VII · Hypatia and the Last Schools · 641–642 CE

The Arab conquest, and the later story of the caliph's order

Known · AttestedKnown · AttestedThe conquestLegend · Told storyThe caliph's order

In November 641 the city surrenders by treaty; in September 642 the Byzantine garrison sails. A story first written down about 1200 tells that the caliph ‘Umar ordered the books burned.

What the evidence supports: The sources nearest the conquest say nothing of books burned. The story appears some 550 years later, in ‘Abd al-Latif and Ibn al-Qifti, and no ancient library is known to have stood in 642.

The witnesses

Who tells of the caliph's order?The witness nearest the conquest is detailed, hostile to the conquerors, and silent on books. The story appears some 550 years later and travels: Ibn Khaldun tells the same exchange of Persian books.
WitnessWrittenReferenceWhat it saysReadings
The event: 641–642 CE
John of NikiuSilent on itc. 680–700 CEChronicle 120Tells the conquest in detail and with hostility; says nothing of books.none
‘Abd al-Latif al-BaghdadiTeller of a legendc. 1200 CEAccount of Egypt c. 1200Mentions in passing the library that ‘Amr burned with ‘Umar's permission.none
Ibn al-QiftiTeller of a legendbefore 1248 CEHistory of Learned Men Yahya al-NahwiThe full story: John the Grammarian, the caliph's reply, six months of fuel for the baths.none
Bar HebraeusTeller of a legendbefore 1286 CEAbridged History of the Dynasties before 1286Retells the story; Pococke's Latin of 1663 brings it to Europe.none
Ibn KhaldunTeller of a legend1377 CEMuqaddimah ch. 6Tells the same exchange of the books of the Persians.none
Edward GibbonRefutes the story1788Decline and Fall, ch. 51 ch. 51Rejects the story.none
Alfred J. ButlerRefutes the story1902The Arab Conquest of Egypt Butler 1902Calls the story a fable.none
Bernard LewisRefutes the story1990–2008The Vanished Library; Anatomy of a Myth Lewis 1990, 2008Traces the story to the age of Saladin.none

Who and what

Told stories

Legend: told story

The caliph's order

‘Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, writing about 1200, mentions in passing the library which ‘Amr burned with ‘Umar's permission. Ibn al-Qifti, a generation later, tells the whole story.

Told by ‘Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, c. 1200 CE, some 550 years after the conquest

What the evidence supports

No ancient source supports it. John of Nikiu, who wrote within a lifetime of the conquest and was hostile to the conquerors, says nothing of books burned; the story is unknown before about 1200, and no ancient library is known to have stood in 642.

Sources (5)
The Hall of Told Stories
Legend: told story

Four thousand baths

Ibn al-Qifti tells that John the Grammarian asked ‘Amr for the books of wisdom; the caliph replied that if they agreed with the Book of God they were unnecessary and if they disagreed undesirable, and the books fed the fires of the city's four thousand baths for six months.

Told by Ibn al-Qifti, before 1248 CE, some six centuries after the conquest

What the evidence supports

John Philoponus, the Grammarian, had died some seventy years before the conquest. Ibn Khaldun tells the same exchange of the books of the Persians: a travelling tale.

Sources (3)
  • Ibn al-Qifti, History of Learned Men Yahya al-Nahwi
  • Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah ch. 6
  • B. Lewis, "The Arab Destruction of the Library of Alexandria: Anatomy of a Myth", in El-Abbadi and Fathallah (eds.), What Happened to the Ancient Library of Alexandria? (Leiden, 2008) 213–217
The Hall of Told Stories

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Sources (9)
  • John of Nikiu, Chronicle 120
  • ‘Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Account of Egypt c. 1200
  • Ibn al-Qifti, History of Learned Men Yahya al-Nahwi
  • Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah ch. 6
  • A. J. Butler, The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion (Oxford, 1902; 2nd ed. P. M. Fraser, 1978) (opens in a new tab)
  • B. Lewis, "The Vanished Library", letter in The New York Review of Books, 27 September 1990
  • B. Lewis, "The Arab Destruction of the Library of Alexandria: Anatomy of a Myth", in El-Abbadi and Fathallah (eds.), What Happened to the Ancient Library of Alexandria? (Leiden, 2008) 213–217
  • M. El-Abbadi, The Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria (Paris: UNESCO/UNDP, 1990; 2nd ed. 1992)
  • D. Delia, "From Romance to Rhetoric: The Alexandrian Library in Classical and Islamic Traditions", American Historical Review 97.5 (1992) 1449–1467