Work / monument · text

Muqaddimah

1377 · 14th century

The Muqaddimah is the introduction to the universal history of Ibn Khaldun, completed in its first form in 1377. In it he set out a theory of history in which dynasties rise through the group solidarity, or asabiyya, of hardy tribal peoples and decline as luxury erodes it, along with discussions of economics, society, urban life and knowledge. It is regarded as a founding work of historiography and social science.

Muqaddimah
Image: Riad Salih · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Hafsid SultanateImpactArabicLiterature

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Muqaddimah. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/muqaddimah
MLA
“Muqaddimah.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/muqaddimah. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Muqaddimah.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/muqaddimah.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Muqaddimah’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/muqaddimah (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