The Library of Alexandria was not destroyed by a single event or individual but suffered multiple incidents of damage over several centuries, involving different parties:
- The earliest and most commonly cited destruction occurred in 48 BC during Julius Caesar's siege of Alexandria. Caesar's soldiers set fire to the Egyptian ships in the harbor to block the fleet of Ptolemy XIV. This fire spread to parts of the city near the docks, reportedly damaging or destroying a significant portion of the Library's collection. Ancient sources like Plutarch and Seneca attribute this fire to Caesar's actions, though the extent of the damage to the Library is unclear, and the Library or parts of it seem to have survived or been rebuilt afterward
- Another major destruction is linked to the Christian Patriarch Theophilus (r. 385–412 AD), who converted the Temple of Serapis into a Christian church around 391 AD. The Temple of Serapis housed a "daughter" library, possibly containing about 10% of the original Library's holdings, which were likely destroyed during this conversion. Following this, violent conflicts involving Christians, Jews, and pagans in Alexandria further contributed to the loss of knowledge, including the murder of Hypatia, a philosopher associated with the Library's legacy
- Finally, the Muslim conquest of Alexandria in 640 AD led to another alleged destruction. According to later Arab sources, the Muslim Caliph Omar ordered the burning of the remaining books, deeming them either heretical or unnecessary. However, this account was written centuries after the event and is considered by many historians to be a biased or exaggerated narrative
In summary, the destruction of the Library of Alexandria was a gradual process involving Julius Caesar's accidental fire, Christian actions in late antiquity, and possibly the Muslim conquest, with no single person solely responsible for its complete destruction
