House of Knowledge
Ancient university of the Fatimid Caliphate / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The House of Knowledge (Arabic: دار العلم, romanized: Dār al-ʿIlm) was an ancient university built by the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo in 1004 CE. Originally a library, the House of Knowledge was converted to a state university by the Fatimid Imam-Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in the same year.[1]
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (May 2017) |
This article is about the Fatimid medieval university in Egypt. For the medieval Abbasid library, see House of Wisdom.
In keeping with the Islamic tradition of knowledge, the Fatimids collected books on a variety of subjects and their libraries attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. al-Hakim was a great patron of learning and provided paper, pens, ink and inkstands without charge to all those who wished to study there.[2]