Ibn Khaldoun , of its complete name Abu Zayd “Abd rear-Rahmān Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khālid Al-Hadramī (rear RTL ابوزيدعبدالرحمنبنمحمدبنخالدالحضرمي), born the May 27th 1332 with Tunis and deceased the March 17th 1406 with the Cairo, is a Historien, Philosophe and politician of Ifriqiya. Its way of analyzing the social changes that it observed in its culture is worth him to be regarded as being with the avant-garde of the Sociologie.

At its time, after the fall of the Almohades in 1269, North Africa is divided between three Dynastie S which are fought permanently, each one trying to nibble the territory of the other. Current the Morocco is directed by the Mérinides whereas the west of the Algérie is under the domination of the Abdalwadides. Is Algeria, the Tunisia and the Cyrénaïque is directed by the Hafsides. These three dynasties fight for hegemony in North Africa while being under the constant threat of incursions of tribes Berbères living close to their respective borders.

Biography

The life of Ibn Khaldoun is extraordinarily well documented for its time: this last indeed leaves a Autobiographie in which it quotes of much information concerning its public life. However, it is shown much more miserly as for its private life. The biography of Ibn Khaldoun, where its author finds himself successively in Prison, among the senior officials then in Exil, is read by places as a Romance of adventure.

Ibn Khaldoun is resulting from a noble family, Banu Khaldoun, which lived with Seville (Andalusia) during several generations. In its autobiography, it recalls its ascent while going up until the time of the Prophète Mahomet and discovers that it is resulting from a branch arabo - Yemen ite of the area of the Hadramaout, first position corresponding to waitings of Ibn Khaldoun. Abû Salîm Ibrâhîm is then reversed by Tachfîn, friend of Ibn Khaldoun, but this new situation is not with the height of its hopes. It obtains new sovereign no function important. In same time, Tachfîn manages to prevent Ibn Khaldoun, of which he knows only too well the political capacities, from joining Abdalwadides with Tlemcen.

Grenade

Pushed by a need for action, Ibn Khaldoun then decides to leave for Grenade to the autumn 1362. It is certain to receive warm welcome there, having helped the sultan nasride Muhammad V Al-Ghanî to take again the capacity at the time of its exile with Fès. In 1364, the sultan entrusts a diplomatic mission to him near Pierre I {{er}} of Castille in order to conclude a peace treaty. Ibn Khaldoun achieves this task successfully. Pierre Ier then proposes to him the restitution of the Spanish possessions of his family and invites it to remain at its court. However, Ibn Khaldoun refuses the offer politely. In Grenade, Ibn Khaldoun between however quickly in competition with the writer Ibn Al-Khatib, the Vizier of Muhammad V Al-Ghanî, which observes of a being wary eye its close relationships with the sultan. Ibn Khaldoun tries to model the Mohammed young person in order to do of him what he regards as the ideal wise sovereign. For Ibn Al-Khatib, it is a stupid company and putting in danger the peace of the country. The history gives reason to the vizier and, on order of this last, Ibn Khaldoun is finally returned to North Africa. Nevertheless, Muhammad V Al-Ghanî will make thereafter stop and carry out the vizier for his not very orthodoxe philosophical ideas. In its autobiography, Ibn Khaldoun speaks little about the conflict which opposed it to Ibn Al-Khatib and of the reasons of its return in North Africa. The orientalist Muhsin Mahdi interprets this fact like a later consent of Ibn Khaldoun of having completely low esteem Muhammad V Al-Ghanî.

Reversals of alliances

Of return in North Africa, Ibn Khaldoun accepts with joy the invitation of the sultan hafside Abû `Abd Allâh of Bougie which proposes to him to become its top dog. For this period, it also falls on to him the responsibility of raise taxes near the local Berber tribes whereas he provides the functions of preacher large the Mosquée of El Qacaba.

