Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane (Ecole Imperiale de Medicine) was established in 1827 in Istanbul (Selimiye, Tibbiye cd, Uskudar).
The modernization movement in the Ottoman army, which began during the reign of Sultan Selim III, continued to grow during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II. To meet the army’s need for physicians and surgeons, Tıphane was established by order of Sultan Mahmud II on March 14, 1827. This institution is considered the first modern medical school in the history of the empire.
With the proclamation of the Tanzimat Edict in 1839, the school was reformed by a young doctor from Vienna, Charles Ambrose Bernard, and was renamed Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane (Imperial School of Medicine - École Impériale de Médecine).
Due to concerns that the medical school was not providing education at the same level as European institutions, Sultan Abdülmecid sent medical school graduates to Vienna in 1847. These students took open graduation exams before professors in Vienna and successfully passed, proving that Mekteb-i Tıbbiye in Istanbul provided medical education at a European standard.
In 1867, a separate school, Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Mülkiye, was established for civilian students. In 1909, it was merged with
Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane, which trained military doctors, and the institution was renamed Darülfünun Faculty of Medicine.
After the proclamation of the Republic and the University Reform of 1933, the school was renamed Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, and it continues to provide medical education today.
Outside view and the entrance of the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane
- Photos by Alara Ozkan and Egemen Cihanoglu (August 2024)
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