When we talk about universities, places come to mind where many people, sometimes coming from the most remote places, share all types of knowledge, promoting reflection and critical thinking.
Although today there are thousands of universities that we can find throughout the globe, originally these institutions were few and limited to the European continent, at least if we look for institutions that match the classic definition of “university.”
Next we will discover what are the oldest universities in the world in addition to seeing what their origins are and we will take the opportunity to make special mention of institutions that, although they did not emerge as universities, have a lot to do with it.
These are the oldest universities in the world, and their location
Universities are centers for sharing culture, knowledge of all kinds and promoters of critical thinking and reflection. A country that lacks universities is a very limited country, which does not have many things to offer the rest of the world in terms of culture and education. Universities have become, at least in the first world, economic and cultural engines as indispensable as industry, commerce and tourism.
The first institutions properly called “universities” have their origins in medieval Europe At this time there were centers called “studium generale” or “general study”, centers in which different disciplines were taught.
In turn, general studies had their origins in ancient clerical schools that had opened their doors to non-religious men. Although the title “university” would not appear until 1254, there are several educational centers prior to this date considered the first universities.
1. University of Bologna, Italy (1088)
It is not known with certainty when the University of Bologna was founded, but it is accepted that it must have been around 1088. This is the first university founded, although the word “university” and the idea behind it would not emerge until two centuries later. .
The University of Bologna It is known for initiating formal higher education in the Western world and, for 30 years, it has been the center from which the Bologna Agreement originated, with which European university centers unified study plans by establishing academic mobility as a mechanism to facilitate the mutual recognition of academic credits.
Originally he specialized in law and had a great reputation in this discipline. Among the great historical figures who have attended his classes we have figures such as Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Thomas Becket, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Copernicus, Marconi or Umberto Eco. Today about 80,000 students are enrolled.
As with the University of Bologna, it is not known for certain when the University of Oxford was founded, it is agreed that it must have been around 1096. In 1167 King Henry II of England prohibited English people from studying in France, which increased the number of students at this university and, since then, it became the most prestigious center of studies in the Anglo-Saxon country. It is currently widely known for its humanities programs.
Among his most notable students we have John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Indira Ghandi, Adam Smith, Albert Einstein, Erwin Schrödinger, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins. Almost 50 of its graduates have been Nobel Prize winners and, currently, this institution welcomes 20,000 students, carefully selected for their merits.
3. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom (1209)
The founding of the University of Cambridge has a lot to do with Oxford. In 1209 a group of Oxford scholars left the institution and settled in Cambridge after the execution of two students accused of rape. As time went by, Cambridge became a prosperous and innovative student community and, by 1231, this university received the approval and protection of Henry III. From this would emerge a historic rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, which continues to this day
Among his most notable students and teachers we have Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Bacon, Stephen Hawking, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, John Milton, Alan Turing, Charles of Wales, Emma Thompson and Sacha Baron Cohen. It is more impressive than Oxford, since up to 90 Nobel Prize winners have come from Cambridge. He excels especially in science.
4. University of Salamanca, Spain (1218)
In 1218 the general study of Salamanca was founded, the year that is taken as the founding date of its current university. In 1253 the University of Salamanca received this title by an edict of King Alfonso , being the oldest Spanish-speaking university in the world. In 1255, Pope Alexander IV recognized the universal validity of the degrees offered therein, and granted it the privilege of having its own seal.
Since it was founded it has remained active for almost 8 centuries, having among its students such important figures for Spanish history and culture as Fray Luis de León, Fernando de Rojas, Hernán Cortés, Luis de Góngora, Calderón de la Barca or Miguel de Unamuno, who was not only a student but also a rector. It currently has 30,000 students.
5. University of Padua, Italy (1222)
Just as what happened to Oxford with Cambridge, splits also occurred in Italy. In 1222 a group of students and professors from the University of Bologna, Desiring greater freedom of expression, they moved to Padua and, there, they founded what would eventually be a new University.
Among the most excellent students of this institution we have figures such as Nicolás Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Gabriele Falloppio and Mario Rizzetto. Today it has 60,000 students.
6. University of Naples Frederick II, Italy (1224)
This institution was founded by Frederick II in 1224, although the monarch’s name was not added until 1987. The University of Naples It was the first secular university in the world and, currently, it has 100,000 students.
