| Year | University | Location | Notes |
|---|
| Original | Current |
|---|
| 271[34] | Academy of Gondishapur | Sasanian Empire | Iran | It is worth mentioning that this center was introduced as the world oldest university at the 39th general annual conference of Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at Paris in 2017. Although Jundishapur had been acquainted with the positive sciences since its foundation, it only became known for its knowledge of them at a much later date. According toIbn al-Nadim, the city became famous for medical sciences and philosophy only after Théodoros, the Greek philosopher and medical doctor, moved there. Théodoros served as a royal doctor toShapur II and composed several books on medical sciences, one of which was eventually translated into Arabic. Shahpur II held Théodoros in respect and even built a church for him in the city. The golden age of Jundishapur is during the reign ofKhosrow I. Khosrow was a knowledge-loving Sassanid king. He sent his special physician,Borzuya, with a group of Iranian physicians to India in order to bring medical texts to Jundishapur and translate them to Persian. Khusraw’s interest in philosophy made him famous in the West. The scholars at theAcademy of Athens made their way to Jundishapur after their academy was closed, in 529, byEmperor Justinian. After defeating Justinian, Khusraw, who followedNeoplatonic philosophy, stipulated in the peace treaty that all of the philosophers living inGundeshapur would be allowed to return to their homelands whenever they wished.[35] |
| 278[36] | Guozijian | Jin dynasty | China | Emperor Wu of Jin established Guozixue(國子學) where 國子祭酒 and 國子博士 were appointed to teach students. Guozixue became segregated fromTaixue in 293 wherein sons offifth ranks or higher were permitted into Guozixue and sons of sixth ranks or lower were sent to Taixue. This established Guozixue as the sole highest education institution in China and it were renamed to Guozisi(國子寺) inNorthern Qi.[37] AfterEmperor Yang of Sui reunified China, he finally renamed it to Guozijian(國子監) in 607 wherein it were granted autonomy as 國子祭酒 were appointed as the Secretary of State for Education. Under Guozijian, he established five schools: Guozixue(國子學), Taixue(太學), 四門學 (which had five masters and assistants each), 書學 and Mathematics(算學) which had two masters and assistants each. Altogether, there were 980 students who were studying in the five schools. Although the first four schools were succeeded from previous dynasties, an independent school forChinese mathematics were a Sui dynasty invention.[36] |
| c.a. 340[38][f] | University of Constantinople | Roman Empire | Turkey | There existed secondary schools that taught Christian and Classical literature and institutions of a higher character, comparable to modern universities, emerged as early as the first century, reaching their fully developed state in the fourth century, inRome in the West andAthens,Alexandria, andAntioch in the East. Thus, it was only natural that the establishment of a university was included inConstantinople whereinCapitolium was a state building with lecture halls and library.Constantius II twice persuadedLibanius to move from Antioch to teach at Capitolium: 340-343; 348-354. Meanwhile,Themistius appears to have begun his academic career in Constantinople between 344–347 wherein he was appointed asProconsul and furtherPraefectus urbi viaTheodosius I with responsibilities to tutor the princes.Theodosius II thereafter established the positions of three Latin and five Greek rhetoricians, ten Latin and ten Greek grammarians, a chair of philosophy and two chairs of law in 425, whilst concurrently prohibiting private tutors from teaching in state lecture halls and, conversely, forbidding state professors from giving private lessons.[38] |
| 372[39] | Taehak | Gogooryo | Korea | King Sosoorim importedTaixue viaTibetanFu Qin (符秦) along withBuddhism. It’s hypothesisedmilitary science andmartial arts were also taught as well as traditional Confucian philosophy.Silla also establishedGookhak(國學) in 682, renamed to Taehakgam(太學監): though it were renamed back to Gookhak later on. Although direct records of Taehak cannot be found vis-à-visBaekje, there are sixth century records of a title called Taehakjong(太學正), which indirectly proves the existence of Taehak in Baekje as well.[40] |
