List of libraries in the ancient world facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The great libraries of the ancient world were amazing places! They were like huge storage rooms for important documents, sacred writings, and all sorts of stories and historical records. Imagine a giant memory bank for entire civilizations! These libraries helped preserve knowledge and culture for thousands of years.

Ancient Near East

Early Libraries in the Ancient Near East

Ancient civilizations in the Near East, like those in Mesopotamia, had some of the very first libraries. These often stored clay tablets with cuneiform writing.

Royal Library of Ebla

About 4,500 years ago, in the city of Ebla, archaeologists found a royal library. It held around 20,000 clay tablets and pieces. These tablets give us a peek into life back then.

Hattusa's Royal Archives

In Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire, a huge collection of about 30,000 cuneiform tablets was discovered. These tablets were neatly organized using a special system.

Library of Ashurbanipal

This library, from ancient Assyria, is often seen as one of the first truly organized libraries. It was found in the 1800s. Even though the library was destroyed, many pieces of its clay tablets survived. Scientists have put them back together. Famous stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh were found here.

Other Important Archives

Mari: This archive had over 6,000 clay tablets. Most were in Babylonian cuneiform, but some were in the Hurrian language.
Ugarit: Thousands of texts were found here, including records of diplomacy and literature. About 1,400 texts were in Ugaritic, a language unknown until this library was discovered in 1928.
Nippur: Over a thousand clay tablets were stored in this archive.
Tell Leilan: This library held about 15,000 tablets. They covered topics like legal cases, letters, and religious writings.

Academy of Gundishapur

This was a huge center of learning in ancient Iran. It had a university, a teaching hospital, and a library with over 400,000 books! Teachers there knew a lot about ancient Persian culture and Indian knowledge.

Classical Antiquity

Famous Libraries of Ancient Greece and Rome

The ancient Greeks and Romans also built incredible libraries. These libraries were often centers for learning and philosophy.

The Great Library of Alexandria

This was perhaps the most famous library of the ancient world. It was part of a big research center called the Mouseion, dedicated to the Muses (goddesses of the arts). The library quickly gathered many papyrus scrolls. Some estimates say it had between 40,000 and 400,000 scrolls at its peak!

Its decline began around 145 B.C. Later, during a conflict in 48 B.C., parts of the library might have been accidentally burned. It's not clear how much was lost then. Many historians believe the library was finally destroyed around 270 AD during a war.

Temple of Edfu Archive

This library was part of a temple in Egypt. Its walls show pictures of many scrolls and manuscripts. These documents recorded the daily activities of the temple. They also included plans for building and decorating the temple walls.

Library of Antioch

This library was built in the 200s B.C. by Antiochus III the Great. A famous poet and scholar named Euphorion of Chalcis was its main librarian.

Library of Pergamum

The kings of Pergamum created this library. It was the second-best Hellenistic library after Alexandria. Parchment, a material similar to paper, was widely used here. Many believe parchment was invented in Pergamum. This library grew to have over 200,000 volumes, making it the second largest ancient library.

Libraries of the Roman Forum

In ancient Rome, several libraries were built near the Roman Forum. They usually kept Greek and Latin texts in separate sections. Important Roman libraries were found in places like the Porticus Octaviae and the Temple of Apollo Palatinus. The Ulpian Library was another large one in the Forum of Trajan.

Atrium Libertatis

This building first served as an archive for Roman officials. Later, it was rebuilt and opened as a public library.

Villa of the Papyri

This is the only ancient library known to have survived from the classical period! It was a large private collection, possibly owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus. The villa was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was rediscovered in 1752. About 1,800 carbonized scrolls were found there. Today, scientists use special imaging to read parts of these scrolls that were once impossible to see. More scrolls might still be hidden in the villa's lower levels.

Library of Kos

This public library was on the island of Kos. It was a popular meeting place for scholars and philosophers. An old inscription near the library names the people who helped create it.

Library of Pantainos

This library in Athens was dedicated to the goddess Athena and the Roman emperor Trajan. It was built by Titus Flavius Pantainos. The library had an unusual design for its time. An inscription found there gave clear rules: "No book is to be taken out because we have sworn an oath. The library is to be open first hour until the sixth." This library was destroyed by the invading Germanic Heruli tribe in 267 AD.

Library of Rhodes

On the island of Rhodes, this library was part of a larger sports complex called a gymnasium. Archaeologists found a section of a catalog, much like modern library catalogs. It listed authors and their works by subject. The library even had a trained librarian!

Hadrian's Library

Roman Emperor Hadrian built this library in Athens. It was badly damaged during an invasion in 267 AD but was later repaired. In later times, three churches were built on its site.

Library of Celsus

This library was one of the three most important libraries in the Mediterranean, along with Alexandria and Pergamum. It was also a tomb and a shrine for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, whom it was named after. This library held 12,000 volumes, stored in cabinets along the walls.

Library of Timgad

This library was a gift to the Roman city of Timgad in the 200s AD. It had a large arched hall with a reading room and a lecture area. The library was quite big, about 81 feet long and 77 feet wide. It had special alcoves for wooden cabinets where manuscripts were kept. It's thought it could have held around 3,000 scrolls.

Library of Caesarea Maritima

Founded in the late 200s AD, this was a major early Christian library. Scholars like Origen of Alexandria and Pamphilus of Caesarea helped it become known for having the largest church library of its time. It contained over 30,000 manuscripts. Many important thinkers came here to study.

Imperial Library of Constantinople

Emperor Constantius II, son of the first Christian emperor Constantine, established this library. He asked for papyrus scrolls to be copied onto parchment or vellum to help preserve them. Some say it had over 100,000 volumes. Sadly, about 120,000 volumes were lost in a fire in 473 AD.

Ancient China

Libraries in Ancient China

China also had a rich history of libraries, from imperial collections to private ones.

Imperial Library of the Western Han Dynasty

A detailed list of this library's collection is preserved in an ancient book called the Yiwenzhi. At the time of the list, it had 13,269 scrolls. These were divided into six main types: scriptures, philosophy, poetry, warfare, astrology, and medicine.

Private Libraries for Students

During the Tang Dynasty (from the 600s to the 900s), many private libraries opened. These were especially helpful for young men studying for the important civil service exams. These libraries, along with the exams, were part of a system where people were promoted based on their skills and knowledge.

Library Cave of Dunhuang

This special cave library was created in the 700s and sealed up in the 1000s. It contained 15,000 paper books and 1,100 bundles of paper scrolls. It's a treasure trove of ancient Chinese documents.