Istanbul University

History

The origins of Istanbul University date back to 1453, when it was founded by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II as a school of philosophy, medicine, law, mathematics and letters. The University of Constantinople, established in 425 CE by the Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II as the Pandidacterium, later became known as the Phanar Greek Orthodox College after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Immediately after the conquest of the city, Sultan Mehmet II assigned Molla Mehmet Zeyrek Efendi to convert the Pantokrator Monastery into a madrasah and appointed him as the first rector. Madrasah education continued to be given here until new educational buildings were built around the Fatih Mosque. Later, upon completion of the construction of the buildings, students and teachers moved to these new buildings. In the early stages, Istanbul University also functioned as a medrese, an Islamic theological school. Famous astronomer Ali Qushji took part in the establishment of higher education in the city and taught mathematics at the madrasah. This madrasa is regarded as the precursor to the Darülfünûn, a technical institute or university (lit. "House of Natural Sciences"), which evolved into Istanbul University in 1933. Education in various sciences and fields, including medicine, mathematics, astronomy, cartography, geography, history, philosophy, religion, literature, philology, and law, became available and, until the 19th century, played a key role in educating the ruling cadres of Ottoman society. However, when the medreses were no longer able to meet the needs of the time, a restructuring process began, leading to the establishment of Darülfünûn, the core of Istanbul University.

An institution of higher education named the Darülfünûn-u Osmanî (lit. "the Ottoman Polytechnic Institute") was created in 1863, but suppressed in 1871. Its first rector was Hasan Tahsini, regarded as one of the most important Ottoman scholars of the 19th century. In 1874 the Darülfünûn-u Sultanî (lit. "the Royal College of Natural Sciences", French: Université Impériale Ottoman) began offering law classes in French, but was closed in 1881.

The Imperial College of Sciences, later known as Darülfünûn-u Şahâne, was reestablished in 1900 with departments in theology, arts, mathematics, science, and philology. In 1924, the faculties of law, medicine, arts and sciences were established in İstanbul Darülfünûnu, as the university was now called. Islamic theology was added in 1925, but in 1933 the university was reorganized without the latter.

The first modern applied physics courses were offered at the Darülfünûn on 31 December 1863, marking the beginning of a new era. On 20 February 1870, the school was renamed Darülfünûn-u Osmanî (lit. "the Ottoman House of Multiple Sciences") and reorganized to meet the needs of modern sciences and technologies. Starting in 1874, some classes in literature, law, and applied sciences were held at the Lycée de Galatasaray, continuing regularly until 1881. On 1 September 1900, the school was renamed and reorganized as Darülfünûn-u Şahâne (lit. "the Royal Polytechnic Institute"), offering courses in mathematics, literature, and theology. On 20 April 1912, the school was renamed İstanbul Darülfünûnu, with an expanded course offering and a modernized curriculum. The School of Medicine, Law, Applied Sciences, Literature, and Theology were established.

Campus

The university comprises seventeen faculties spread across five campuses. The main campus being on Beyazıt Square, which was originally built by Constantine the Great as the Forum Tauri and was later enlarged by Theodosius the Great as the Forum of Theodosius during the Roman period. Some Roman and Byzantine ruins are still visible on the grounds.

The building stands on the site of the Old Palace, the first palace built by the Ottoman Turks in Istanbul. Following the establishment of the Republic in 1923, the Ministry of War, like other ministries, relocated to Ankara, and the building was handed over to Darülfünun, the first and only university of the Ottoman Empire.

The current main building, designed by French architect Bourgerois, was completed in 1865-1866. In 1879, it began serving as the Ottoman Empire's Ministry of War. The Blue Hall and Pink Hall, located on the building's second floor, are adorned in an orientalist decorative style, featuring ceiling and wall ornamentations that reflect the overall aesthetic of the structure. The room currently used as the Rector's Office was originally the office of the Minister of War during the Ottoman Empire. The office also contains the desk of Enver Pasha, who served as the Minister of War from 1914 to 1918. The "Kılıçlık Hall," which is used for academic meetings today, was originally the venue for sword-donning ceremonies for officers within the Ministry of War during the Ottoman Empire. Before holding meetings in the Kılıçlık Hall, officers would use the area on the right side of the hall to place their swords, hang their coats, and perform ablutions.

The building, which was damaged in an earthquake in 1894, was restored by Italian architect Raimondo D'Aronco. In 1950, it was again restored by Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi. The Rectorate Building has undergone several renovations over the years, with the most recent restoration, including façade and marble cleaning, taking place in 1998. The main gate was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 500 lira banknotes of 1971–1984.

The building housing the Rare Books Library, designed by Kemaleddin Bey in 1913, is home to a collection of approximately 93,000 volumes, including printed and manuscript books, journals, newspapers, maps, plans, and notes in Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Greek and Latin. The collection also includes 911 albums known as the Abdülhamid II Collection, which contain 36,585 photographs. Additionally, the library holds the collections of prominent figures in Turkish politics and intellectual history, such as Zakirbaşı Hüseyin Halis Efendi, Hasan Rıza Pasha, Grand Vizier İbrahim Hakkı Pasha, Sheikh-ul-Islam Pirizade Mehmet Sahip Molla, and İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal. In 1925, the collection of the Yıldız Palace Library was transferred to the Rare Books Library.