| c.a. 415-455[41][g] | Nalanda mahavihara | Gupta Empire | India | Xuanzang were a 7th century Chinese monk who made pilgrimage to India and his travelogue records the origins of the Mahavihara, repeated by the later Korean pilgrimHyecho. The name of the royal founder is provided by both as Śakrāditya, further aided in its credibility via a seal discovered at the site: Śakrāditya has thus been identified with the Gupta emperor,Kumaragupta I who reigned between 415-455. Therefore, this may explain the absence of Nalanda mahavihara in the travelogues ofFaxian who also toured northern India between 400-411. Xuanzang further recorded that, "if men of other quarters desire to enter and take part in the discussions, the keeper of the gate proposes some hard questions; many are unable to answer, and retire." The reason seems to have been that the Mahavihara had to cope with a rush for admission since it were a matter of prestige to have taken a course there.Yijing were also one such Chinese monk who recorded c.a. 3,000 students at the Mahavihara and accounted that it was usual for learners after preliminary training, to resort to Nalanda or to Valabhi for further studies.[42] The fame, that Nalanda acquired when it developed into a monastic university, is evident in that Xuanzang stayed as a resident for circa six years whereas Yijing stayed for a further ten.[43] BecauseOdantapuri were sacked and razed to the ground circa 1198, it’s hypothesised Nalanda mahavihara met a similar fate. However, it’s recordedRahula Shribhadra taughtSanskrit grammar to seventy students despite the threats of impeding raids from the military head-quarters at Odantapuri, whereof he were eventually arrested and whereupon thrown into a military prison there. A fresh raid scattered what little remained in the Mahavihara andDharmasvamin, the only student who returned, is the last recorded disciple of Nalanda mahavihara.[44] |
| fifth century[45] | Ratnagiri, Odisha | Gupta Empire | India | A number of sealings bearing the legend Śri Ratnāgiri-mahāvihriy-āryabhikśu-samghāsya, with its nucleus dating at least from about the fifth century A.D. were discovered in excavations. Taranatha in his "History of Buddhism in India," says that avihāra called Ratnagiri was built on the crest of a mountain in the kingdom ofOdivisa in the reign of Buddhapakṣa (identified with the Gupta EmperorNarasimhagupta). The establishment witnessed a phenomenal growth in religion, art and architecture till the twelfth century A.D. It played a significant role in disseminating Buddhist culture and religion by forming itself, likeNalanda, an important religious and philosophical academy of the intellectual stalwarts ofBuddhism. By the end of the thirteenth century, the building activities suffered a sharp setback as a repercussion of the disastrousinroad of Muslim invaders in large parts of India. However, though no longer in an affluent state, the Buddhists continued to maintain themselves for a few centuries more to sustain the dying flame of the faith till about the sixteenth century.Tibetan references indicate that Ratnagiri was noted for the spiritual inspiration and lively pursuit of theKalachakra in the later part of the tenth century A.D. The veracity of these references in the late Tibetan works is amply borne out by the excavated remains. The excavations laid bare the remains of an imposingstupa, two magnificent monasteries, a single winged monastery, eight temples, a large number of stupas, sculptures and architectural pieces, and objects of daily use. The cells have yielded bronze images, stupas andchoultry, myriads of clay sealings and two iron daggers. When this monastery fell into clay, a complete overhauling took place some time after the eleventh century A.D. In this filling lay a good number of the sealings of the Ratnagiri mahvihara. The new facade was also lavishly carved, but the embellishment fell short of standard by the earlier builders.[45] |
| c.a. 640[46][h] | Valabhi University | Maitraka dynasty | India | By the first century, the debate over whether it was possible for amonk who owned property (e.g. who wore clothes) to achievemoksha divided theJain community. This division was formalised at the Council of Valabhi (453 or 466), which codified Jain scripture without the participation ofDigambara monks.[47] However, by the time the ChineseBuddhist pilgrimXuanzang visitedVallabhi in the second quarter of the 7th century, he found its ruler to be a Buddhist follower.Yijing were also one such monk who described it to equal the fame of the Buddhist monastic centreNalanda mahavihara and accounted that it was usual for learners after preliminary training, to resort to Nalanda or to Valabhi for further studies. The great Buddhist teachers -Sthiramati and Gunamati - of Nalanda were for some time in charge of Buddhistic teaching at Valabhi.Kathasaritsagara, the well-knownSanskrit work, makes mention of aBrahman of theIndo-Gangetic Plain sending his son to Valabhi for higher education. This shows the widespread reputation which Valabhi enjoyed as a seat of learning.[48] |
| 671[49] | Daigaku-ryō | Asuka period | Japan | It’s recorded that aristocrats who fled fromBaekje after the defeat atBattle of Baekgang were awarded indigenous Japanese ranks and reorganised tovassals of the Japanese king. The title of 學職頭 recorded forGwisil Jipsa in 671 corresponds to the later title ofDaigaku-no-kami. The recorded title of 法官大輔 is also worth noting since 法官 corresponds toShikibu-shō so it’s also contested that a preceding organisation for Daigaku-ryō (run by 法官 who regulated 礼儀) had already been established in the reign ofEmperor Tenji, and it were home to the highly educated of Baekje. Daigaku-ryō was under the jurisdiction of Shikibu-shō and headed by 頭 (upper 従 fifth rank) who supervised students for the examinations. Wherein underneath there were one 四等官 each of: 助 (lower 正 sixth rank), 大允 (lower 正 seventh rank), 少允 (upper 従 seventh rank), 大属 (upper 従 eighth rank), 少属 (lower 従 eighth rank); and 20 使部 and two 直丁 who handled miscellaneous tasks.[50] |
| 682[51] | Gookhak | Silla | Korea | WhenKim Choonchoo and his sonKim Bommin paidtribute toEmperor Taizong of Tang in 648, Kim Choonchoo received permission to observeSeokjeon Daeje and 講論 of 國學.[52] It’s theorised this experience influenced the creation of the 大舍 title in Silla in 651.[53] However, Gookhak weren’t fully formalised till the position of 卿, head of Gookhak, were established in 682. Gookhak also had the position of master(博士), assistant(助敎) and 史, the lowest position. It’s recorded the likes of Gang soo (强首) andSeol Chong held 卿 (head of Gookhak) and the positions of 博士 and 助敎 were responsible for directly tutoring students.[54] 讀書三品科 (exam of three 品 on literature) were additionally established in 788 viaKing Wonsong (hypothesised to be a form ofexit exam) wherein: students who could aptly interpret one ofZuo Zhuan,Book of Rites orWen Xuan, whilst accurately memorising bothAnalects andClassic of Filial Piety were granted the title of Upper 品; students who read 曲禮,Analects andClassic of Filial Piety were granted Middle 品; and students who read 曲禮 andClassic of Filial Piety were granted Lower 品.[55] |
| c.a. early eighth century[56] | Odantapuri | Pala Empire | India | AfterHarsha the monastic religion likeBuddhism, which depended very much on the rulers’ patronage, witnessed a setback. But, while it was disappearing from other parts of India, it experienced another great revival in eastern India where it found most of the Pala rulers to be devout Buddhists, who were responsible for the new endowments to theNalanda mahavihara and also for the foundation of new monasteries such asVikramashila, Odantapuri andSomapura Mahavihara which almost monopolised the commerce in Buddhist culture from the ninth to the twelfth century A.D.[57] Thefounder of Pala dynasty is said, in theTibetan legends, to have founded in the early half of the eighth century amahavihara of grand proportions in the newly built city of Odantapur, only about seven miles from Nalanda. There is evidence in Tibetan legends that there used to be migration of scholars from one place to another.Atiśa received ordination from Nalanda, studied there and also at Odantapuri and finally became the head of Vikramashila from where he was escorted to Tibet. One Tibetan legend puts the number of its inmates at 12,000. But towards the end of the 11th century A.D. it must have gone far into decline when Muslim soldiers, underMuhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji committed a complete massacre of all 53 monks of Odantapuri circa 1198.[56] |
| c.a. 770-810[45][i] | Vikramashila | Pala Empire | India | It was in its peak period under the patronage of the Buddhist Pala kings ofBengal. The university granted the degree of Mahapandita and Pandita, equivalent to Master of the Arts. The pictures of most eminent among the Mahapanitas and Panditas of Vikramashila, it is said, decorated the walls. TheTibetan legends say that, when in the reign of kingRamapala,Abhayakaragupta was its head and there were 160 professors as well as 1,000 resident monks. It appears from the legends that a functionary whose designation was ‘guardian of the gate’ acted both atNalanda and Vikramashila. Nalanda had one gate while Vikramashila had six, each kept by aDvarapala - a scholar of high eminence. The famousTantric saintSiddha and scholarNaropa held the office of the keeper of the northern gate of the establishment. Here Tibetan scholars, of whom had the Indian nameDharmakirti translatedSanskrit works intoClassical Tibetan.[58] By the close of the twelfth century almost all the important centres of northern, western and central India were affected byMuslim invasions, and there began a period of rapid decline. In the beginning of the thirteenth century, the structures of the Vikramashila mahavihara were razed to the ground by the invaders.[59] |
| 810-850[60][j] | Somapura Mahavihara | Pala Empire | Bangladesh | Built byEmperor Dharmapala of the Pala Empire, who were devout Buddhists, it was the largest of its kind in India as a quadrangular monastery with a terraced edifice in the centre. In the narratives of the lives of eminent Buddhist saints and scholars, interspersed in Tibetan history references are made to their occupancy of the headships of different centres of Buddhist learning:Nalanda,Odantapuri and Somapura. There is evidence in Tibetan legends that there used to be migration of scholars from one place to another. Vipulaśrī has left an inscription at Nalanda recording his construction of a temple toTara in Somapura, as well as his erection of a monastery at Nalanda.[56] However, whenXuanzang came to this region in 639, he remarks that Nirgranthas (id est.Jains) are the most numerous. This is because the existing establishment was overhauled and remodelled and the Jain temple rebuilt as a Buddhist one byEmperor Devapala. Intercourse in the Pala period between the Mahavihara and that of Nalanda is suggested by the decorative style of stone-temples at Nalanda where terracotta plaques are raised in rows exactly as in this Mahavihara. The establishment of Somapura seems to have been designed for the occupation of some 600-800 inmates. It carried on the Nalanda tradition which had been passed on to Odantapira and Vikramashila and was inherited by it.Atiśa stayed here for some time before his departure forTibet. The downfall of the establishment by desertion or destruction must have been some time in the midst of the widespread unrest and displacement of population consequent on theMuslim invasion.[58] |
| 930[61] | Gookjagam | Goryo | Korea | Goryo reunified the Korean peninsula in the twilight of the first millennium and established the new capital of the peninsula inKaesong whence their source of political power were based.King Taejo whereupon founded 西京學校, believed to be a form of 學院, and chose 廷鶚 as 書學博士, believed to be a form of tutor.[62] However, it wasn’t till the reign ofKing Songjong when it was reorganised into Gookjagam, modelled afterGuozijian, whence it taught law(律學), writing(書學) andmathematics(算學) - centred aroundConfucianism.King Jongjong allowed students of Gookjagam, who studied for three years, the opportunity to take the 國子監試 andKing Moonjong ordered students to be expelled if they had little outcome.King Yejong further introduced 七齋 “seven disciplines” in 1109 and it’s worth noting one were 講藝齋 with a student quota of eight that taughtmartial arts, a reflection of the tumultuous time when Goryo were in conflict withJurchen people. He also established astudent financial aid institution in 1119 called 養賢庫. However, its role were critically reduced after a coup d'état in 1170 whence no further records are visible tillMongol Suzerainty whenChooŋnyol lamented that few scholars of Gookjagam were true masters.An Hyang thereupon aided in resuscitating the university and changed its name to Soŋgyoongwan in 1310, reaching its renaissance during the reign ofGongmin whence he increased its student quota to 100 and employed famous scholars such asYi Saek andChŏng Mongju as tutors.[63] It were rebuilt in 1605 after it burnt down in theImjin War. |
