At a glance
- Era
- The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Summary
Dar al-Ilm al-Saburiyya in Baghdad: an endowed library founded in 381 AH by the minister Abu Nasr Sabur ibn Ardashir. Its books exceeded ten thousand volumes. It stood for about seventy years and then burned when Tughrilbek entered Baghdad in 450 AH. 1
Founding and endowment
Sabur bought a house between the two walls, brought to it books on every field of learning, and endowed it for students of knowledge. It was an early model of a library open to the general public, before the age of the Nizamiyya colleges. 1
Survival and burning
The library served scholars for about seventy years, until Tughrilbek entered Baghdad in 450 AH and it burned with the precious things it held. This is the loss that Ibn al-Jawzi records in the biography of its founder. 2
Connections
- Founded by
- سابور بن أزدشير الوزير
- Located in
- Baghdad
People and things also explored
The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad· Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· The 'Adudi Bimaristan· al-Bimaristan al-Muqtadiri· Bimaristan al-Sayyida· The Jami' al-Qati'a of Baghdad· The mosque of Qati'at Umm Ja'far· Baraz al-Rawz palace
Sources
- al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.364-365
- al-Muntazam fi Tarikh al-Muluk wa'l-Umam — Ibn al-Jawzi , j.8 p.365
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/building/dar-al-ilm-baghdad/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.