Yup, Taxila notwithstanding, I'd say al-Azhar wins, since it's still very much a functioning school. It's also interesting that al-Azhar has given its approval to a fledgling Muslim college in (?)Virginia, and somebody here thought that al-Azhar itself might be starting some limited DL.
Interesting post. They mentioned Harvard as the oldest Uni. in the U.S. Is it also the oldest uni. in the western hemisphere or are there other contenders? John
The link in original post in this thread provides the oldest universities in Africa, Europe and the Americas. University of Santo Tomas (Philippines) claims to be the oldest university in Asia. But it was founded in 1611, which seems rather recent. It may depend on the definition of "university." This article suggests that a university in Nalanda, India was founded in the 5th century BCE. The oldest university in Australasia? Perhaps Sydney (1851). New Zealand's first was apparently Otago (1869).
Oldest U in China - 976AD http://www.hunu.edu.cn/English/general.htm It is still teaching after over 1000 years.
Here's a nice list that puts Nanjing University first: List of oldest universities in continuous operation
First, the author of that Yahoo message (http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030501.html) didn't do his job. In Al-Azhar University's web site (http://www.alazhar.org/english/about/index.htm), it says clearly that "on 988 A.D it became a university in which taught different sciences, and religious & mental arts", not 975 AD quoted in Yahoo. Second, in China, Hunan University (http://www.hunu.edu.cn/English/general.htm) was founded in 976 AD in Song Dynasty, which I always think is the oldest universtiy in China with continuous operation as a higher education institution, or maybe in the world. It is older than Al-Azhar University. Third, about Nanjing University, since the university homepage doesn't trace its history to that long, I need to do some homework to verify the statements in oxpecker's link. Cheers.