Renaissance and Reformation Primary Sources | Ibn Khaldûn

Excerpts from The Muqaddimah (1377)

Translated by Franz Rosenthal

Edited by N. J. Dawood
Published in 1989

The Renaissance is generally considered to be an era in European history only, yet a similar cultural and intellectual revolution took place in the Arab world. The greatest Arab figure of this period was the Muslim philosopher and historian 'Adb al-Rahman Ibn Khaldûn (known as Ibn Khaldûn; pronounced kal-DOON; 1332–1395). (A Muslim is a follower of Islam, a religion founded by the prophet Muhammad.) Ibn Khaldûn is best known today for The Muqaddimah (pronounced moo-kah-DEE-mah), which was the introduction to the first volume of Kitāb al-'bar, a history of the world.

Ibn Khaldûn completed The Muqaddimah in 1377, around the same time humanism (a movement devoted to the revival of ancient Greek and Roman culture) was gaining momentum in...