Muṭāli̒āt-i tārīkh-i farhangī(Cultural History Studies)

The Madrasah Institution in the Safavid and Ottoman Eras: A Comparative Study of the Administrative Structure, Financial Organization, and Scholarly Hierarchy of Madrasahs

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Author

musa alreza bakhshi ostad

Assistant Professor, Department of History Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/chs.2026.585539.1184
Abstract
Despite their shared Islamic foundations, the madrasah institutions of the Safavid and Ottoman states followed distinct trajectories of development within two different frameworks governing the relationship between religion and political authority. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, this study examines the madrasah institution through four dimensions: financial organization, administrative structure, scholarly hierarchy, and governmental function. The findings indicate that, notwithstanding their common educational tradition, madrasahs in the two states evolved into two distinct institutional models. Ottoman madrasahs were organized within a centralized and hierarchical framework under governmental supervision and served as the principal mechanism for supplying the human resources required by the vast imperial bureaucracy. In contrast, Safavid madrasahs were characterized by a decentralized and network-based structure founded upon private endowments (waqf) and teacher–student relationships, thereby preserving a considerable degree of institutional autonomy from direct state control. This structural divergence reflects two different conceptions of the relationship between religion and the state in premodern Islamic civilization.

Keywords

Madrasah
Ottoman Empire
Safavid State
Waqf
Mulāzamat System
Muṭāli̒āt-i tārīkh-i farhangī(Cultural History Studies)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 September 2026

  • Receive Date 07 June 2026
  • Revise Date 14 August 2026
  • Accept Date 21 September 2026
  • Publish Date 21 September 2026

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