7. University of Siena, Italy (1240)
The University of Siena was founded in 1240 and received papal blessing in 1252. Among his most famous teachers we have Pietro Ispano, who would later become Pope John XXI
This institution is especially recognized for its Law and Medicine schools, welcoming about 20,000 students a year.
8. University of Valladolid, Spain (1241)
The University of Valladolid is another of the oldest higher institutions that we can find in Spain As with many other European universities, there are several theories about its foundation, the most accepted being that it was founded in 1241 and it is believed that it would have been the result of the transfer of the General Study from Palencia. It currently has nearly 25,000 students.
9. University of Murcia, Spain (1272)
Although it is often said that it was founded by Alfonso X in 1272, it is not so clear. Although it is currently a fairly modest university, overshadowed by other institutions founded later such as the University of Barcelona, the Complutense of Madrid or the University of Valencia, it has been one of the greatest cultural references during the Middle Ages It currently has about 30,000 students.
10. University of Coimbra, Portugal (1290)
The University of Coimbra was founded by King Dionysius I of Portugal in 1290, receiving papal blessing that same year. In 1377 the university was moved to the capital, Lisbon, where it remained until 1537 when he returned to Coimbra. Since June 2013 it has the honor of being considered a World Heritage Site and, currently, about 20,000 people study there. It gives its name to the Coimbra group, an association that brings together the 38 best universities in Europe, including Salamanca.
Special mentions
As we said, the idea of “university” is European. In its origins, it was the Pope of Rome who practically took the right to recognize an educational institution as a university through papal bulls that certified it. That is to say, The Catholic Church was the one that decided whether to give the university title to a higher education center This is why, strictly speaking and taking the medieval Western idea of a university, an Islamic, Buddhist or secular institution was not a university because it had not been recognized as such by the Pope nor was it Christian.
But this is no longer the case. Today the only universities that are founded with the approval of the Catholic Church are those that call themselves Catholic universities. The more than 20,000 universities around the globe have not received their title because the Pope has decided so, but because they have met various criteria to be considered superior centers for the dissemination of knowledge of all kinds.
A university is understood as a center in which all types of knowledge are shared, whether related to religion or not. If we take this into consideration and review the centers that have performed this function throughout history we have Universities outside Europe much older than the University of Bologna In fact, we could say that the first University founded in Europe would be Plato’s Academy in Athens, around 388 BC, which many consider served as a model for medieval universities.
Below we are going to discover four educational centers that could well be considered universities, since they have served as centers of higher education.
1. Nalanda University, India (450)
Nalanda University was a Buddhist institution founded in 1193, which disappeared 800 years later after being destroyed by the Muslim Turks under the command of Muhammad Bakhtiar Khalgi. In its greatest period of splendor it had a university population of 10,000 students It was refounded in 2014 in a new campus located 10 kilometers away from its original location.
2. Al-Karaouine University, Morocco (859)
The University of Al-Karaouine or Qarawiyyin It is probably the oldest active university in the world
Located in Fez, Morocco, the story behind its founding is very interesting, since it is one of the very few universities in the world that has been founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, well educated and wealthy, who was fasting for 18 years. years it took to build this university. Ironically, it was not until recently that women were allowed to enroll in the institution.
This university is included in UNESCO and also appears in the Guinness Book of Records. Despite this, The title of “university” itself was received in 1963 , abandoning its previous madrasah status. Its original operation is very different from the current one, given that in its origins it was an Islamic educational center like any other, while currently it has taught more secularly.
3. Al-Azhar University, Egypt (972)
Another important university in the Islamic world is Al-Azhar. Located in Cairo, this university, currently secular, It has been the oldest academic-religious institution in the Muslim world It is considered the most prestigious, especially if you study the Sunni religion.
4. Al-Nizamiyya University, Iraq (1065)
Finally we have Al-Nizamiyya University in Baghdad. Originally, it was part of a series of schools that were put into operation by Nizam al-Mulk, Iranian statesman , vizier of the Seljuk sultans. His original curriculum covered Islamic religious studies, Arabic literature, Islamic law, i.e. Sharia, and arithmetic. Just as the University of Bologna served as a model for later European universities, Al-Nizamiyya served as a model for universities in the Arab world.
