Al-Mustansiriya University

The original Mustansiriya Madrasah was established in 1227 (or 1232/34 A.D. by some accounts) by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir and was one of the oldest universities in the world.

Its building, on the left bank of the Tigris River, survived the Mongol invasion of 1258 and has been restored.

The modern Mustansiriyah University was established with the help and financial support of the Republic of Ίrāq Teachers' Union in 1963, mainly providing evening courses.

In 1964, the university was given the status of a semi-state institution and some state financial support.

In 1967 a major reorganisation of higher education was initiated, with the intention that by 1969 all previous institutions would be abolished and reconstituted.