International perspective and rankings

Istanbul University Graduate School of Business (Turkish: İstanbul Üniversitesi İşletme İktisadı Enstitüsü) was founded in 1954 with the collaboration of Harvard Business School and the Ford Foundation. Istanbul University Graduate School of Business also has a Beta Gamma Sigma honor society, which is the only honor business society in public universities in Turkey. Istanbul University School of Business is the only AACSB-accredited business school among the public universities in Turkey. Istanbul University Law School conducts a joint bachelor of laws (LL.B.) program in partnership with the University of Hamburg. This program enables students to study in both Turkey and Germany, covering multiple legal systems with coursework focused on both domestic and international law.

Istanbul University has established various collaboration and exchange agreements with universities around the world. These include partnerships with Yale University Wright Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Arizona in the United States; the University of Seoul, Dongguk University, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea; and Qatar University in Qatar. In Japan, the university has agreements with Ryukoku University, Tokyo University of Marine Sciences and Technology, Kindai University, and Tsurumi University. Istanbul University also collaborates with Tilburg University in the Netherlands, as well as Technische Universität Berlin, RWTH Aachen University, University of Cologne, Ruhr University Bochum, and LMU Munich in Germany. Additional partnerships include Essex University in the United Kingdom and the University of Western Ontario in Canada.

Istanbul University maintains extensive Erasmus Programme student and faculty mobility agreements with numerous institutions across Europe, facilitating academic mobility and collaboration. In Germany, the university partners with Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Freiburg, University of Hamburg, Heidelberg University, University of Mainz, University of Marburg, University of Mannheim, LMU Munich, and University of Tübingen. In Austria, partnerships include University of Graz, University of Innsbruck, and University of Vienna. The university also has agreements with several Belgian institutions, including University of Antwerpen, Gent University, KU Leuven, and University of Liège, as well as University of Copenhagen in Denmark. In France, Istanbul University collaborates with Bordeaux Montaigne University, University of Caen Normandy, Lumière University Lyon 2, Aix-Marseille University, University of Orléans, Paris Nanterre University, Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, and University of Strasbourg.

Notable faculty

See also Academic staff of Istanbul University for a detailed list.

Halide Edib Adıvar – Turkish novelist, English literature scholar and political activist

Asaf Savaş Akat – Turkish economist

Cahit Arf – Turkish mathematician

Süleyman Ateş – Turkish theologian, philosopher, and writer

Halet Çambel – Turkish archaeologist and fencer

Süheyl Batum – Turkish constitutional law scholar

Cemil Bilsel – Turkish lawyer and politician

Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı – Turkish poet and philosopher

Zeynep Ergun – English literature scholar

Semavi Eyice – Turkish art historian and archaeologist

Sabahattin Eyüboğlu – Turkish writer, essayist, translator and film producer

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu – Turkish diplomat and former Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Mehmet Fuat Köprülü – Turkish politician and historian

Şebnem Korur Fincancı – Turkish medic and president of the Turkish Medical Association

Zeyyat Hatiboğlu – Turkish economist

Notable expatriate faculty

Fritz Arndt (1885–1969) – German chemist (1915–1918)

Erich Auerbach (1892–1957) – German philologist (1936–1947)

Alexander Rüstow (1885–1963) – German sociologist and economist (1933–1949)

Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961) – German philologist and art historian and archaeologist (1934–1959)

Max Clara (1899–1966) – German anatomist

Georges Dumézil (1898–1986) – French philologist, religion historian (1923–1931)

Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (1885–1964) – German astronomer (1933–1937)

Albert Gabriel (1883–1972) – French art historian (1926–1930)

Hilda Geiringer (1893–1973) – Austrian mathematician (1934–1938)

C. W. M. Hart (1905–1976) – Australian anthropologist (1959–1969)

C. H. E. Haspels (1894–1980) – Dutch archaeologist

Felix Haurowitz (1896–1987) – Czech medical doctor and biochemist (1939–1948)

Baymirza Hayit (1917–2006) – Uzbek historian and orientalist

Richard Honig 1890–1981) – German penologist (1934–1939)

Alfred Isaac (1888–1956) – German economist (1937–1950)

Notable alumni

See also Istanbul University alumni and Darülfünun alumni for a detailed list.

Abdullah Gül – 11th President of Turkey (2007–2014)

David Ben-Gurion – Founder and first Prime Minister of Israel

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi – Longest-serving President of Israel (1952–1963)

Ferruh Bozbeyli – 10th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

Fuat Sirmen – Turkish legal expert and politician, Speaker of the Parliament (1961–1965)

Nihat Erim – Turkish Prime Minister (1971–1972)

Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević, Grand Mufti for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1914-1930)

Refik Saydam – Prime Minister of Turkey (1939–1942)

Sadi Irmak – Prime Minister of Turkey (1974–1975)

Suad Hayri Ürgüplü – Prime Minister of Turkey (1965–1966)

Yıldırım Akbulut – Turkish Prime Minister (1989–1991)

Moshe Sharett – Prime Minister of Israel (1954–1955)

Cemil Çiçek – Former Turkish Minister of Justice and Speaker of the Parliament

Arif Demirer – Former Minister of Finance

Mehmet Ali Şahin – Former Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister