The Life and Death of the Great Library at Alexandria The Great Library at Alexandria was the largest and most important place of learning in the Ancient world. In the video, Lost Treasure of the Alexandria Library, it is described as the first world research center. Great minds were invited from all over the world to study there and many discoveries were made in the hundreds of years of its existence. However, it was destroyed over time so utterly that people today do not even know for sure what it looked like, who was there, or even what books and scrolls it contained. Though the Library at Alexandria promoted the knowledge and learning of many cultures, it can be argued that its destruction came at the hands of some of the same cultures …show more content…
It was a strategic spot for a naval base to liberate the world from Persian oppression. Alexander, being a student of Aristotle, knew the importance of knowledge and used it as a tool for power. His vision for the city was to become a cultural and intellectual center of the known world. However, Alexander died before his vision could be realized. His next-in-command, General Ptolemy, took over Egypt after Alexander’s death. Ptolemy shared Alexander’s respect for knowledge and learning and was able to finish what Alexander started. Not only did he finish the library, he made Alexandria the capital of Egypt. Ptolemy and his descendants continued support of the library for almost 300 years. They spent their lifetimes collecting books. They wanted every written word. If they did not have it, they bought it. They copied books and translated them. They made countless translations of the Bible as well as Turkish and Babylonian texts. They had books on astronomy, astrology, medicine, math, etc. It is estimated that the library once contained around 500,000 books. The video states the even Aristotle’s collection was willed to the Library at …show more content…
Though not as significant as it once was, it still continued sharing knowledge and producing great minds. Around 400 A.D., Christianity became the state religion of Rome. The emperor decreed that all monuments and temples that were not associated with Christianity would be destroyed. Paganism was outlawed and the Christians killed many pagan scholars. The Christian revolution would have shifted power from the educated to the uneducated, and targeted anyone associated with the Library or even reputed to be a scholar. This may have saved the books as the uneducated would not have known what they were about. Christianity decimated the library by killing scholars and making diverse, non-Christian knowledge something to
Rome went through major changes in its culture because of the start of the growing spread of Christianity. Early on Christianity was not the chief religion and around 64 AD Christians were actually punished and targeted by the ruler Nero. There was an order to kill any Christian, most were killed in very brutal ways. The Christians were killed because the ruler was in fear that the Roman Gods would be upset that they (all of the people) were not worshipping them (the gods) and they would punish the
Constantine’s departure from Rome took with him the political seat of power. With the removal of the political head a power vacuum was created. The body that remained in Rome was that of the Christian church, feeble though it may have been. Rome’s identity was so deeply rooted in the pagan tradition that despite his best efforts Constantine was unable to convert it entirely. The former capital was still home to a powerful group of aristocrats which held on firmly to the roots of paganism. Gradually, with the support of the imperial court and the city’s urban masses, the church was able to gain a foothold in the fifth century (Krautheimer 33).
The rise of Christianity in Rome did not come easily. It came with much destruction and death. The spark of Christianity in Rome came from an appearance of Martyrs in Rome. Martyrs were people that were executed for going against the common beliefs of pagan (polytheistic) ways. (Tignor, 2011, p. 286) Because of these awful executions, Christianity is said to be based off of “the blood of martyrs.” One of their main ways of spreading Christianity was through the sharing of their writings and by 300 CE there was an exceptional amount of book production throughout Rome. (Tignor, 2011, p. 289) “Christianity operated as one among many minority religions in the Roman Empire, and on several occasions experienced widespread persecution, especially under the emperors Nero (r. 54–68), Decius (r. 249–251), and Diocletian (r. 284–305). However, the situation changed radically under the emperor Constantine (r. 306–337), who in 313 issued the Edict of Milan that made Christianity a legitimate religion in the empire.” (Melton, 2010, p. 634)
By the fourth century C.E., the Roman Empire was declining. After so many years of perseverance the Roman Empire began to give into the changes that were happening all around them. One change in particular was the spread of Christianity. This new religion went against the traditions of the Romans, it was monotheistic and focused on the will of God. A religion that began small and under persecution became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
The Catholic Church leaders had the elitist mentality that only the Catholic clergies, not the laity, were intelligent enough or had the reasonable judgement to read and interpret the Bible in a correct manner. While they placed a ban on the Bible in the pretense of holding the biblical doctrines pure and holy and preventing the spread of the contagion of heresy, the fact of the truth was that they did not want to lose the control over people.
