Mustansiriya Madrasah is a historical building in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

. It was the premises of one of the oldest Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

  in the world, established in 1227 as a Madrasah

Madrasah

Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...

 by the Abbasid

Abbasid

The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....

 Caliph

Caliph

The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word   which means "successor" or "representative"...

 al-Mustansir

Al-Mustansir

Al-Mustansir was the penultimate Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 1226 to 1242. He was the son of az-Zahir and the grandson of an-Nasir. His lasting contribution was the founding of the Mustansiriya Madrasah on the banks of the Tigris in 1233....

. Located on the left bank of the Tigris

Tigris

The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...

 River, the building survived the Mongol

Battle of Baghdad (1258)

The Siege of Baghdad, which occurred in 1258, was an invasion, siege and sacking of the city of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time and the modern-day capital of Iraq, by the Ilkhanate Mongol forces along with other allied troops under Hulagu Khan.The invasion left Baghdad in...

 invasion of 1258, and has been restored. Nearby buildings included the Saray souq, the Baghdadi Museum, Mutanabbi Street

Mutanabbi Street

Mutanabbi Street is located in Baghdad, Iraq, near the old quarter of Baghdad; at Al Rasheed Street. It is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls...

, the Abbasid Palace and Caliph's Street.

In 1235, an early monumental water-powered alarm clock

Alarm clock

An alarm clock is a clock that is designed to make a loud sound at a specific time. The primary use of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they are sometimes used for other reminders as well. To stop the sound, a button or handle on the clock is pressed; but...

 that announced the appointed hours of prayer

Salat times

Salat times refers to times when Muslims perform prayers . The term is primarily used for the five daily prayers plus the Friday prayer. According to Muslim beliefs, the salat times were taught by Allah through Gabriel to Muhammad....

 and the time both by day and by night was completed in the entrance hall of the Mustansiriya Madrasah in Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

.

The Mustansriya Madrasah is still functioning in a new building, and is now part of the Al-Mustansiriya University

Al-Mustansiriya University

Al-Mustansiriya University is a university located in Baghdad, Iraq. It was established in 1227 by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir and is one of the oldest universities in the world. Formerly named Mustansiriya Madrasah, it was restructured as a modern university in 1927...

, following an expansion and restructing of the original madrasah in 1927 as part of a program of modernization.

External links

• http://arabworld.nitle.org/texts.php?module_id=12&reading_id=118&sequence=10
• http://hnn.us/comments/9850.html
• http://www.uomustansiriyah.edu.iq/english_index.html