Al-Azhar Madrasa, Cairo

Timeline

1. 970–1171Cairo · EgyptFatimid caliph al-Mu'izz ordered the construction of the al-Azhar mosque as Cairo's religious and Shia missionary center, with attached schools teaching the Quran and Ismaili doctrine.
2. 1171–1250Cairo · EgyptAfter Saladin overthrew the Fatimids he abolished Shia preaching; al-Azhar adopted Sunni Islam and introduced the Shafi'i and other schools of jurisprudence, gradually shifting from a dynastic mosque to a Sunni scholarly institution.
3. 1310–1341Al-Azhar, Cairo · CairoBetween 1331 and 1340, al-Nasir Muhammad and Mamluk elites donated heavily to expand arcades and student dormitories (riwaq); Muslim students gathered from everywhere, teaching of jurisprudence and hadith matured, and al-Azhar became a key symbol of Mamluk religious legitimacy.
4. 1961Cairo · EgyptIn 1961 the Egyptian government formally made al-Azhar a university and added modern faculties, though its madrasa tradition traces back to the medieval Mamluk-era scholarly establishment.