The Ottoman imperial university established in 1900 was Darülfünun, formally opened in that year as Darülfünun-ı Şahane.
The name Darülfünun means “house of sciences” and refers to the Ottoman effort to create a modern university modeled partly on European institutions. Earlier attempts had opened and closed in 1863, 1870, and the 1870s, but the 1900 institution achieved continuous operation.
Darülfünun-ı Şahane was established during the twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of Sultan Abdülhamid II’s accession. It initially included branches or faculties devoted to literature and philosophy, science, and theology, with existing medical and law schools later incorporated into the university structure.
In the late Ottoman period, the institution was commonly called İstanbul Darülfünunu. It was reorganized in 1933 and replaced by Istanbul University. The other options were important schools, but they were military, administrative, or secondary institutions rather than the empire’s 1900 university.