Back Biblioteek van Alexandrië AF Agwut Ikpa Alikisendira ANN مكتبة الإسكندرية Arabic مكتبة اسكندريه ARZ Biblioteca d'Alexandría AST İsgəndəriyyə kitabxanası AZ Александрыйская бібліятэка BE Александрийска библиотека Bulgarian আলেকজান্দ্রিয়ার প্রাচীন গ্রন্থাগার Bengali/Bangla Levraoueg Aleksandria BR
The Great Library of Alexandria was a large and significant library of the ancient world. It was founded in Alexandria, Egypt. The Library flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship. It was built in the third century BC.
In ancient Latin, the library was known as the "ALEXANDRINA BYBLIOTHECE" (see image at right). The Greek term bibliotheke (βιβλιοθήκη), used by many historians of the era, refers to the collection of books, not to any building. This complicates the history and chronology.
The library was conceived and opened either during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter or during the reign of his son Ptolemy II.