palmyran war, when the entire city was destroyed. ;

Temple of Edfu The Temple of Edfu is an Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The city was known in the Hellenistic period in Koine Greek as Ἀπόλλωνος πόλις and in Latin as ''Apollonopolis Magna'', after the ...

Archive/Library (237–57 B.C.) : This library was an extension of the Temple itself. The walls of this chamber are bestrewn with engravings and captions depicting numerous receptacles filled with manuscripts of papyrus as well as scrolls bound in leather. These documents chronicled the circadian workings of the temple, but also detailed construction drafts and directives on how the temple walls should be decorated. ; Royal

Library of Antioch A library is a collection of books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

(221 B.C. – 363 A.D.) (modern

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

) : The library was commissioned in the third century B.C. by

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

and placed under the supervision of

Euphorion of Chalcis Euphorion of Chalcis () was a Greek people, Greek poet and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, born at Chalcis in Euboea in the 126th olympiad (276–272 BC). Euphorion spent much of his life in Athens, where he amassed great wealth. After ...

. Euphorion, a distinguised poet and scholar, served as library's chief librarian. ;

Library of Pergamum The Library of Pergamum () is an ancient Greek building in Pergamon, Anatolia, today located nearby the modern town of Bergama, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. It was one of the most important libraries in the ancient world. The ci ...

(197–159 B.C.) (modern

Bergama Bergama is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 105,754 (2022). By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of populatio ...

) : The

Attalid The Kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamene Kingdom, or Attalid kingdom was a Ancient Greece, Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Anatolia, Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the At ...

kings formed the second-best Hellenistic library after Alexandria, founded in emulation of the Ptolemies.

Parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

, a predecessor of

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

, was widely used in the library, and is believed to have been discovered here. The library, it is estimated, amassed over 200,000 volumes, making it the second largest ancient library. ; Libraries of the Forum: Consisted of separate libraries founded in the time of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

near the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

that contained both

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

texts, separately housed, as was the conventional practice. Libraries were located in the

Porticus Octaviae The Porticus Octaviae (Latin language, Latin for the 'Portico of Octavia'; ) is an ancient structure in Rome. The colonnaded walks of the portico enclosed the Temple of Juno Regina (Campus Martius), Temples of Juno Regina (north) and Temple of J ...

near the

Theatre of Marcellus The Theatre of Marcellus (, ) was an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. It is located in the modern rione of Sant'Angelo. In the sixteenth century, it was converted into a palazzo. Construc ...

, in the Temple of Apollo Palatinus, and in the Bibliotheca Ulpia in the

Forum of Trajan Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war fro ...

. ; Atrium Liberatatis :Originally served as the archive of the

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

before being restored by

Asinius Pollio Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic, and historian, whose lost contemporaneous history provided much of the material used by the historians Appian and Plutarch. Polli ...

and converted into a public library. ; The

Villa of the Papyri The Villa of the Papyri (, also known as ''Villa dei Pisoni'' and in early excavation records as the ''Villa Suburbana'') was an ancient Roman Empire, Roman villa in Herculaneum, in what is now Ercolano, southern Italy. It is named after its un ...

, in

Herculaneum Herculaneum is an ancient Rome, ancient Roman town located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Like the nearby city of ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

: The

is the only library known to have survived from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

. This villa's large private collection may have once belonged to

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus in the 1st century B.C. Buried by the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

in 79 AD, the villa was rediscovered in 1752. Around 1,800 carbonized scrolls were found in its upper story. Using modern techniques such as

multi-spectral imaging Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, ...

, previously illegible or invisible sections on scrolls that have been unrolled are now being deciphered. It is possible that more scrolls remain to be found in the lower, unexcavated levels of the villa. ;

Kos Kos or Cos (; ) is a Greek island, which is part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 37,089 (2021 census), making ...

Library (Kos) (100 A.D.) : The library was a local public library situated on the island of Kos and known as a crossroads for academia and philosophical faculties. A record of individuals who were supposedly responsible for the establishment of the library are acknowledged in an inscription near the monument. ; The Library of Pantainos (Athens) (100 A.D.) : Dedicated to both

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

Archegetis and the Roman emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, the library was connected to the Agora in Athens. Titus Flavius Pantainos had it built, and he, along with his children, also devoted it to the citizens of Athens, according to the stone inscription found in the main entrance of the library. While the precise date of its dedication is not clear, it is believed to have been dedicated between 98 AD and 102 AD. There is speculation that the library may have actually been built by the father of Pantainos. Being a Roman-period library, the design is quite unconventional. A spacious alcove with an adjoining courtyard enclosed by three galleries formed the arrangement of the structure. An inscription discovered dictates proper library etiquette: "No book is to be taken out because we have sworn an oath. The library is to be open first hour until the sixth." The library was ultimately consumed by the invading Germanic

