Nizamiyya of Baghdad

The Nizamiyya of Baghdad or the Baghdad Nizamiyya, also known as the Nizamian college of Baghdad (al-Madrasa n-Niẓāmiyya fī Baġdād, lit. 'the Nizamian school in Baghdad'), was one of the first Nizamiyyas, established in 1065 in Baghdad. The Nizamiyya of Baghdad was considered among the most important and prestigious educational institutions of the Abbasid era, alongside the Mustansiriyya Madrasa. It has been described as the "largest university of the Medieval world." The Nizamiyya school was completely Shafi'i. One of its requirements was that all teachers, preachers, and librarians be Shafi'i in jurisprudence and Ash'ari in theology. This school was home to prominent Shafi'i jurists including Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi, Ibn al-Sabbagh, Abu Sa'ad al-Mutawalli, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, and al-Kiya al-Harrasi.In July 1091, Nizam al-Mulk appointed the 33-year-old al-Ghazali as a professor of the school. Offering free education, Ibn Tumart, founder of the Berber Almohad dynasty, reputedly attended the school and studied under al-Kiya al-Harrasi. Nizam al-Mulk's son-in-law Muqatil ibn Atiyah was also employed by the school. In 1096, when al-Ghazali left the Nizamiyya, it housed 3,000 students. In 1116, Muhammad al-Shahrastani taught at the Nizamiyya. In the 1170s, statesman Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad taught at the Nizamiyya, before he moved on to t

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