House of Knowledge

This article is about the Fatimid medieval university in Egypt. For the medieval Abbasid library, see House of Wisdom.
House of Knowledge
Other name
Dar El-Ilm
TypeCollegiate research university
Ancient university
Active1004 CE–1517 CE
Location
Cairo
,
Egypt

The House of Knowledge (Egyptian Arabic: دار العلم, romanized: Dār al-ʿIlm) was a medieval Egyptian university built in Cairo, Egypt 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.

In keeping with the Islamic tradition of knowledge, the Egyptians 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 at the House of Knowledge.

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