The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (Princeton Classics): An Introduction to History - Abridged Edition: 13 Paperback – Abridged, 26 April 2015

I find it unbelievable that this book was written hundreds of years ago. So deep and detailed in real world facts and events, describing truthfully the beginning, glory days and decaying of empires. I wish that a summarised version is made available for our kids.

This is a magnificent book, I highly recommend it to all.Ibn Khaldun was an exceptionally bright man (he is considered the father of economics and sociology by some, such is his greatness); during his time he held many influential political positions, he traveled around a great deal, he met many different types of people and studied with some of the greatest scholars in the Maghreb region. Due to his experiences he had a huge amount of knowledge and a lot of this knowledge is transferred into al-Muqaddimah.The book discusses a wide range of topics: the flaws of history works, how and why a dynasty rises and falls, what drives civilisation, sufism, alchemy, dream interpretation, etc. He gives us a fascinating insight as to how the world works (even now) and what civilisation was like during his life. This book will help you become more educated and it may even change your perspective of life.So yes buy this book you will not regret it!

Excellent book, and the price was better than other suppliers.

Valuable knowledge

The book arrived in time. Highly recommended to read.

One of the best book of islamic history and history in general I have read. Very details. It can be a bit complicated to understand sometimes but it is worth understanding everything.

Makes for very interesting reading; she loved it

Very interesting the more when one realizes The Muquaddimah was written in the very early 14th century!

Die Muqaddimah von Ibn Khaldun ist ein Meisterwerk der historischen Schriftstellerei. Dieses epochale Werk bietet nicht nur eine tiefgehende Analyse der Geschichtsschreibung, sondern auch eine beeindruckende Voraussicht auf soziale, wirtschaftliche und politische Entwicklungen. Die gründlichen Einblicke in den Aufstieg und Fall von Zivilisationen machen die Muqaddimah zu einem unverzichtbaren Werk für Geschichtsinteressierte. Ibn Khalduns einzigartiger Ansatz, die 'Asabiyya' oder soziale Kohäsion zu erklären, verleiht dem Werk eine zeitlose Relevanz. Ein absolutes Muss für jeden, der sich für Geschichtsschreibung, Soziologie und die menschliche Entwicklung interessiert.

Part of my personal interests lies in trying to understand how other times and other cultures understand the world. I read the Muqaddimah in that effort. This book is an abridgement of a 3 volume set of Ibn Khaldun's writings. The paperback, which I read, has 459 pages so it's not short. It reads reasonably well and, with one exception, which I will explain later, I assume that it has been faithfully translated.The book is subtitled "The Classic Islamic History of the World". "Classic" - yes, "Islamic" - yes, but "History" seems too limiting to me. The book seems to me to consider matters that I would describe as political science, sociology, anthropology, science, religion, etc. The translator notes the dangers of translating a text such as this - too literal and it may be largely incomprehensible to a current audience and probably eviscerates the literary content, which would have been understood by its original readers. Too much of the translator can impute meaning not intended by the original author. The book is very readable, but you must trust the translator.Ibn Khaldun was a devout Muslim and this will come through the book. He was also a scholar and, one aspect of his shcolarship which I found surprising, was his knowledge of Judaism and Christianity. A second, less surprising, aspect was his knowledge of Greek and, to a lesser extent, Roman authors of antiquity. A third aspect of his writings, which I valued greatly, was his clear description of the world in which he lived.The author repeatedly contrasts the rough world of the Bedouins and nomads with the "sedentary" world of cities and urban areas. These two worlds apparently had an uneasy coexistence, which may have counterparts in our own days with "yellow vests" and "deplorables" clashing with the political and cultural world of globalists. My impression is that Ibn Khaldun found the "sedentary" world more interesting. He explains how the nomads changed once they entered into "sedentary" life in urban areas.He also explained the cultural changes that occurred in urban life. But culture also changed when the Muslims conquered non-Muslim areas and it changed again, in Spain, when non-Muslims conquered what had been Muslim territory. He does not lament the loss of Spain, but clearly presents how matters changed. As an aside, I once heard one Hispanic scholar say that there were 6000 words in Spanish which were the same words in Arabic.The author considers the effect of climate on people, cultures, economies, and social organization. Real hot and real cold areas tend to slow people down. The temperate areas tended to have better agriculture with better food sources, and, consequently, larger urban populations.The one area where I question the translation is in the areas where Ibn Khaldun discussed science. His understanding of science clearly wasn't completely consistent with 21st century understanding, but his understanding was much better on some broad areas than I expected. So much so, that I wondered if the translator may not have injected the translator's understanding into the translation.The book covers much and I've only touched on a little. I've tried to provide a taste of what the author delivers. If you have a general interest in history and wish to broaden your exposure to other times, cultures and civilizations, I think you'll find the book to be worth your time.

This was an incredible book. Khaldun reviews just about every aspect of human civilization. The respected historian Arnold Toynbee sums up it perfectly. Quote; "Undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever been created by any mind in any time or place . . . the most comprehensive and illuminating analysis of how human affairs work that has been made anywhere." There a few highlights to Khaldun`s analysis. His biggest contribution is his comparison of a nation`s growth to the four seasons. The first generation of leadership has a high moral fibre and frugal management. The next generation has a living memory of the first generation. They maintain most of the first generations virtues. The third generation, however, has no living memory of the first generation. They become luxurious in their living conditions. Earlier civic virtues slowly melt away. The fourth generation is largely corrupted and become witnesses to their own destruction. Khaldun believes this can be compared to any natural process of; birth, growth, plateau, and then decay. He labels this social process Asabiya. Khaldun also has a brilliant assessment of the effects of taxation on society. Lower tax rates encourage business activity and society prospers. A raising of the tax rate does not equal a rise in tax revenues. The higher tax rates discourage business activity and result in lower tax revenues. Lao-Tze the Tao philosopher, also described the same results of high taxation. Yet this timeless advice is forever ignored by governments, with a few small exceptions. There are some aspects of the book, that may bother some readers. Khaldun is deeply religious. He constantly refers to religion throughout the book. Khaldun also holds extremely politically incorrect/racist views, regarding African and Slavic people. This book is highly recommended, warts and all.

Most of the people know Ibn Khaldun as a historian but a few would know that he was an outstanding judge in Cairo who liked to wear Maghribi robes instead of lighter robes of Egyptian judges. He was a judicial activist with only a secondary interest in history yet he turned out to be one of the greatest historians in human history. He was a truth lover and truth teller and a firm believer in critical analysis, believing something as part of history only after verifying the truth of facts. This 14th century genius says that "no one can stand up against the authority of truth and the evil of falsehood is to be fought with enlightening speculation. It takes critical insight to sort out the hidden truth, it takes knowledge to lay bare and polish it so that critical insight may be applied to it." Chapter VI of his book 'Muqqadimah-al-Taarikh' is a rare discourse on jurisprudence as a science in general and Islamic jurisprudence in particular. It takes critical insight to sort out the hidden truth, it takes knowledge to lay bare and polish it so that critical insight may be applied to it. Chapter VI of his book 'Muqqadimah-al-Taarikh' is a rare discourse on jurisprudence as a science in general and Islamic jurisprudence in particular.This Princeton University Classics Series is an abridged English translation of an outstanding work by a rare intellectual with a rare insight into the truth but unfortunately for most of the educated people remains but only as a part of history.

It's a great source to learn how the mind of a medieval scholar worked. There are ofcourse a lot of views, which may be considered pretty advanced for a medieval scholar. For example, how the weather and climate affected the lifestyle and civilizations. Although you may find some of his comments very racist, but you've to understand how the worl was viewed by a medieval mind.