Jessica Gössl

It contained hundreds of thousands of books, or rather papyrus scrolls, thanks in part to the Ptolemaic kings and their book collecting strategies.

According to one story, every ship that arrived in the harbor of Alexandria would be searched for books.

When a book was found, it was taken to the library and a decision was made.

The book would either be returned to its owner or kept by the library.

In this case, the owner would be compensated with a quickly prepared copy.

For many years, the Library of Alexandria was very influential, contributing to the city's reputation as a center of learning.

But between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, the library fell into decline and was eventually destroyed.

While this seems like a huge cultural loss, we don't actually know how many texts were truly lost.

At the time, it was a common practice to make copies of papyrus scrolls.

So, it's tempting to believe that much of the collection survived thanks to the diligent efforts of scribes.

And as a cultural icon, the Library of Alexandria has had a long-lasting legacy.

To this day, it's a symbol of knowledge and a reminder of the priceless value of books.

The ancient Romans were also enthusiastic readers, particularly the upper classes.

It was fashionable to have a book collection, and a large-scale book trade began to develop.

Like the Greeks and Egyptians, Romans used papyrus scrolls.

But at some point, they began to use a new format, cutting sheets of papyrus and putting them together to form a codex.

The codex, codices in the plural, is generally considered to be the ancestor of the modern book.

The format seems to have evolved from Roman wax tablets, which were often bound together in a book-like form and used as notebooks.

Codices were much more practical than papyrus scrolls, especially when it came to creating

and reading lengthy texts.