Character Catalog

Ibn Khaldoun's absolute masterpiece, this theoretical introduction to his universal history lays the foundations of a science of human society. It contains his theory of asabiyya (group solidarity) and the cycle of dynasties.

A major universal history in seven volumes, covering the history of the Arabs, Berbers, and Islamic dynasties. The Muqaddima forms its first volume and theoretical keystone.

An autobiographical text written at the end of his life, in which Ibn Khaldoun recounts his political adventures, his exiles, and his meeting with Tamerlane. A valuable source for the history of the Maghreb and the medieval Near East.

An early work, an abridged commentary on a theological treatise by the philosopher Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. It attests to Ibn Khaldoun's solid theological training.

Pedagogical texts intended for the teaching of mathematics and Aristotelian logic. They illustrate the encyclopedic breadth of Ibn Khaldoun's knowledge, which was not limited to the human sciences.

"Men who live in fertile lands are generally less courageous than those who live in arid regions, for the ease of life softens character and weakens group solidarity."

"History is a science whose subject is human society, that is to say universal civilization, and whose aim is to make known to us social phenomena such as savage life, the domestication of customs, clan solidarities, and the manner in which one group seizes power over another."

"I withdrew to the fortress of Ibn Salama, far from the world, and there, in solitude, I committed to writing what I had long meditated upon concerning the nature of dynasties and human civilizations."

"Civilization is founded on human cooperation, and this cooperation cannot exist without an authority that compels men to honor their mutual commitments."

Ibn Khaldoun's birthplace, where he was born in 1332 and received his early intellectual education. Tunis was then a major Hafsid capital, a crossroads of knowledge between the Islamic East and West.

An isolated Berber fortress in the Tiaret mountains where Ibn Khaldoun withdrew in 1375. It was there that he wrote the Muqaddimah in a matter of months, far from political intrigue.

Ibn Khaldoun settled there permanently in 1382, teaching law and serving as chief qadi. The Mamluk city was then the intellectual capital of the Arab world.

Ibn Khaldoun stayed at the court of the Nasrid sultan Mohamed V in the 1360s, mingling with the great Andalusian scholars. He discovered a refined Arab civilization on the verge of disappearing.

In 1401, Ibn Khaldoun was sent to negotiate with Timur, who was besieging the city. He conducted celebrated conversations with the Mongol conqueror, which he recorded in his autobiography.

The essential writing instrument of the medieval scholar, the calamus was used by Ibn Khaldun to set his analyses down on paper. He wrote the entirety of the Muqaddimah with this tool, in the solitude of his Algerian retreat.

Paper, introduced into the Muslim West from the East, replaced parchment in Arab scriptoria of the 14th century. Ibn Khaldun wrote and revised several versions of his work on these materials.

A everyday object of the Arab man of letters, often finely engraved. The inkwell was the indispensable companion of every scholar and symbolized the function of the erudite.

A deeply devout man, Ibn Khaldun punctuated his working days with the five daily prayers. The prayer rug was a central object of his spiritual life and structured his daily schedule.

An emblematic scientific instrument of the medieval Arab scholarly world, used to measure time and the position of celestial bodies. Ibn Khaldun, in the intellectual tradition of his era, took an interest in mathematical and astronomical sciences.

As a senior Maliki-rite qadi in Egypt, Ibn Khaldun constantly referred to the founding legal texts of this school. The Muwatta was the reference work of his legal tradition.