Sufi and Madrasa Networks

Timeline

1. 1000–1080Khurasan and Baghdad · Islamic worldIn the 11th century, Sufi mystical traditions spread through master-disciple relationships in Khurasan, Baghdad, and elsewhere, while mosque schools taught jurisprudence and hadith, laying the social foundation for the later institutionalization of madrasas and the expansion of Sufi orders.
2. 1131–1140Nishapur and Baghdad · IranIn the 1130s, Nizamiyya madrasas were established in chains across Iraq, Khurasan, Syria, and other regions, while Sufi orders expanded simultaneously in Anatolia and North Africa; scholars and Sufi sheikhs formed a cross-regional knowledge exchange network through travel, letters, and writings.
3. 1150–1220Konya · TurkeySeljuk Anatolia became a meeting ground for Sufi and madrasa learning; orders such as the Mevlevi expressed spiritual practice through poetry, music, and whirling dances, shaping the Islamic cultural landscape of Anatolia alongside madrasa legal education.