Tarikh Ibn Khaldun
- Author died
- 808 AH
- Editions
- Dar Al-Fikr
Tarikh Ibn Khaldun, formally titled Kitab al-Ibar wa-Diwan al-Mubtada wa-l-Khabar fi Ayyam al-Arab wa-l-Ajam wa-l-Barbar wa-man Asarahum min Dhawi al-Sultan al-Akbar ("The Book of Lessons and Archive of Early and Later History Concerning the Days of the Arabs, Non-Arabs, and Berbers, and Their Contemporaries of Greatest Authority"), is a universal history composed by the Maghrebi scholar and statesman Ibn Khaldun (732–808 AH / 1332–1406 CE) .
Composition and Context
Ibn Khaldun began writing the work around 776 AH (1375 CE) at the age of forty-five after withdrawing from political affairs to Qal'at Ibn Salama (the fortress of Banu Salama) in the region of Oran in modern-day western Algeria . During a four-year stay there between 776 and 780 AH, he completed his famous theoretical prolegomenon (al-Muqaddimah) within five months and drafted initial sections on the history of the Arabs and Berbers relying largely on memory .
To verify names, chronology, and historical details against primary sources preserved in urban archives, he relocated to Tunis in Sha'ban 780 AH under the sponsorship of the Hafsid ruler Sultan Abu al-Abbas al-Hafsi . He presented the completed work to the sultan alongside a panegyric ode around 782 AH (1380 CE) . Later, during his residence in Egypt and travels across the eastern Islamic world, he expanded the work with additional records on eastern dynasties, non-Arab monarchs, and the Turks .
Structure and Method
The work comprises an introduction and three overarching books, typically bound in seven printed volumes with an eighth dedicated to comprehensive indices :
- Introduction (al-Muqaddimah) and Book One: Discusses the merits and errors of historiography and establishes the principles of human social organization (ilm al-umran) across six thematic chapters: general human civilization and geography; nomadic society and tribes; states, dynasties, kingship, and the caliphate; urban civilization and cities; crafts, livelihoods, and economic affairs; and sciences and education .
- Book Two: Covers the history and genealogical lines of the Arabs and their states from the creation of the world to Ibn Khaldun's era, including accounts of contemporary nations such as the Syriacs, Nabataeans, Persians, Israelites, Copts, Greeks, Romans, Turks, and Franks .
- Book Three: Devoted to the history of the Berber peoples and their allied branches—notably the Zanata—chronicling their origins, genealogical lines, and the dynasties of the Maghreb .
- Appendix (al-Ta'rif): Ibn Khaldun concluded the work with an extensive autobiographical section, al-Ta'rif bi-Ibn Khaldun wa-Rihlatuhu Gharban wa-Sharqan ("Introducing Ibn Khaldun and His Journey West and East"), detailing his lineage, career, and travels .
Ibn Khaldun sought to transform historiography from mere chronicling into an analytical discipline by examining the underlying causes of social phenomena, group solidarity (asabiyyah), the life cycles of states, and economic factors . He formulated criteria to critique transmitted reports by checking them against the natural laws of human organization and political reality .
Reception and Editions
The work, especially its Muqaddimah, is widely acknowledged as foundational for sociology and the philosophy of history . It attracted the attention of Ottoman historians such as Naima and Abdurrahman Seref, leading to an Ottoman Turkish translation of the Muqaddimah roughly a century before its translation into European languages .
The complete Arabic text was printed in Cairo at Bulaq in 1284 AH (1867 CE) in eight volumes . Portions were translated into French and published in Algiers in 1851 CE by Baron de Slane, while Étienne Marc Quatremère edited and printed the Muqaddimah in Paris . The autobiographical appendix was separately edited by Muhammad ibn Tawit al-Tanji from an original autograph manuscript .
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