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In the 2nd century Emperor Hadrian forbad the teaching of Jewish scriptures and ten Rabbis were executed and their Torah scrolls burned. The Jews have repeatedly had their books destroyed. In 363 the emperor Jovian, a Roman Catholic, ordered the entire library at Antioch to be destroyed as it had been collected by his non-Christian predecessor Emperor Julian. In 640 the Great library at Alexandria was torched although it is now considered this might have been by accident. From the 13th century onwards a whole series of Popes, starting with Pope Gregory IX, caused the destruction of copies of the Jewish Talmud. Once Gutenberg invented the printing Press around 1450 it became less possible to destroy all copies of books.

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