Nezamiyeh

Nizamiyehs were medieval institutions of higher education established by Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk, the famous vizier of the Seljuk Empire. The name Nizamiyyah in Islamic History is thus derived from his name.

Theese institutes were regarded as the first well organized universities in the Muslim world. The quality of education was unquestionably the highest in the entire Islamic world, and they were even renowned in Europe. They were supported financially, politically, and spiritually by the royal establishment and the elite class.

The most famous and celebrated of all the Nizamiyyah schools was the Nizamiyyah of Baghdad (established 1065) where Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk appointed the most distinguished Muslim Philosopher and Theologian, al-Ghazali, as a professor. The other Nizamiyyah schools were located in Nishapur, Balkh, Herat and Isfahan.

Persian Poet Sa'di was a student at that college.

According to Mughatil ibn Bakri, a staff member of the Nizamiyyah of Baghdad, Nizam ul-Mulk himself was assasinated when he converted to Shi'a Islam after a Sunni-Shi'a debate held by the orders of Sultan Malik Shah I, who also followed the same fate.

See also

• Higher education in Iran
• Academy of Gundishapur
• List of universities in Iran
• Darolfonoon
• List of Iranian scientists from the pre-modern era.
• Modern Iranian scientists and engineers
• List of Iranian Research Centers