| c.a. 1077-1120[45][k] | Jagaddala Mahavihara | Pala Empire | Bangladesh | The lastgreat seat of Buddhist learning founded by a Pala emperor was inVarendra. It flourished in the reign ofRamapala, who is also credited as its founder. It was specifically a resort forVajrayana and it appears to have been in lively intercourse withTibetan centres ofBuddhism as both the originalSanskrit texts andTibetan translations ofTengyur andKangyur are said to have been either made or copied there. It was intact tillŚākyaśribhadra betook himself there whence he found pupils and disciples. Vibhuticandra (རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཟླ་བ་) and Danashila (དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།) were such disciples who were scholars of Tibetan and Sanskrit at Jaddala mahavihara. Around the time of theSena dynasty,Muslim invasions had destroyedOdantapuri andVikramashila, killing manyBhikkhu in the process. This was the context wherein Śākyaśribhadra fled here, whence he left to Tibet after three years. Although Varendra itself was sacked circa 1207, it’s theorised the monastery had already been deserted at that time.[64] |
| 1076[65] | Quốc Tử Giám | Lý dynasty | Vietnam | EmperorLý Thánh Tông established Quốc Tử Giám, modelled afterGuozijian and permitted the crown prince to study there. It was later renamed to Quốc Tử viện in 1253 during theTrần dynasty and again to Thái Học đường in 1483 during theLê dynasty. It was located behind the Văn Miếu with lecture halls, dormitories, a printing house and a large courtyard in the centre. There are steles still present at the site commemorating tiến sĩ khoa thi nho học, masters who passed theImperial examination.[65] |
| ca. 1040-1147 | University of al-Qarawiyyin | Almoravid dynasty | Morocco | see above |
| ca. 14th century | University of Ez-Zitouna | Hafsid dynasty | Tunisia | see above |
| 1398 | Soŋgyoongwan | Joson Kingdom | South Korea | see above |
| 1453 | Istanbul University | Ottoman Empire | Turkey | see above |
| c.a. 1410-1466[66][l] | Ashikaga Gakko | Muromachi period | Japan | Although there exist many theories on when it was founded, it’s certain it was rebuilt into a academic institution in the Muromachi period via the Kanrei (deputyShogun) ofKantō,Uesugi Norizane. As well as donating many valuable books, such as 尚書正義, he further invited 快元 fromEngaku-ji to be the inaugural principal in order to accelerate its development. When academic codes and regulations, as well as dormitories, were established, students gathered from across the archipelago, ranging fromMutsu Province toRyukyu Kingdom, that rumours spread overseas of 学徒三千人 “three thousand pupils”. From contemporary textbooks and records, it can be deduced subjects onI Ching,military science and medicine were taught - centred aroundConfucianism. Although no archaeological sites from the Muromachi period can be found, drawings believed to date from theTokugawa shogunate show buildings and gardens in the centre surrounded by moats and earthworks withSandō extending south, and further depictions of avegetable garden provide valuable insight into contemporary student life. It’s recorded in lettersFrancis Xavier sent toJesuits ofGoa in 1549 that, “Ashikaga Gakko is an academy in Kantō.” It’s further recorded in the ‘’Historia de Japam’’ published byLuís Fróis that, “there exists only one university and open school in the whole of Japan. It is located inAshikaga ofShimotsuke Province.” Its prestigious status came to an end when it was converted into aHyanggyo in the twilight of the Tokugawa shogunate, eventually closing in 1872.[66] |
| ca. 1516-1517 | Al-Azhar University | Ottoman Empire | Egypt | see above |
| 1639 | Ryukoku University | Tokugawa shogunate | Japan | |
| 1790 | University of Tokyo | Tokugawa shogunate | Japan | see above |
