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Ibn Khaldūn
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Ibn Khaldūn
Founder of the philosophy of history and a science of society.
Overview
A North African statesman, jurist, and historian, Ibn Khaldūn founded what he called the 'science of civilization' (ʿilm al-ʿumrān) — effectively the philosophy of history, sociology, and economics. In the Muqaddimah (the Introduction to his world history) he analyzed the rise and fall of dynasties through ʿaṣabiyya (group solidarity), the cycle of nomadic vigor and urban luxury, and the material bases of social and economic life — a strikingly modern, empirical approach to human society.
What they supported — and why
ʿAṣabiyya (group solidarity) drives history
SupportedThe cohesion and shared feeling of a group is the engine of political power; dynasties rise on strong solidarity and fall as it decays.
WhyOnly a tightly bonded group can seize and hold power, and prosperity and luxury steadily erode that bond across generations.
The cyclical rise and fall of civilizations
SupportedSocieties pass through a life cycle — hardy origins, conquest, urban flourishing, then luxury, decay, and collapse.
WhyThe very success that builds a dynasty breeds the softness and division that destroy it, so history moves in cycles.
An empirical science of society
SupportedHuman society has its own natural causes that can be studied like nature, distinguishing sound history from mere anecdote.
WhyEvents have social and economic causes, so history must be explained by them rather than merely recorded.
Causes championed
- A science of civilization
- Causal explanation in history
- Understanding power and economics
Issues wrestled with
- What makes states rise and fall?
- What binds societies together?
- Can history be a science?
Hurdles faced
- A turbulent career amid dynastic intrigue
- Plague that killed his family; shifting allegiances across North Africa and Spain
Works & books
2 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
The Muqaddimah (Introduction to History)
SurvivesHis pioneering analysis of civilization, solidarity, and the life cycle of states.
Kitāb al-ʿIbar
SurvivesThe universal history his Muqaddimah introduces.
Read the texts free
Their works online — Open Library catalogues 163 works & editions, 10 of them free to read in full.
The influence network
See Ibn Khaldūn in the map →In their words
“The past resembles the future more than one drop of water resembles another.”
— The Muqaddimah
Legacy
Centuries ahead of his time, he founded the systematic study of society and history, earning recognition as a father of sociology.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.