The
Royal Library of Alexandria or
Ancient Library of Alexandria in
Alexandria,
Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant
libraries of the ancient world. It was dedicated to the
Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. It flourished under the patronage of the
Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the 3rd century BC until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC, with collections of works, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and gardens. The library was part of a larger research institution called the
Musaeum of Alexandria, where many of the most famous thinkers of the ancient world studied.