Ibn Khaldûn
An Essay in Reinterpretation
Aziz Al-Azmeh, Distinguished Professor, Central
European University
Since its publication in 1981, this book has established
itself as the major new interpretation of the historical
concept of Ibn Khaldûn, the great figure of Arab-Islamic
letters and of historical thought overall--a figure
generally thought to be on a par with Thucydides, Vico,
Herder and others of similar stature.
The author has eschewed the ahistorical interpretations
to which Ibn Khaldûn has normally been subjected,
both by authors who have sought unduly to modernise
his thought, and by those who sought to freeze it in
stereotypical models of Islamic philosophy.
Ibn Khaldûn is not only a true historical source
of his time; he is also taken as the unchallenged sociological
and cultural interpreter of medieval North Africa and
much of medieval and modern Arab-Islamic culture as
well. The validity of his discourse is considered to
be so universal as to confer upon his ideas the status
of progenitor--or, at least, anticipator--of a great
variety of modern ideas.
Contents
Preface; Preface to the 2003 Impression; Symbols and
Abbreviations; Figure: Anatomy of the Muqaddima; Biographical
Note; Chapter 1 The Primacy of the Historical;
The Criterion of Historical Significance; The Structure
of the Historical State; Chapter 2 The Problematization
of History; Anatomy of the Muqaddima; The Muqaddima:
Epitome with Glosses; The Analogical Regime; Chapter
3 The Historicity of Kitab al'Ibar; Bibliographical
Orientations;
Addendum to the 2003 Impression
2003
180 pages
ISBN 978-963-9241-58-9 cloth $49.95 / €42.95 / £29.95
ISBN 978-963-9241-50-3 paperback $21.95 / €18.95 / £14.99
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