Al-Azhar University in Cairo was founded in 970 or 972 CE by the Fatimid Caliphate as a mosque and centre of Islamic learning; students originally studied the Quran and Islamic law alongside logic, grammar, rhetoric and how to calculate the phases of the moon. Its continuous study circles give it a claim, alongside a small number of peer institutions, to being the oldest such institution still functioning, and it remains one of the most prestigious centres of Islamic scholarship in the world and Egypt's oldest degree-granting university.
Facts
Founded Year Ownership Type Classification
Institution Type Connections
Associated With
Both cited independently as among the oldest continuously operating degree-granting institutions in the world; al-Qarawiyyin (859) is recognised by UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the oldest, Al-Azhar (970) as Egypt's oldest and one of the oldest worldwide. Associative comparison, not a derivation or founding link.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Al-Azhar University (Wikipedia)Al-Azhar University article, lead section, oldest degree-granting university claim
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Egypt, located there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationAl-Azhar University articleQuote, Al-Azhar University article
It was founded as a mosque by the Fatimid commander Jawhar al-Siqilli at the orders of the Caliph and Imam Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah as he founded the city for Cairo.
2. Al-Azhar University (Wikipedia)
Lead section
Al-Azhar University is a public university in Cairo, Egypt.
Al-Azhar University, History and Beginnings under the Fatimids sections
Founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimid Caliphate as a centre of Islamic learning, its students studied the Qur'an and Islamic law, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon.
Al-Azhar University, History section
Founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimid Caliphate
Associated With: University of al-Qarawiyyin, Al-Azhar University article, lead section, oldest degree-granting university claim
Founded in 970, and associated with the Al-Azhar Al-Sharif religious institution in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university, and one of the oldest universities in the world.
View the SourceWikidata: Al-Azhar University
- Wikidata Q173959, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Wikidata Q173959, class allow-list match (w-bbfill-education6-0927)
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