Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad

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Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (Arabic,المدرسة النظامية )was an early Islamic university, arguably the first ever[1], established in July of 1091[2], when Nizam al-Mulk appointed the 33-year-old Al-Ghazali as a professor of the school.

Offering free education[3], it has been hailed as the "largest university of the Medieval world".[4]

Ibn Tumart, founder of the Berber Almohad dynasty, reputedly attended the school and studied under al-Ghazali - although some have questioned whether his claims of being charged by al-Ghazali to avenge the burning of his books in Morocco may be an apocryphal tale.[5]

al-Mulk's son-in-law Mughatil ibn Bakri was also employed by the university.

Persian poet Sa'di studied at the university from 1195 until 1226, when he set out on a thirty-year journey.

In 1116, Muhammad al-Shahrastani taught at the University.[6]

In 1096, when al-Ghazali left the University, it housed 300 students. [7]

In the 1170s, statesman Beha ud-Din taught at the University, before he moved on to teach in Mosul.

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