Did you know that the University of Oxford is older than the ancient and mysterious Aztec civilization by over 200 years?
The University of Oxford was founded in 1096, while the capital Tenochtitlán, considered the beginning of the Aztec civilization, was established in 1325.
The University of Oxford’s website notes that no one knows the exact founding date of the university, but it is known that teaching began in 1096 and became more popular when King Henry II banned English students from studying at the University of Paris in 1167. After more than two centuries of establishment and development, by 1249, Oxford had transformed into a complete university with three colleges: University, Balliol, and Merton.
Mexica people leaving their homeland Aztlan for Mexico. (Image: Public Domain)
Thus, there is a popular story that the University of Oxford is older than the Aztecs. However, regarding their origins, the Aztecs, also known as Mexica, according to legend, were led by their guardian deity out of captivity during the medieval period to the area around Lake Tezcoco, which is now central Mexico. The Mexica people were the dominant ethnic group that governed the Aztec Empire from their capital city, Tenochtitlán, in the Valley of Mexico.
Combining legend with archaeological records and historical events shows that they descended from nomadic hunter-gatherers known as the Chichimeca and migrated to the Valley of Mexico from their homeland Aztlan, which may have been located in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It is believed that after approximately two centuries of migration, the Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico around 1250.
University of Oxford. (Image: Internet)
The purpose of this article is not to compare civilizations but to help us gain a better understanding of the past. Imagining events in world history can become confusing when people consider what occurred simultaneously in the Old World and the New World.
Ultimately, you may be surprised to learn that although Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, it is not the oldest university still in operation. That title belongs to the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fes, Morocco, founded by a woman named Fathima Al-Fihri in 859.
