Islamic Madrasa Institution

Timeline

1. 1067–1100Baghdad · BaghdadSeljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk founded the first Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad, sustaining faculty salaries and buildings through waqf endowments, establishing the courtyard-iwan-student dormitory architectural paradigm and a curriculum centered on the Shafi'i school, which became a template for later colleges.
2. 1171–1300Cairo · CairoAyyubid and Mamluk rulers built numerous madrasa-mosque complexes in Cairo, Damascus, and Fez; the colleges became core institutions for training qadis (judges) and religious scholars, developing a distinctive architecture of four corner minarets and a cross-shaped iwan layout.
3. 1381–1390Major cities across the Islamic World · Islamic WorldBy the 1380s the madrasa system covered the Islamic world: Mamluk Egypt continued to sustain colleges through waqf; colleges in Herat and Samarkand under Timur attracted cross-regional scholars; madrasas and Sufi khanqahs complemented each other, jointly handling religious education and community governance.