The 10 oldest universities in the world

When we talk about universities, places come to mind where many people, sometimes coming from the most remote places, share all kinds of knowledge, promoting reflection and thought critical.

Although today there are thousands of universities that can be found around the globe, originally these institutions were few and limited to the European continent, at least if we look for institutions that match the classical 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.

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These are the oldest universities in the world, and their location

Universities are centers for the sharing of culture, knowledge of all kinds, and promoters of critical thinking and reflection. A country without universities is a very limited country, which does not have much 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" originated 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 its origins in old 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, despite the fact that the word "university" and the idea behind it would not emerge until two centuries later.

the university of bologna 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 the European university centers unified study plans establishing academic mobility as a mechanism to facilitate mutual recognition of credits academics.

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 some 80,000 students are enrolled.

2. Oxford University, UK (1096)

As with that of Bologna, it is not known for sure when the University of Oxford was founded, agreeing that it must have been around 1096. in 1167 King Henry II of England forbade the English to study in France, which increased the number of students at this university and, since then, it has become the most prestigious study center in the Anglo-Saxon country. Today it is 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 hosts 20,000 students, carefully selected for their merits.

3. Cambridge University, UK (1209)

The founding of the University of Cambridge has a lot to do with Oxford. In 1209 a group of Oxford academics left the institution and settled in Cambridge after the execution of two students accused of rape. Over time, Cambridge became a prosperous and innovative student community and, by 1231, this university received the approval and protection of Henry III. From this would arise a historic rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, which continues to this day..

Among his most outstanding 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, as up to 90 Nobel laureates 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 date of foundation of its current university. In 1253 the University of Salamanca received this title by an edict of King Alfonso X the Wise., 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 rector. It currently has 30,000 students.

5. University of Padua, Italy (1222)

As happened to Oxford with Cambridge, there were also splits 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 Federico 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 has 100,000 students.

7. University of Siena, Italy (1240)

The University of Siena was founded in 1240 and received a papal blessing in 1252. Among its most famous teachers we have Pietro Ispano, who would later end up being Pope John XXI.

This institution is especially recognized for its schools of Law and Medicine, welcoming some 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, being the most accepted that was founded in 1241 and it is believed that it would have been the result of the transfer of the General Study of Palencia. It currently has about 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 subsequently as the University of Barcelona, ​​the Complutense of Madrid or the University of Valencia, 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 Dionisio I of Portugal in 1290, receiving the papal blessing that same year. In 1377 the university was transferred 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, some 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 if it gave the university title to a higher education center. This is why, strictly speaking and taking the medieval Western idea of ​​a university, an institution Islamic, Buddhist or secular was not a university because it had not been recognized as such by the Pope nor was it christian.

But this is no longer so. 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 degree because the Pope has decided so, but because they have met various criteria for them to be considered superior centers for the dissemination of knowledge from all over the world. guy.

A university is understood as that center in which all kinds of knowledge are shared, whether or not they are related to religion. If we take this into account and review the centers that have exercised this function throughout history, we have universities outside of 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. C., which many consider to have served as a model for medieval universities.

Next we are going to discover four educational centers that could well be considered universities, insofar as 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 Bajtiar Jalgi. In its heyday 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. University of Al-Karaouine, 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 foundation is very interesting, since it is one of the very few universities worldwide that has been founded by a well-educated and wealthy woman, Fatima al-Fihri, who fasted for the 18 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" proper was received in 1963, abandoning her former status as a madrasah. 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 that of Al-Azhar. Located in Cairo, this currently secular university has been the oldest academic-religious institution in the Muslim world. It is considered the most prestigious, especially if studies on the Sunni religion are studied.

4. Al-Nizamiyya University, Iraq (1065)

Finally we have the Al-Nizamiyya University of Baghdad. Originally, it was part of a series of schools that were put into operation by Nizam al-Mulk, an Iranian statesman, vizier of the Seljuk sultans. His original curriculum encompassed Islamic religious studies, Arabic literature, Islamic law, ie Sharia, and arithmetic. In the same way that the University of Bologna served as a model for later European universities, the Al-Nizamiyya served as a model for universities in the Arab world.

Bibliographic references:

• Haskins, Charles Homer (1923). The Rise of universities. Cornell University Press.
• Huff, Toby E. (1993). The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 978-0521529945.
• Cardini, Franco (1994). Universities of Europe. Anaya, Great Works. ISBN 978-84-8162-988-0.