During the Ottoman period, Al-Azhar's prestige and influence grew to the point of becoming the preeminent institution for Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world.[1] During this time, the Shaykh Al-Azhar was established, an office given the leading scholar at the institution; prior to this the head of the institution was not necessarily a scholar.[19] In 1748, the Ottoman pasha tried to get Al-Azhar to teach astronomy and mathematics, to little avail.[2]