Library of Alexandria

This timeline shows some of the major events leading up to and surrounding the Library of Alexandria. The timeline begins in 331 BCE with the founding of Alexandria and spans several hundred years until the library's destruction in 270 CE.

I selected the Library of Alexandria as the subject of my timeline because most know it as the most famous of ancient libraries. A lot of people have maybe heard of the library but do not know the specifics about it. ;xNLx;;xNLx;I chose these particular events because I find them integral to understanding the library. I chose to include a couple of dates before the founding of the library because I think they help to establish the context in which the library was founded. I chose to include entries on Zanodotus and Callimachus because they were instrumental in arranging and cataloging the library and for setting the standards of modern libraries. I chose to include Claudius' addition because it is important to see how far the library had come and that it survived after Alexandria was conquered by the Romans. I also chose to include the destruction of the library not just as an ending to the timeline but because the date of the fall of the library is often debated as happening much earlier when that is not the case. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Timelines are useful when examining history because sometimes it is hard to see the correlation between dates. It is helpful to see the dates of important events lined up in chronological order which can help to organize your thoughts about history as a whole. I find timelines helpful with the issue of BCE and CE organization. Sometimes when trying to picture a period in history, it really helps to be able to see where that particular period fell on a timeline. ;xNLx;;xNLx;When creating this timeline, I discovered that many ancient events in history have vague dates attached to them. Not everything can be exactly pinpointed, especially if it wasn't written about at the time that it happened. And in some cases, even if ancient events were written about at the time of their happenings, the records have not survived to the present day. Since a lot of exact dates in history can't be known, it helps to have timelines to point out periods in which events likely took place. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Sources:;xNLx;Battles, M. (2003). Library: an unquiet history. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. ;xNLx;;xNLx;Casson, L. (2001). Libraries in the ancient world. Yale University Press. ;xNLx;;xNLx;All images obtained from Wikimedia Commons.

0030 BC-07-25 08:05:29

Ptolemies Dethroned

The occupation of Egypt by the Romans dethroned the Ptolemies who had controlled Egypt and ruled Alexandria since about 300 BCE.

0041-05-28 18:11:31

Claudius Builds Addition

Some time during his rule between 41 CE and 54 CE, Claudius built an addition on to the library,

0245 BC-02-15 15:33:55

Callimachus' Organization

In approximately 245 BCE, Callimachus cataloged the library and wrote his Pintakes around the same time.

0270-01-01 00:00:00

Library of Alexandria Destroyed

In approximately 270 CE, the great Library of Alexandria was destroyed.

0280 BC-01-06 05:06:13

Zenodotus, First Director

In approximately 280 BCE, Zenodotus became the first director of the Library of Alexandria.

0300 BC-02-26 23:13:01

Founding of the Library

In approximately 300 BCE, the Library of Alexandria was founded.

0323 BC-03-03 20:30:11

Alexander the Great Dies

Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE before his visions and the library could come to fruition.

0331 BC-01-01 00:00:00

Founding of Alexandria

The city was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE.

Library of Alexandria

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