After the death of Abû `Abd Allâh in 1366, the town of Bougie falls between the hands from the sovereign hafside from Constantine Abû Al `Abbâs. Ibn Khaldoun escapes then and takes refuge at the sultan abdalwadide Abou Hammou Moussa II of Tlemcen which then gives the responsability it to go to Biskra in order to recruit the soldiers to him among the Arab tribes of Dhawawidas. In 1370, it regains Tlemcen whereas a war bursts between Fès and Tlemcen. Ibn Khaldoun wishing to turn over to Biskra is stopped by soldiers mérinides launched to his continuation. It then saves its head while agreeing to go once again to Biskra to recruit there combatants on behalf of Mérinides. In 1372, Abou Hammou Moussa II reconquers the capacity and launches its partisans in the search of Ibn Khaldoun of which he wants to be avenged. This one manages to join Fès, where the situation is confused, but finds itself in prison. It will not remain there a long time thanks to the intervention of his friend the prince of Marrakech. In 1374, it decides to embark for Grenade, Muhammad V Al-Ghanî getting rid however of him of making it unload with the port of Honein and by thus delivering it to the thank you of Abou Hammou Moussa II. The political talents of Ibn Khaldoun, in particular with the Berber tribes, are required more and more by the sovereigns of North Africa whereas it itself is tired by the policy and the constant changes of camp. Sent by Abou Hammou Foamed II on mission near the tribe Dawawida, it takes refuge among the Berber tribe of Aulad Arif. He lives during three years under their protection in the Forteresse of Ibn Salama. Its reforming attitude meets however oppositions. It banishes in same time any philosophical speculation or searches of a finality. Reality being the single source of understandable, Ibn Khaldoun intends to seize the reports/ratios of Causalité which govern this reality. Thus in him the design is born from a new science, that of the umran , study of a natural sociability which makes it possible to include/understand the mechanism of the historical behaviors but overflows the singularity of the facts to replace them in the totality which contains them: The speeches in which we will treat EC matter will form a science new It is a science sui generis, because it has initially a special object, I want to say civilization and the human society, then it treats several questions which are used successively to explain the facts which are attached to the gasoline even company. Such is the character of all sciences, so much those which are appuyent on the authority, that those which are founded on the raison. This Rationalisme of the step, if it excludes any examination from the human nature, seems to be also diverted whole recourse to a religious base.

Works

With the difference of the majority of the Arab scientists, Ibn Khaldoun wrote only little work other than its universal history. It is striking to note that no mention of these writings is made in its autobiography, which for certain historians indicates that it was considered before just like a historian and wished to be known exclusively like the author of the Kitab Al-Ibar . However, according to other sources, one is informed of some other work written at the time of Ibn Khaldoun and brought by this last to North Africa and Spain.

Its first book, Lubab Al-Muhassal (the quintessence of theology), is a condensed comment of the Théologie of Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi written under the monitoring of its professor Al-Abili in Tunis. The manuscript autograph, going back to 1351, is preserved at the library of the Escurial.

Ibn Khaldoun writes also text on Sufism, Schifa have-sa' it (cure of those which seek), towards 1373 with Fès. During its stay at the court of Muhammad V Al-Ghanî, it writes for this last a treated of logic: Allaqa read-sultan .

The Kitab Al-Ibar - whose integral title is “Book of the lesson and modern treaty of old story and on the epic of the Arabs, of Persan, Berber and the sovereigns of their time. It tries thus, with its own methodology, to determine the causes of the rise and the decline of the Arab dynasties. The behavior socio-policy of the group is analyzed as follows: birth of a asabiyya then identity of interests and behaviors which founds a group. This last seeks to impose its Souveraineté ( mulk ) which is the base of any ordered civilization. At this time between concerned another factor of civilization: the Religion, superstructure subjected to basic determinations and their requests. To each phase of the social evolution thus a type of religious behavior corresponds. The religion forms part of a situation where it has a function of a political nature. It is it which underlies the movement of a asabiyya towards the mulk . Ibn Khaldoun thus does not claim to find in the history some intention of God and note which the religious feeling denatures and dissolves at the same time as distend the bonds of solidarity of the asabiyya. These doctrines run up against the rigorous idealism malékite which reigns then in the Maghreb.

Its teaching on civilization and of the culture, Ilm Al-Umran , includes/understands discussions thorough on the relations between the rural life Bedouin and the sedentary urban life which are according to him the source of a major social conflict. From this point of view and using the concept of the asabiyya, he as well explains in the Islamic history as nonIslamic the rise and the decline of civilizations in which the Religion and the Foi can supplement and support the effect of the asabiyya, such as for example at the time of the reign of the Caliph S. According to him, the Bedouin , as inhabitants of the rural regions, has strong a asabiyya and a more solid faith while the inhabitants of the cities become increasingly more declining and corrupted with the wire of the generations and thus see the intensity of their asabiyya decreasing. At the end of several generations, the dynasty established in urban environment thus sees its capacity (founded on the asabiyya) to be reduced, becoming thus the prey of an aggressive tribe resulting from the Campagne, having a stronger asabiyya, which will establish in its turn, after the conquest of the cities and their partial destruction, a new dynasty.

Ibn Khaldoun and Tamerlan

The historian Jacques Benoist-Méchin recalls at the time of his work on Mustapha Kemal that Ibn Khaldoun agreed to write - at the request of this one - the praises of the conqueror Tamerlan, this last wishing after his massacres to leave of him an positive image to the posterity.

Posterity

Ibn Khaldoun remains one of largest Arab thinkers the. It is often presented like one of the founding fathers of the history, as a intellectual discipline, of the Sociologie

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