Founded in the 5th Century, India’s Nalanda University is believed to be the world’s first residential university. Established more than 500 years before Oxford University, at its peak Nalanda hosted over 10,000 students from around the world and was considered one of the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world.
The university was destroyed around the end of the 12th Century, its legendary library burnt to the ground and much of its ancient knowledge lost. It wasn’t until the 19th Century that the ruins of Nalanda were rediscovered, and now, around 800 years after it was lost, the university is being relaunched for the modern age.