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The original was posted on /r/askhistorians by /u/zerophase on 2023-08-07 23:41:34+00:00.

I recently heard Muslims invented the university. While getting my philosophy degree I always heard from professors philosophers created the first university, which the modern university sys is based on. Either Plato’s Academy or Aristotle’s Lyceum.

They’d probably concede the first could be earlier since there’s some weak historical data of Greeks and Buddhists meeting prior to Plato. Can’t remember what their evidence was, but there were some similarities in concepts my professor mentioned. Either group could have been first.

But, I just found out there was a Muslim university in the 8th century BC. So, what’s the scholarly debate on this topic?