The Muqaddimah

Outline

The Muqaddimah (1377) is the famous introduction to Ibn Khaldūn’s history of the world and one of the most important works of Arab and Islamic thought. It explains how societies rise and fall, introducing the concept of asabiyyah, or social cohesion, and examining economics, politics, education, and the development of cities. Many scholars regard it as a founding work of sociology and the philosophy of history.

• The Muqaddimah (1377) is the introduction to Ibn Khaldūn's history of the world, and it became a major work of Arab and Islamic thought.
• Ibn Khaldūn introduces asabiyyah, or social cohesion, as a central force in how societies rise and fall.
• The book examines economics, politics, education and the development of cities as parts of one explanation of how societies change.
• Societies are shown to follow patterns of rise and decline rather than collapsing by chance.
• Many scholars regard it as a founding work of sociology and the philosophy of history.

Ibn Khaldūn (1332–1406) was an Arab historian, philosopher, and statesman born in Tunis who served at royal courts across North Africa and Andalusia and later worked as a judge in Cairo. He is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Islamic world and a pioneer of sociology, economics, and historical method. His major works include the Muqaddimah and Kitab al-Ibar.