The library is a place often visited by book lovers. Not only that, the library is also a comfortable place to do assignments, theses, or for someone who is quiet to do something.
Do detikers know the names of the world’s oldest libraries? If you don’t know yet, see the following explanation quoted from the East Kalimantan Province DPKD page:
The Oldest Library in the World
1. The Library of Alexandria
The Alexandria Library is located in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. This library is the largest and most important library. According to history, this library was part of a large Mouseion research institute dedicated to goddesses who loved the arts.
The Library of Alexandria was built from an idea by Demetrius of Faleron which was then proposed to King Ptolemy I Soter in the Hellenistic era. However, this library was only built after King Ptolemy I Soter, namely by his son Ptolemy II Filadelfos.
2. The Library of Pergamon
Pergamon Library is located in Pergamon, Türkiye and is the city’s national library.
According to Plutarch, this library stored up to 200 thousand volumes of books. The library was built in the 3rd century BC and was built by Eumenes II between 220 and 159 BC and is located at the northern end of the Acropolis.
The Pergamon Library was the second largest library after the Alexandria library.
3. The Library of Celsus
The Celsus Library is a library that was completed in 135 AD. This library is located in Türkiye. Initially this library was built to honor Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus.
This library was built by Celsus’ own son, Gaius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus. The Celsus Library is also the oldest and third largest library in the world.
Inside the library of Celsus there is also a monumental tomb building as a tribute to Celsus.
4. The Imperial Library of Constantinople
The Imperial Library of Constantinople was located in the capital of the Byzantine Empire. This library was founded by Constantius II who ruled between 337-361 AD. He also founded the Scriptorium so that Greek literary works could still be copied for preservation.
This library also stores works of classical Greek literature.
5. Al-Qarawiyyin Library
Al-Qarawiyyin Library is a library built in 859 AD. This library is located in Fez, Morocco. This library was initiated by Fatima El-Fihriyathe who decided to build a university with its own library, for herself and her intellectuals.
The library houses some of the oldest texts in the world, including the 9th century Qur’an written in Kufi on camel skin and the 10th century account of the life of the Prophet Muhammad.
That’s a list of the oldest libraries in the world. Detikers, which library are you interested in visiting?