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Abd al-Rahman Ibn
Muhammad, known as Ibn Khaldun after an ancestor, is considered to be the
founder of modern sociology and philosophy of history. Born in Tunis, where his
parents later died of the Black Death in 1349, Ibn Khaldun spent most of his
life in North Africa and Spain. He led a very political life, working for a
number of royal courts in North Africa, where he was also able to observe the
political and social dynamics of court life. These observations would later
influence his writings on the history of civilisations.
Ibn Khaldun's most
famous book is the Muqaddimah ("Introduction"), which he wrote as the
first volume of an intended multi-volume world history. In the Muqaddimah,
Ibn Khaldun set out his philosophy of history, and his views on how historical
material should be analysed and presented. He concluded that civilisations rise
and fall, in a cycle, as a result of psychological, economic, environmental,
social, as well as political factors. His attention to more than just the
political conditions of a civilisation was revolutionary, as he sought to also
examine social, religious, and economic factors in explaining world history. He
also pioneered the emphasis on relating events to each other through cause and
effect, and drawing parallels between past and present, when writing history. He
subjected his study of history to objective, scientific analysis, and lamented
the clearly biased histories written before him.
After laying out
these and other principles in the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun wrote several
histories of the Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and Berbers,
as well as Muslim and European rulers. He also wrote his autobiography, becoming
a leader in that new literary form. His attention to social factors in the rise
and fall of civilisations helped to develop the science of social development,
known today as sociology. His influence on the fields of sociology and history
was tremendous, particularly because his emphasis on reason and rationalism in
judging history resulted in a notably non-religious tone to his work.
 Ibn Khaldun Courtesy of Personalities Nobel |
Abd al-Rahman Ibn
Muhammad, known as Ibn Khaldun after an ancestor, is considered to be the
founder of modern sociology and philosophy of history. Born in Tunis, where his
parents later died of the Black Death in 1349, Ibn Khaldun spent most of his
life in North Africa and Spain. He led a very political life, working for a
number of royal courts in North Africa, where he was also able to observe the
political and social dynamics of court life. These observations would later
influence his writings on the history of civilisations.
Ibn Khaldun's most
famous book is the Muqaddimah ("Introduction"), which he wrote as the
first volume of an intended multi-volume world history. In the Muqaddimah,
Ibn Khaldun set out his philosophy of history, and his views on how historical
material should be analysed and presented. He concluded that civilisations rise
and fall, in a cycle, as a result of psychological, economic, environmental,
social, as well as political factors. His attention to more than just the
political conditions of a civilisation was revolutionary, as he sought to also
examine social, religious, and economic factors in explaining world history. He
also pioneered the emphasis on relating events to each other through cause and
effect, and drawing parallels between past and present, when writing history. He
subjected his study of history to objective, scientific analysis, and lamented
the clearly biased histories written before him.
After laying out
these and other principles in the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun wrote several
histories of the Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and Berbers,
as well as Muslim and European rulers. He also wrote his autobiography, becoming
a leader in that new literary form. His attention to social factors in the rise
and fall of civilisations helped to develop the science of social development,
known today as sociology. His influence on the fields of sociology and history
was tremendous, particularly because his emphasis on reason and rationalism in
judging history resulted in a notably non-religious tone to his work.
