Library of Caesarea

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The library of Caesarea was a library of Christians in the ancient city of Caesarea in Palestine .

The school of the Pamphilus of Caesarea resident there had an excellent reputation; their representatives collected around 30,000 manuscripts. Since the Caesarean text type was one of the earliest New Testament text types, personalities such as Gregory of Nazianzen , Basil the Great and Jerome came to study on the Mediterranean coast. The most important writings in the collection included copies of the Gospel of Hebrews and the Hexapla .

The persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Diocletian damaged the library's holdings. Clergymen like Acacius of Caesarea then set about restoring and conserving it. Research suggests that Islamic expansion around 700 AD initiated the destruction of the library.

literature

  • Marco Frenschkowski : Studies on the history of the library of Caesarea . In: Thomas J. Kraus, Tobias Nicklas (Eds.): New Testament Manuscripts. Their Texts and Their World (= Texts and Editions for New Testament Study , Volume 2.). Brill, Leiden u. a. 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-14945-8 , pp. 53-104.