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the perimeters, and a large Egyptian fleet of 72 ships menaced Caesar from the sea. He set fire to these
vessels, which inadvertently resulted in the burning of the Great Library. His position remained
precarious.
With a small fleet Caesar tried to extend his influence, but the presence of another Alexandrian fleet
prevented this. After two more bitter battles a stalemate existed. Caesar took the offensive and captured the
island of Pharos. (Achillas, no longer in command of the Egyptian troops, had deserted to Cleopatra's sister,
Arsinoe, who poisoned him.) Caesar then assaulted the heptastadium, connecting Pharos and the mainland,
but was beaten back with severe losses, having to swim for his life at one point.
By January victory seemed improbable, but news arrived that a large force of approximately 20,000 men
had come from the northeastern provinces, under the command of the mercenary, Mithridates of
Pergamum. Caesar joined the new forces, leaving a detachment in Alexandria. In February 47 B.C., the
battle of the Nile was won by the Romans and the mercenaries, and Caesar returned to the city in
triumph, thus ending the siege. He had a free hand in Egypt from that point onward.
¤ ALEXANDRIA, LIBRARY OF One of the greatest and most legendary libraries in history, which
reportedly contained the sum of ancient Egypt's knowledge and lore. It was founded sometime after the
birth of the Egyptian seaport of ALEXANDRIA in the 4th century B.C. and soon became an intellectual
and scientific center for the ancient world. From all over the Mediterranean, scholars and scientists
traveled to Alexandria to study its vast collection of books on astronomy, medicine, geography, biology,
mathematics, architecture, philosophy and literature. Virtually every famous arcane or notable volume
was stored on its shelves, available for research or reading. How many scrolls were available is difficult
to determine (perhaps from 100,000-700,000), as is the exact design of the building itself. The library
was located near the harbor and was reputed to have been beautiful, with columns, gardens, laboratories
and study areas.
The choice of the harbor location was deemed beneficial, but such a site placed the institution in peril
when Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 B.C. Facing a desperate struggle with the Egyptians,
Caesar's defensive tactics caused a major fire in the harbor. The library was struck by flames and the
scrolls vanished. Dio commented only that the institution contained many excellent books, a typical view
given the prevailing ignorance concerning the severity of the loss. Few scrolls survived the disaster.
Those saved were destroyed some 400 years later, when the Christians of Alexandria devastated all
pagan cultural effects. See also CHRISTIANITY; CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA; PAGANISM.