Ibn Khaldun : an intellectual biography

Ibn Khaldun An intellectual biography

Robert Irwin, 1946-

Book - 2018

"Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) is generally regarded as the greatest intellectual ever to have appeared in the Arab world--a genius who ranks as one of the world's great minds. Yet the author of the Muqaddima, the most important study of history ever produced in the Islamic world, is not as well known as he should be, and his ideas are widely misunderstood. In this groundbreaking intellectual biography, Robert Irwin provides an engaging and authoritative account of Ibn Khaldun's extraordinary life, times, writings, and ideas. Irwin tells how Ibn Khaldun, who lived in a world decimated by the Black Death, held a long series of posts in the tumultuous Islamic courts of North Africa and Muslim Spain, becoming a major political player ...as well as a teacher and writer. Closely examining the Muqaddima, a startlingly original analysis of the laws of history, and drawing on many other contemporary sources, Irwin shows how Ibn Khaldun's life and thought fit into historical and intellectual context, including medieval Islamic theology, philosophy, politics, literature, economics, law, and tribal life. Because Ibn Khaldun's ideas often seem to anticipate by centuries developments in many fields, he has often been depicted as more of a modern man than a medieval one, and Irwin's account of such misreadings provides new insights about the history of Orientalism. In contrast, Irwin presents an Ibn Khaldun who was a creature of his time--a devout Sufi mystic who was obsessed with the occult and futurology and who lived in an often-strange world quite different from our own."--Dust jacket.

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Subjects
Ibn Khaldūn, > 1332-1406.
Historians, Arab > Islamic Empire > Biography.
Historiography > Islamic Empire.
Islamic civilization.
Biographies.
Genres
Biographies
Published
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press [2018]
Language
English
Main Author
Robert Irwin, 1946- (author)
Physical Description
xxi, 243 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-236) and index.
ISBN
9780691174662
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chronology
  • Chapter 1. Ibn Khaldun among the Ruins
  • Chapter 2. The Game of Thrones in Fourteenth-Century North Africa
  • Chapter 3. The Nomads, Their Virtues, and Their Place in History
  • Chapter 4. Underpinning the Methodology of the Muqaddima: Philosophy, Theology, and Jurisprudence
  • Chapter 5. Ibn Khaldun's Sojourn among the Mamluks in Egypt
  • Chapter 6. The Sufi Mystic
  • Chapter 7. Messages from the Dark Side
  • Chapter 8. Economics before Economics Had Been Invented
  • Chapter 9. What Ibn Khaldun Did for a Living: Teaching and Writing
  • Chapter 10. The Strange Afterlife of the Muqaddima
  • Chapter 11. Ending Up
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Review by Choice Review

Irwin's book lives up to its name. Rather than a typical biography, the volume explores the ideas found in Ibn Khaldun's works, including, but not limited to, The Muqaddima. However, Irwin (SOAS, London) does not limit himself to the intellectual life of Ibn Khaldun, but explores the social and cultural contexts that shaped his ideas, discussing not only the currents of Islamic intellectual history but also other elements that may have influenced Ibn Khaldun. The author explores and questions previous depictions of Ibn Khaldun as well. He observes that all who have studied him have usually found what they wanted in the great thinker's works, while noting that all of them came away with something different. This results in a work that will be of interest not only to students of Islamic intellectual history, but also to students of historiography, sociology, and anthropology. Irwin's writing is accessible to all levels of readership. Well suited for seminar discussions, as it offers much to debate. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Timothy M. May, University of North Georgia

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Ibn Khaldun, a medieval Arab historian best known for the Muqaddima, is considered among the first to use analytical methods for social and historical interpretation. Irwin (Dangerous Knowledge, 2006) tries to place Ibn Khaldun during his own time, viewing his work through a medieval lens rather than a contemporary one. The first few chapters provide a background on post-Black Death plague in North Africa, the resultant tumultuous political situation, and the uncertain economic climate in the region. Using Ibn Khaldun's works as a basis, Irwin then explores his ideas and methodology some of them resonating with modernity and others stubbornly adhering to medieval conventional thought. This dichotomy is further explored to highlight areas of consistency and contradiction in Ibn Khaldun's work. The last few chapters discuss Ibn Khaldun's intellectual legacy. There are few published works on Ibn Khaldun, and the unique scope and perspective of this biography make it a valuable resource for those interested in Ibn Khaldun as historian or sociologist, or interested in gaining an appreciation of his nuanced intellectual legacy.--Hassanali, Muhammed Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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