A variety ofancient higher-learning institutions were developed in many cultures to provide institutional frameworks for scholarly activities. These ancient centres were sponsored and overseen by courts; by religious institutions, which sponsoredcathedral schools,monastic schools, andmadrasas; by scientific institutions, such as museums, hospitals, and observatories; and by certain scholars. They are distinct from theWestern-styleuniversity, an autonomous organization of scholars that originated inmedieval Europe^[1] and have been adopted in other regions inmodern times (seelist of oldest universities in continuous operation).^[2]

Ancient Egyptians established an organization of higher learning – thePer Ânkh, which means the "House of Life" – in 2000 BCE.^[3][4]

In the third century BCE, amid thePtolemaic dynasty, theSerapeum,Mouseion, andLibrary of Alexandria served as organizations of higher learning inAlexandria.^[5][4]

InCairo,Al-Azhar, which was established in 970 CE, served as an organization of higher learning.^[6][4]

InFez,Fatima al-Fihri established a madraza in 859 CE, which eventually became the organization of higher learning, the currently namedUniversity of al-Qarawiyyin.^[6][4]

TheUniversity of Ez-Zitouna claims a date of establishment in 732 CE asAl-Zaytuna Mosque; however, there is little information about teaching at the Zaytuna Mosque prior to the 14th century.^[4][7]

In the 14th or 15th century CE, theSankoré Madrasah, which began as the Mosque of Sankore, served as an organization of higher learning inTimbuktu.^[6][4][8][9] The Mosque of Sankore, the Mosque ofSidi Yahya, and the Mosque ofDjinguereber constitute what is referred to as the "University of Timbuktu."^[6][4]

In the fourth century CE, amid the reign of EmperorElla Amida, the Axumite imperial church served as an organization of higher learning.^[3][4]

Nalanda was established in the fifth century CE inBihar,India,^[10] and survived until circa 1200 CE. It was devoted to Buddhist studies, but it also trained students in fine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of war.^[12]

Evidence in literature suggests that in 1193, Nalanda mahavihara was sacked by^[13] Bakhtiyar Khilji.^[14] The Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, reported an attack on a Buddhist monastery in which all the Buddhist monks were killed. This may have been Nalanda but others believe it wasOdantapuri.^[15] In 2014 the modernNalanda University was launched in nearbyRajgir.

The school inPushpagiri was established in the third century CE as presentOdisha, India. As of 2007, the ruins of this Mahavihara had not yet been fully excavated. Consequently, much of the Mahavihara's history remains unknown. Of the three Mahavihara campuses, Lalitgiri in the district of Cuttack is the oldest. Iconographic analysis indicates that Lalitgiri had already been established during theShunga period of the second century BCE, making it one of the oldest Buddhist establishments in the world. The Chinese travellerXuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), who visited it in 639 CE, asPuphagiri Mahavihara,^[16][17] as well as in medieval Tibetan texts. However, unlike Takshila and Nalanda, the ruins of Pushpagiri were not discovered until 1995, when a lecturer from a local college first stumbled upon the site.^[18][19] The task of excavating Pushpagiri's ruins, stretching over 58 hectares (143 acres) of land, was undertaken by the Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies between 1996 and 2006. It is now being carried out by theArchaeological Survey of India (ASI).^[20]TheNagarjunakonda inscriptions also mention about this learning center.^[21][22]

Vikramashila was one of the two most important centres of learning in India during thePala Empire, along withNalanda. Vikramashila was established by KingDharmapala (783 to 820) in response to a supposed decline in the quality of scholarship at Nalanda.Atisha, the renownedpandita, is sometimes listed as a notableabbot. It was destroyed by the forces ofMuhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji around 1200.^[23]

Vikramashila is known to us mainly through Tibetan sources, especially the writings ofTāranātha, the Tibetan monk historian of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.^[24]

Vikramashila was one of the largest Buddhist universities, with more than one hundred teachers and about one thousand students. It produced eminent scholars who were often invited by foreign countries to spread Buddhist learning, culture and religion. The most distinguished and eminent among all wasAtisha Dipankara, a founder of theSarma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Subjects like philosophy, grammar, metaphysics,Indian logic etc. were taught here, but the most important branch of learning wastantrism.^{[citation needed]}

Other notable centres in India includeOdantapuri, inBihar (circa 550 – 1040),Telhara in Bihar^[25] (probably older than Nalanda^[26]),Kanchipuram inTamil Nadu,Manyakheta inKarnataka,Nagarjunakonda inAndhra Pradesh,Valabhi inGujarat,Varanasi inUttar Pradesh,Vikramashila inBihar (circa 800–1040),

AncientTaxila or Takshashila, in ancientGandhara, present-dayPakistan, was an early Buddhist centre of learning. According to scattered references that were only fixed a millennium later, it may have dated back to at least the fifth century BCE.^[27] Some scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the sixth century BCE.^[28] The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was most likely still provided on an individualistic basis.^[27]

Takshashila is described in some detail in laterJātaka tales, written inSri Lanka around the fifth century CE.^[29]

It became a noted centre of learning at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students until the destruction of the city in the fifth century CE. Takshashila is perhaps best known because of its association withChanakya. The famoustreatiseArthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge ofEconomics) by Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautilya),^[30] theMaurya EmperorChandragupta^[31] and theAyurvedic doctorCharaka studied at Taxila.^[32]

Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. TheVedas and the Eighteen Arts, which included skills such asarchery,hunting, andelephant lore, were taught, in addition to itslaw school,medical school, and school ofmilitary science.^[32] Further centres in present day Pakistan include theSharada Peeth inAzad Kashmir.

