I doubt it, but so says Press TV, Tehran. Ancient Iranian history is not my specialty, but I can see the article isn't entirely accurate on other grounds: Shapour I reigned in the 200s CE, not BC(E). But the story of the University is kind of cool, especially the curriculum in Greek, Syriac, and Pahlavi:
Gundishapur, world's oldest universityI would think that Plato's Academy and perhaps the Library of Alexandria would be earlier contenders for the world's first university.
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:13:08 GMT
By Tamara Ebrahimpour, Press TV, Tehran
The ancient Iranian city of Gundishapur, located in the country's southern province of Khuzestan, was founded in 271 BCE by the Sassanid king, Shapour I.
The ninth king of the Sassanid Empire, Shapour II, chose the city as his capital and built the world's oldest known medical center, which also included a university and a library with an estimated 400,000 books.
Gundishapur hospital became the most important medical center during the 6th and 7th centuries and attracted many distinguished scientists from Greece, Egypt, India, and Rome.
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