The founder of a town called Azamgarh A Gautam Rajput prince, who embraced Islam and took the name Azam Shah, in 1665, founded a town called Azamgarh in (UP) India. A town of poets, intellectuals, famed handloom weavers and merchants, and above all, its greatest scholar, theologian, historian and poet, Maulana Shibli Numani (1857-1914) founded an educational institution here. Shibli Academy has a wealth of authenticated documents dating back to the 16th century and is a seat of higher learning. Shibli National College, another institution, serve as an intellectual fountainhead in Azamgarh. It is also the home of the renowned Madrassa-tul-Falah and Madrassa-tul-Islahi.