Somapura Mahavihara andJagaddala Mahavihara are located inBangladesh.

Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya,Abhayagiri Vihāra andJetavanaramaya are located inSri Lanka.^{[citation needed]}

InChina, the ancient imperial academy known asTaixue was established by theHan dynasty. It was intermittently inherited by succeeding Chinese dynasties up until the Qing dynasty, in some of which the name was changed toGuozixue orGuozijian.Peking University (Imperial University of Peking) andNanjing University are regarded as the replacement of Taixue. By 725 CE,Shuyuan or Academies of Classical Learning were private learning institutions established during the medieval ChineseTang dynasty. TheYuelu Academy (later becomeHunan University) founded in 976 CE, which is one of thefour ancient famous Shuyuan (Academies) during theSong dynasty.^[33]

InJapan,Daigakuryo was founded in 671 andAshikaga Gakko was founded in the ninth century and restored in 1432.^{[citation needed]}

InKorea,Taehak was founded in 372 andGukhak was established in 682.Seowons were private institutions established during theJoseon dynasty which combined functions of aConfucian shrine and a preparatory school. TheSeonggyungwan was founded by in 1398 to offer prayers and memorials toConfucius and his disciples, and to promote the study of theConfucian canon. It was the successor toGukjagam from theGoryeo dynasty (992). It was reopened asSungkyunkwan University, a private Western-style university, in 1946.^{[citation needed]}

Temple of Literature or Văn Miếu Quốc Tử Giám is atemple dedicated to Confucius inHanoi, northernVietnam. The temple was founded and first built in 1070 at the time of EmperorLý Thánh Tông, and it hosted theImperial Academy (Quốc Tử Giám,國子監), Vietnam's first national university, from 1076 to 1779. In 1803, Theacademy was moved to the new capital ofNguyen dynasty in Hue.

TheAcademy of Gondishapur was established in the third century CE under the rule ofSassanid kings and continued its scholarly activities up to four centuries after Islam came to Persia. It was an important medical centre of the sixth and seventh centuries and a prominent example of higher education model in pre-Islam Persia.^[34]

ThePlatonic Academy (sometimes referred to as the University of Athens),^[35][36] founded ca. 387 BCE inAthens,Greece, by the philosopherPlato, lasted until 86 BCE, when it was destroyed during Sulla's siege and sacking of Athens.^[37] Some 400 years later, during the fourth century CE, the Platonist philosopherPlutarch of Athens started a school which identified itself with Plato's Academy that lasted until 529, when it was closed following an edict from the Emperor Justinian prohibiting pagans from teaching.^[38]

Around 335 BCE, Plato's successorAristotle founded thePeripatetic school, the students of which met at theLyceum gymnasium in Athens. The school also ceased in 86 BC during the famine, siege and sacking of Athens bySulla.^[39]

TheUniversity of Constantinople, founded as an institution of higher learning in 425, educated graduates to take on posts of authority in the imperial service or within the Church.^[42] It was reorganized as a corporation of students in 849 by the regentBardas of emperorMichael III, is considered by some to be the earliest institution of higher learning with some of the characteristics we associate today with a university (research and teaching, auto-administration, academic independence, et cetera). If a university is defined as "an institution of higher learning" then it is preceded by several others, including the Academy that it was founded to compete with and eventually replaced. If the original meaning of the word is considered "a corporation of students" then this could be the first example of such an institution. ThePreslav Literary School andOhrid Literary School were the two major literary schools of theFirst Bulgarian Empire.^{[citation needed]}

In Western Europe during theEarly Middle Ages,bishops sponsoredcathedral schools andmonasteries sponsoredmonastic schools, chiefly dedicated to the education ofclergy. The earliest evidence of a European episcopal school is that established inVisigothic Spain at theSecond Council of Toledo in 527.^[43] These early episcopal schools, with a focus on an apprenticeship in religious learning under a scholarly bishop, have been identified in Spain and in about twenty towns in Gaul during the sixth and seventh centuries.^[44]

In addition to these episcopal schools, there were monastic schools which educated monks and nuns, as well as future bishops, at a more advanced level.^[45] Around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, some of them developed into autonomous universities. A notable example is when theUniversity of Paris grew out of the schools associated with theCathedral of Notre Dame, theMonastery of Ste. Geneviève, and theAbbey of St. Victor.^[46][47] Italian universities are among the oldest universities in the world; theUniversity of Bologna (founded in 1088) notably, isthe oldest one ever; also,University of Naples Federico II (founded in 1224) are is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation.^[40][41]

• Madrasah
• Medieval university
• Nezamiyeh
• History ofAcademia,Academy,University
• Pirivena
• List of oldest universities in continuous operation

• Furley, David (2003a), "Peripatetic School", in Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony (eds.),The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press,ISBN 0-19-860641-9
• Irwin, T. (2003),"Aristotle", in Craig, Edward (ed.),Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge
• Lynch, J. (1997), "Lyceum", in Zeyl, Donald J.; Devereux, Daniel; Mitsis, Phillip (eds.),Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy, Greenwood Press,ISBN 0-313-28775-9
• Riché, Pierre.Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1978.ISBN 0-87249-376-8.

• Ancient Buddhist Monastic Establishments in Bangladesh (archived 9 August 2003)

• Ancient universities

• CS1: unfit URL
• Webarchive template wayback links
• CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from July 2020
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2024
• Articles containing Vietnamese-language text