At one time a common religion was a huge factor that kept Romans united. Once the right of free worship was denied Rome became an empire of raging anger. Christianity a new religion appealed to the majority of the people of the Roman Empire. The message especially appealed to the poor and the slaves; it was also something new to put their faith in. Christianity was spread like wild fire. The Roman emperors felt that Christianity was so influential that it could be a possible threat. Around 100 AD. the first persecutions of the Christians occurred. Many of the Romans had already committed to the faith of Christianity and they refused to abandon it because it was the most important part of their life. This led to many social problems as well as a decline in the patriotism that had once lived in the hearts of all Romans. The People objected to Roman politics and became independent of the government. By the time that Constantine legalized Christianity it was much too late and the Empire was too deep in disunity to recover. The decision to outlaw Christianity was a terrible decision and caused the once united empire to crumble.
Alexander the great is known as one of the most ruthless and greatest leaders the world has ever seen. In less than ten years, Alexander conquered cities from Greece all the way to modern day India. Not only did he defeat and conquer cities throughout the known world, but Alexander would also leave his mark spreading and influencing Greek society wherever he went. His leadership and conquests united the East and the West as a whole like no one up to that point had done before. His impact on culture and society when meshing his Greek background with his conquered cities became something truly unique. In 323 B.C. when Alexander passed away, he not only left behind a vast thriving empire, but also a legacy that would be remembered throughout history.
The Roman Empire is known as one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever seen. At it’s height, this Empire had peace, economic prosperity and was expanding. Roman cities contributed to a fair amount of this success because they contributed to many advances during Pax Romana and united the empire. After the fall of the Empire, Christianity survived because although the empire separated into many kingdoms they were still being influenced by the religion.
of the more spectacular cities in the world, during ancient times, because of him. It had two
The mandate of Milan approved of Christianity in 313, and it became the state religion in 380. These acts ended centuries of persecution, but they also destroyed the traditional Roman values system. Christianity uprooted the polytheistic Roman religion, and gave the emperor a status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and onto a sole god. Meanwhile, popes and other church leaders took a heightened role in political interests, further complicating the government. Other times the Romans persecuted the Christians because of their beliefs, which were popular among the poor.
Christianity is a religion that is extremely prevalent in many people’s lives today and is extremely. It has roots that date back to around the first century CE. Christianity is based off the life and oral teachings from Jesus of Nazareth within the New Testament (Christianity Origin Online). Ever since the discovery of Christianity, the Christian faith has had a rather large impact on the rest of the world, with nearly 2.5 billion followers and counting (Christianity Online). With the widespread teachings of Christianity becoming much more common, Christianity has had a significant influence on not only specific people, but within cities and one in particular, is Rome. Within this paper, I will explain to you exactly how Christianity influenced the Roman society in a great deal of ways, politically, culturally, and religiously. I will also elaborate on how the Roman culture further shaped the ideas of Christianity and continued spreading the teachings of Christianity to Western Europe. Lastly, I will explain Augustine’s views on God and how he views the Christian faith.
Alexandria was founded in Egypt by Alexandria the Great. His successor as Pharaoh was known as Ptolemy II Soter. He founded the Museum or Royal Library of Alexandria in 283 BC. The Museum was a shrine of the Muses modeled after the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens. The Museum was a place of study which included lecture areas, gardens, a zoo, and shrines for each of the nine muses as well as the Library itself. It has been estimated that at one time the Library of Alexandria held over half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India and many other nations. Over 100 scholars and scribes lived at the Museum full time to perform research, write, lecture or translate and copy documents (Hertzke 2004). The library got so large it actually had another branch or "daughter" library at the Temple of Serapis.
He was also influential and clever. In each conquest, Alexander retained local officials who were loyal to him and he appointed Macedonian governors to the province capitals. He founded administrative capitals to control the regions. He founded Alexandria, Egypt which became the cultural capital of Mediterranean in the ancient world. Nevertheless, he also began to wear Persian clothing and he encouraged his soldiers to do the same in order to keep the peace. Therefore, he executed the men who resisted obeying his order. He married with a Persian and he encouraged his soldiers to marry with Persians to mix the culture. Persians loved Alexander and they respected him like he was a Persian like them. Even the Persian army joined with Alexander by will. That is why he controlled his massive empire without riots and this proves that he was very influential and clever.
Not having to protect sources anymore allowed people to share their new ideas with ease. In fact, the more copies a printer made and sold, the more money they made which further encouraged the spread of information. The Handbook of the Militant Christian, for example, was initially printed in Latin and distributed across Europe. By 1585, it had been translated into 6 additional languages as his ideas grew in popularity. This drastic change in the culture’s attitude towards knowledge is a direct result of
After this period, people began to be curious about the whole book. When Reformation in the church began, the people of many countries, like the United Kingdom, wanted to know about the Bible much, and people wanted to read the book in their own languages so...