Abulpharagius records it and the destruction is generally credited. If true, then the record of much that is lost to us forever has vanished for all time, for two hundred thousand volumes certainly were in one building, the library which Marc Anthony gave to Cleopatra. What number of books and manuscripts were in other buildings will never be known, but it has been told that on the order of the Caliph, the books having been distributed among the five thousand baths of the city, six months was taken to burn them.
Certainly, judging from the spoiling of the Persian capital of Madayn, there is little cause to doubt otherwise than wondrous treasures would be sacrificed. For at that unfortunate city, no traces were left of the wonderful palace with its audience hall, the ceiling of which resembled the sky, with planets and stars in motion; nothing was left in the vaults where were vast treasures of gold and silver and precious stones and spices; the wonderful silken carpet made for the king, designed in imitation of a garden with emeralds set so as to form leaves, and pearls and rubies and sapphires arranged in the form of flowers; the much-written-of throne set on silver pillars above which was suspended with golden chains the kingly crown; no traces were left. It is easy to credit the destruction of the Alexandrian library then. "The contents of the books," said Omar the Caliph, "are in conformity with the Koran, or they are not. If they are not, they are pernicious and should be destroyed. If they are in conformity with