Heruli The Heruli (also Eluri, Eruli, Herules, Herulians) were one of the smaller Germanic peoples of Late Antiquity, known from records in the third to sixth centuries AD. The best recorded group of Heruli established a kingdom north of the Middle Danu ...

tribe in 267 AD. ; The Library of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

(Rhodes) (100 A.D.) : The library on the island of Rhodes was a distinct component of the larger gymnasium structure. An enclosure that had been excavated revealed a section of a catalog analogous to modern library catalogs. The catalog, which classified titles by subject, displayed an inventory of authors in consecutive order together with their published efforts. It has also been determined that the library employed a qualified librarian. ;

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

's Library (

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

) (132 A.D.) : It was created by Roman Emperor

on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens. The library was seriously damaged by the Herulian invasion of 267 and repaired later. During Byzantine times, three churches were built at the site, the remains of which are preserved. ;

Library of Celsus The Library of Celsus () is an Ancient Roman architecture, ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, today located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE b ...

(135–262 A.D.) (located within the city of

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

) : This library was part of the triumvirate of libraries in the Mediterranean which included the aforementioned Library of Pergamum and the great Library of Alexandria. The library was actually a tomb and a shrine for the deceased Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus for whom the library is named."Library of Celsus"
''Ephesus.us''. Otti Travel. Retrieved 12 February 2025. 12,000 volumes were collected at this library which were deposited in several cabinets along the wall. ;

Timgad Timgad (, known as Marciana Traiana Thamugadi) was a Roman city in the Aurès Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The full name of the city was ''Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi''. Emperor ...

(250 A.D.) (modern Algeria) : The library was a gift to the Roman people and province of Thamugadi or

by Julius Quintianus Flavius Rogatianus in the third century.Pfeiffer, H. (1931). "The Roman Library at Timgad". ''Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome'', 9, 157–165. The library contained an expansive arched hall which consisted of a reading room, stack room, and a rotunda for lectures. The library was large measuring in length by in width. Oblong alcoves held wooden cabinets along walls of which the manuscripts were maintained. In addition, there is evidence for free-standing bookcases in the center as well as a reading desk. There is no evidence as to how many books the library held although it is estimated that it could have accommodated 3000 scrolls. ; The Theological Library of

Caesarea Maritima Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...

: A late 3rd century A.D. establishment, was a great early Christian library. Through

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2,000 treatises i ...

and the scholarly priest

Pamphilus of Caesarea Saint Pamphilus (; latter half of the 3rd century – February 16, 309 AD), was a priest of Caesarea and chief among the biblical scholars of his generation. He was the friend and teacher of Eusebius of Caesarea, who recorded details of his ...

, the school won a reputation for having the most extensive ecclesiastical library of the time, containing more than 30,000 manuscripts:

Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus (; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was an early Roman Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbi ...

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

and others came to study there.Carriker, A. (2003). ''The library of Eusebius of Caesarea''. Leiden: Brill. ; The

Imperial Library of Constantinople The Imperial Library of Constantinople, in the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was the last of the great libraries of the ancient world. Long after the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria and the other ancient libraries, it prese ...

(337–361 A.D. – 29 May 473) (

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, modern

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) : The library was established by Constantius II who was the son of the first Christian emperor Constantine. Constantius requested that the rolls of papyrus should be copied onto parchment or vellum in order that they would be preserved. Some assessments place the collection at just over 100,000 volumes which included papyrus scrolls and codices bound in parchment, although 120,000 volumes had been destroyed in a fire in 473.

Ancient China

; Han Imperial Library : Catalogue preserved in the ''

Yiwenzhi The "Yiwenzhi", or "Treatise on Literature", is the bibliographical section of the ''Book of Han'' authored by the Chinese historian Ban Gu (32–92 AD), who completed the work begun by his father Ban Biao. The bibliographical catalog is the ...

'' chapter of the

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

. At the time of inventory contained 13,269 scrolls divided into six genres: scripture, philosophy, poetry, warfare, astrology, and medicine. ; Academy Libraries : Private collections mostly in the Tang Dynasty (6th to 10th century) opened to young men studying for the civil service exam. These libraries, the civil service tests, and objective evaluations were part of the meritocracy, or merit-based system of promotion in ancient China for civil service. ;

Mogao Grottoes The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

or Cave of "The Thousand Buddhas" : The Library Cave contained 15,000 paper books and 1,100 paper bundles of scrolls. It was created during the 8th century and sealed during the 11th century.

Notes

References

*Johnson, Elmer D. (1965) ''A History of Libraries in the Western World''. Scarecrow Press NY *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Libraries of the ancient world Ancient history

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

Ancient history-related lists