The grand library of Alexandria was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world and part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion. It was the largest library of its time and a major center for learning and scholarly research, particularly in the fields of astronomy, geography, mathematics, and medicine. Caesar and Cleopatra, Erastosthenes and Euclid, Archimedes and Alexander the Great are just a few of the famous people connected to its story. The fate of the library has been deplored by Europeans in language which leads one to believe that the library was burnt down and destroyed by ‘Amr bin al-‘Ās by the order of second Caliph ‘Umar (634-644 AD). This subject has aroused vehement controversies among historians during the last two centuries. The pertinacity with which they have insisted on this story is surprising to extreme. They quote ‘Abd al-Latīf al-Baghdādī, Maqrīzī, and Ibn al-Qiftī without challenging their authorities. The present paper attempts to make a critical analysis of the allegation on caliph ‘Umar of burning down the library of Alexandria.
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