Ibn Khaldūn

Introduction
Background and early life
Education and diplomatic career
The Muqaddimah: Ibn Khaldūn’s philosophy of history
Journey to Egypt
Later years
Rescue by Timur
Significance

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Ibn Khaldūn summary

Quizzes

Temple ruins of columns and statures at Karnak, Egypt (Egyptian architecture; Egyptian archaelogy; Egyptian history)

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Related Questions

How did Ibn Khaldūn describe the science of culture, or ʿilm al-ʿumrān?
How did Ibn Khaldūn distinguish historical truth from historical error?
How did Ibn Khaldūn explain the rise and fall of ruling dynasties?
How did Ibn Khaldūn’s approach differ from histories that only listed political events?
How did Ibn Khaldūn’s experiences among Bedouin tribes influence his ideas about history?
How did Ibn Khaldūn’s study of the Qurʾān and Muslim law shape his early education?
How did mercenary troops contribute to the decline of dynasties in Ibn Khaldūn’s analysis?
How did social cohesion help tribal groups gain political power in Ibn Khaldūn’s theory?
How did the Black Death affect Ibn Khaldūn’s family in Tunis?
How did the Black Death shape Ibn Khaldūn’s view of major historical change?
How did the Mamlūk ruler Barqūq support Ibn Khaldūn in Cairo?
How long was Ibn Khaldūn imprisoned in Fez?
What did Ibn Khaldūn mean by ʿaṣabiyyah, or social cohesion?
What did Ibn Khaldūn mean when he described history as cycles of flowering and decay?
What duties did Ibn Khaldūn have as chief judge of the Mālikī rite?
What happened to Ibn Khaldūn’s family while they were traveling to join him in Egypt?
What larger history did Ibn Khaldūn plan to write after the Muqaddimah?
What mission did Ibn Khaldūn carry out for the ruler of Granada in Sevilla?
What political roles did Ibn Khaldūn hold before writing the Muqaddimah?
What subjects did Ibn Khaldūn examine in the Muqaddimah?
When and where was Ibn Khaldūn born?
Where did Ibn Khaldūn die?
Where did Ibn Khaldūn teach after arriving in Cairo?
Where was Qalʿat ibn Salāmah, the castle where Ibn Khaldūn wrote the Muqaddimah?
Which ruling dynasties employed members of Ibn Khaldūn’s family in Spain?
Which student of Ibn Khaldūn became known for studying inflation in Egypt?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn believe dynasties weakened after gaining wealth and luxury?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn believe settled ruling families became vulnerable to new tribal groups?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn leave Granada and return to North Africa?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn leave Tunis for Egypt in 1382?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn lose his position as chief judge in Cairo?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn think no dynasty could preserve its vitality for more than four generations?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn write the Muqaddimah before completing his universal history?
Why did Ibn Khaldūn’s family leave Sevilla for North Africa in the 13th century?
Why is Ibn Khaldūn sometimes considered an early thinker in sociology?
Why is Kitāb al-ʿIbār important for the history of Muslim North Africa?
Why was Ibn Khaldūn imprisoned while serving in Morocco?
What was Grotius’s role in Dutch politics?
What was Flavius Josephus’s childhood like?
What did Flavius Josephus write?
What was Flavius Josephus’s role in the Jewish revolt of 66–70 CE?
Who was Bartolomé de Las Casas?
What is Bartolomé de Las Casas known for?
Did Bartolomé de Las Casas ever own serfs?
What did Bartolomé de Las Casas write?
What impact did Bartolomé de Las Casas’s writings have in Spain?
Why is Herodotus important?

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External Websites

Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs - Recognising the importance of Ibn Khaldun
Encyclopaedia Iranica - Ebn Ḵaldun, Abu Zayd ʿAbd-Al-Rahman
ACM Digital Library - A Tangible MIDI Sequencer for Visually Impaired People (PDF)
Georgetown University - "Ibn Khaldun, the Father of Economics"
Digital Commons at Kennesaw State University - Between the Circle and the Line: Ibn Khaldun's View of History and Change (PDF)
BBC - The Forum - Ibn Khaldun: 14th Century sage
Ibn Haldun University - About Ibn Haldun
CBC Radio - Beware of Bitter Oranges: Ibn Khaldun and his life's work
Islamic Philosophy Online - Ibn Khaldun, 'Abd al-Rahman
Libertarianism.org - Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)
Muslim Heritage - Ibn Khaldun: His Life and Works

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Ibn Khaldun - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Ibn Khaldūn

Muslim historian

Also known as: Walī al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan Ibn Khaldūn(Show More)

Written by

Charles Issawi

Bayard Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University. Author of An Arab Philosophy of History and others.

Charles Issawi

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Ibn Khaldūn (born May 27, 1332, Tunis [Tunisia]—died March 17, 1406, Cairo, Egypt) was the greatest Arab historian, who developed one of the earliest nonreligious philosophies of history, contained in his masterpiece, the Muqaddimah (“Introduction”). He also wrote a definitive history of Muslim North Africa. Ibn Khaldūn was born in Tunis in 1332; the Khaldūniyyah quarter in Tunis still stands almost unchanged and, in it, the house where he is believed to have been born....

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