the largest in the world, and by the academic standards set
by the institution. The Ptolemaic pharaohs maintained a
policy of enriching the library, and their atti-tudes
prompted the arrival of learned men from other nations.
Herophilus, “the Father of Astronomy,” was at the library,
along with EUCLID, “the Father of Geometry.” Other schol-
ars included ERATOSTHENES OF CYRENE, who calculated the
circumference of the earth, CALLIMACHUS OF CYRENE, and
ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOTHRACE. The sciences benefited from
the studies at the Library, and various forms of literature,
named Alexandrian in style, flourished.
The Library of Alexandria stood for approximately
300 years. It was partially burned in 48 B.C.E. when Julius
CAESARwas attacked within the city and set fire to the
ships in the harbor. It survived that damage but was
probably again partially destroyed by Zenobia of Palmyra
in 270 C.E. The major destruction took place in the occu-
pation of Alexandria by Caliph Omar in 642 C.E. The
modern government of Egypt has built a new Library of
Alexandria, the Biblioteca Alexandrina,which recreates
the spirit of the ancient library with research centers, a
museum, and many other features.
Suggested Readings: Canfora, Luciano. The Vanished
Library.Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990;
Casson, Lionel. Libraries in the Ancient World. New
Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2001; MacLeod,
Roy. The Library of Alexandria: Centre of Learning in the
Ancient World.London: B Tauris, 2000.
Libya (Tjehenu, Tjehemu) This was the land bor-
dering Egypt on the northwest, mentioned in papyri as
far back as the Early Dynastic Period (2920–2575 B.C.E.)
and providing the Nile Valley with two dynasties in the
later eras. The Libyans, called the Tjehenu (or Tjehemu),
were depicted on temple walls and portrayed as having
the same characteristics as Egyptians. They were termed
the Hatiu-a, “the Princes,” perhaps because of their splen-
did attire. Bearded, light-skinned, and having red or fair
hair and blue eyes, the Libyans were also identified as the
Libu and MESHWESH, two major groups.
The Libyan areas that bordered the Delta were attacked
by the early Egyptians in the Predynastic Period (before
3000 B.C.E.) as the southerners started moving north to
unite the Two Kingdoms of the Nile Valley. DJER(r. c. 2900
B.C.E.) recorded his campaign to rid the Delta of the Libyans.
SNEFRU(r. 2575–2551 B.C.E.) used the same policy in deal-
ing with them. The PALERMO STONErecorded his invasion of
their territory. SAHURÉ(r. 2458–2446 B.C.E.) depicted an
Egyptian goddess recording herds of cattle, sheep, and goats
that he captured during his campaigns in the Fifth Dynasty
in Libya. Members of the Libyan royal family were also
brought to Egypt by Sahuré to serve as hostages.
During the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) such
military campaigns against Libya were part of the Egyp-
tians’ ongoing policies. The Libyans were used as units of
the pharaoh’s army, either pressed into service or hired as
mercenaries. SENWOSRET I(1991–1926 B.C.E.) still con-
ducted assaults on Libya itself. When the Middle King-
dom collapsed, however, the Libyans became the
aggressors. The HYKSOS, invaders who ruled in AVARISin
the eastern Delta, could not halt the Libyan incursions
along the western border. The so-called WALL OF THE
PRINCE, the forts erected both in the east and the west
during the Middle Kingdom, failed to protect the Delta.
’AHMOSE (r. 1550–1525 B.C.E.) united Egypt and
started the New Kingdom, routing the Hyksos and
repelling the Libyans. His successor, AMENHOTEP I(r.
1525–1504 B.C.E.), had several military confrontations
with the Libyans in the Western Desert. In the Nine-
teenth Dynasty, SETI I(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.) met a com-
bined force of Libu and Meshwesh in the Delta and
banished them. His son and heir, RAMESSES II (r.
1290–1224 B.C.E.), met them again and vanquished them.
His son, MERENPTAH (r. 1224–1214 B.C.E.), faced the
Meshwesh, Ekwesh, and SEA PEOPLESand was victorious.
RAMESSES III(r. 1194–1163 B.C.E.) was equally successful
in his military campaigns against full-scale invasions of
the Meshwesh and Sea Peoples. The result of this cam-
paign was the capture of the Libyan clans, which were
brought into Egypt. Some disappeared into the general
population and some served in the Egyptian military or
as an internal police force, similar to the Nubian MEDJAY.
BUBASTIS(Tell Basta) and TANISbecame the center of the
Libyans from that time on, and the Twenty-second and
Twenty-third Dynasties would emerge from their ranks in
the Libyan Period, 945–712 B.C.E. Rulers such as
SHOSHENQ I(r. 945–924 B.C.E.) brought a renaissance into
Egypt in the arts and in military might. Ruling as con-
temporaries from TANISand BUBASTIS, the Libyans could
not maintain their domain as the Nubian kings moved on
northern Egypt.Libyan Desert (Western Desert) An arid stretch of
land on the western side of the Nile River, distinguished
by its low hills, great dunes, and widely scattered oases,
the Libyan Desert, harsher than the Arabian or Red Sea
Desert on Egypt’s eastern border, became part of the
FAIYUMand benefited from reclamation efforts in some
periods. The oases of SIWA, BAHARIA, FARAFRA, el-DAKHLA,
and KHARGAwere situated in this vast expanse, which
became a TRADEroute for Egypt. The Persian conqueror
CAMBYSES(r. 525–522 B.C.E.) sent a vast military unit to
the oasis of Siwa, famed for its shrine to the god AMUN.
The military force entered the desert and was never seen
again. Just recently, however, a group of Egyptians from
HALWAN University discovered human remains, metal
weapons, and fragments of textiles while on a geographi-
cal expedition in the Libyan Desert. HERODOTUS, the
Greek historian, claimed that 50,000 Persians entered theLibyan Desert 213