The Bayhaqiyya Madrasa of Nishapur
المدرسة البيهقية بنيسابور
The Bayhaqiyya of Nishapur, the earliest madrasa whose report is preserved in Islam: al-Maqrizi holds that the people of Nishapur were the first recorded as building a madrasa; al-Subki and al-Suyuti cited it to rebut al-Dhahabi's claim that Nizam al-Mulk founded the first madrasas, for it stood before Nizam al-Mulk was born.
At a glance
- Era
- The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
- Region
- Persia & Central Asia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Overview
Al-Maqrizi's statement
Al-Maqrizi says that the people of Nishapur are the first in whom it is recorded that they built a madrasa, and that the Bayhaqiyya was built there. 1
The reply to al-Dhahabi
Al-Subki and al-Suyuti used it to answer al-Dhahabi's claim that Nizam al-Mulk was the first to establish madrasas. Their argument is that it existed before Nizam al-Mulk was born. 1
The builder
It was built by the people of the city, or some of them, in honour of Bayhaq ibn Abi Bayhaq, the governor who held standing there. 1
Connections
- Located in
- Nishapur
People and things also explored
The Sa'diyya Madrasa of Nishapur· Qasr al-Shadiyakh· The Conquest of Naysabur· Nishapur
Sources
- Duha al-Islam — Ahmad Amin (Hindawi 2012), p.67-68
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Bayhaqiyya Madrasa of Nishapur”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/building/al-madrasa-al-bayhaqiyya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.