Ibn Khaldun

1
Ibn Khaldun
Abu Zayd Abdu r-Ra?man bin Mu?ammad bin Khaldun
Al-Hadrami

• Father of Sociology, Economics, and History
  Sciences

2
Birth and Background

• Born in Tunis in 1332
• Questionable Arab ancestry
• Family involvement in politics
• Father was a scholar, not political
• Received a substantial education memorizing the
  Quran and Hadith, learning grammar, rhetoric,
  etc.

3
Tragedy

• Family died to the Black Death in 1349
• Expelled from Granada, various other places
• Wife, children died near Alexandria c. 1382

4
Where did Ibn Khaldun live?

• Born in Tunis
• Left Tunis in 1351 to escape from invasion
• Lived in Fez from 1354 1362, Iberian peninsula
• Lived in Qal'at ibn Salamah from 1375 - 1379
• Left the Maghrib for Cairo in 1382

5
Political Intrigue

• Public servant
• Commonly imprisoned for rebellion, disloyalty,
  etc.
• Varied employment
• Instability of region
• Restlessness
• Ease in making enemies

6
Life in Cairo

• Avoided politics
• Served as a Professor and, on occasion, Qadi
• Managed to mostly stay on good terms with Barquq,
  Mamluk ruler
• Traveled to Damascus with Faraj in 1400

A modern statue of Ibn Khaldun stands in the
center of his native city of Tunis
7
Negotiations with Timor

• Left behind in Damascus
• Timur requested ibn Khaldun
• Treated with respect
• Wrote reports and discussed Maghrib, theories,
  etc.
• Negotiated release of Damascene workers

REMBRANDT HARMENSZ VAN RIJN / LOUVRE / BRIDGEMAN
ART LIBRARY
8
Intellectual Pursuits of Ibn Khaldun

• Historian, Economist, Demographer, Mathematician,
  Astronomer, Philosopher, Political Scientist,
  Jurist, Military Strategist, Nutritionist, Poet,
  and Statesman
• Another Polymath

9
Major Written Works

• A History The Book of Lessons and Archive of
  Early and Subsequent History, Dealing with
  Political Events Concerning Arabs, non-Arabs, and
  Berbers, and with Their Contemporary Supreme
  Rulers (Kitab al-ibar wa-diwan al-mubtada
  wa-l-khabar fi ayyam al-Arab wal-Ajam
  wal-Barbar wa-man asarahum min dhawi as-sultan
  al-akbar)
• His Autobiography Biography of Ibn Khaldun and
  His Travel in the West and in the East (At-Tarif
  bi-Ibn Khaldun wa-rihlatuhu gharban wa-sharqan)

10
His Autobiography

• Not consequential as a theoretical work
• It is important as a first- hand account of
  several significant events in which he personally
  took part.
• He is able to assess the events of his lifetime
  with the perspective of a well informed
  historical observer.

11
Muqaddimah (Introduction)

• The Muqaddimah was written as the first of his
  seven volume history dealing primarily with the
  Islamic world, known as Kitab al-Ibar.
• In it he explains his methodology and approach to
  history.
• British historian Arnold J. Toynbee called the
  Muqaddimah "a philosophy of history which is
  undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that
  has ever yet been created by any mind in any time
  or place."

12
Organization of Muqaddimah

• The nature of civilizations in general
• Discussion of desert civilization
• The nature of dynasties, royal authority, and
  government ranks
• Discussion of sedentary civilizations, countries,
  and cities
• The various aspects of crafts, gainful
  occupations, and ways of making a living
• The acquisition and study of the sciences

13
Original Contributions

• History viewed through the lens of social
  organization
• Concept of generations, i.e. generational change
• Modern conception of economics The creation of
  value through the application of labor. A direct
  precursor to the theories of Karl Marx.
• Development of a Philosophy of History, e.g. Rise
  Fall
• Use of demographics to analyze history

Cover sheet of a manuscript in Ibn Khalduns own
hand.
14
More Original Concepts

• Comparative History of various societies through
  time, a forerunner to the works of historians
  such as Toynbee who have assessed the rise and
  fall of civilizations.
• The dichotomy of rural versus urbanin
  particular desert versus town. One, where
  new kinship groups develop, as opposed to the
  other, where they eventually atrophy.

15
asabiyyah social cohesion

• Asabiyyah is the foundation of human society and
  the basic motive force of history.
• The solidarity (group feeling) that exists in
  tribes and other kinship groups can be
  strengthened and extended to larger societies
  with the addition of a shared religious ideology.
• As civilizations grow and become prosperous, the
  cohesion diminishes because of social,
  psychological, economic, and political factors.
  So, societies carry the seeds of their own
  demise.
• Creating the opportunity for new dynasties to
  emerge from the periphery of the old.

16
Kind of a big deal

• Ibn Khaldun laid the foundation for a more modern
  way of viewing history.
• Rather than simply compiling past historical
  recordshe insists on evaluating and comparing
  accounts for accuracy and for the likelihood
  that they were true.
• Instead of trusting lines of transmission he
  evaluated history in light of the social,
  economic, and political forces that were at play
  at the time.
• Huge departure from the previous method of
  translating and passing along ancient works
  unedited.

ROYAL MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY, BRUSSELS / EL
LEGADO ANDALUSI
17
Legacy

• Not well respected in his day
• Muqaddimah was not even fully translated until
  1860s
• Hugely significant influence on the studies of
  history, sociology, anthropology, economics, and
  political theory in particular
• Statue in Tunis
• Academic centers, awards
• Celebration in Spain

18
During the six-month exhibition commemorating Ibn
Khaldun and taking place on the 600th anniversary
of his death, the façade of Pedro Is Palace is
illuminated with projections of images that
recall the life and culture of the historians
times.
The Palace of Pedro I, Seville, Spain