d to him a treasure hitherto unnoticed, or rather
unvalued, by the Moslem conquerors. This was a vast collection of books
or manuscripts, since renowned in history as the Alexandrian Library.
Perceiving that in taking an account of everything valuable in the city,
and sealing up all its treasures, Amru had taken no notice of the books,
John solicited that they might be given to him. Unfortunately the
learned zeal of the Grammarian gave a consequence to the books in the
eyes of Amru, and made him scrupulous of giving them away without
permission of the Caliph. He forthwith wrote to Omar, stating the merits
of John, and requesting to know whether the books might be given to him.
The reply of Omar was laconic, but fatal. "The contents of those books,"
said he, "are in conformity with the _Koran_, or they are not. If they
are, the _Koran_ is sufficient without them; if they are not, they are
pernicious. Let them, therefore, be destroyed."

Amru, it is said, obeyed the order punctually. The books and manuscripts
were distributed as fuel among the five thousand baths of the city; but
so numerous were they that it took six months to consume them. This act
of barbarism, recorded by Abulpharagius, is considered somewhat doubtful
by Gibbon, in consequence of its not being mentioned by two of the most
ancient chroniclers, Elmacin in his Saracenic history, and Eutychius in
his annals, the latter of whom was patriarch of Alexandria and has
detailed the conquest of that city. It is inconsistent, too, with the
character of Amru as a poet and a man of superior intelligence; and it
has recently been reported, we know not on what authority, that many of
the literary treasures thus said to have been destroyed do actually
exist in Constantinople. Their destruction, however, is generally
credited and deeply deplored by historians. Amru, as a man of genius and
intelligence, may have grieved at the order of the Caliph, while, as a
loyal subject and faithful soldier, he felt bound to obey it.

The fall of Alexandria decided the fate of Egypt and likewise that of
the emperor Heraclius. He was already afflicted with a dropsy, and took
the loss of his Syrian and now that of his Egyptian dominions so much to
heart that he underwent a paroxysm, which ended in his death, about
seven weeks after the loss of his Egyptian capital. He was succeeded by
his son Constantine.

While Amru was successfully extending his conquests, a great dearth and
famine