In your plan: Week 20, Wed, 3 Mar 2027.
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Overview
The Muqaddimah, or Introduction, was written in 1377 by the North African scholar Ibn Khaldun as the opening volume of a universal history. In it he sets out a new science of human society, seeking the causes behind the rise and fall of states. His central idea is asabiyyah, a bond of group solidarity that lets a people win power, and that fades as comfort replaces hardship. Many scholars regard it as a founding work of sociology and historiography, and it speaks to anyone studying organisations that grow, peak and decline.
Context
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) was born in Tunis and served several rulers in North Africa and Andalusia, with careers marked by political risk and exile. He wrote the Muqaddimah in a remote fortress in what is now Algeria, after leaving public life for a time. His experience of shifting dynasties, tribal politics and urban life shaped his theory.
Read the full guide: chapter summaries, competing interpretations, key terms
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Curator's notes
- Why it matters
- Founded sociology and historiography. Group solidarity builds empires; luxury dissolves them in about three generations.
- Use in training and coaching
- Why founding teams win and third-generation businesses decline; culture as solidarity
- Connects to
- Machiavelli; Weber; organisational lifecycle theory
- What to read
- Chapters 2–3 (asabiyyah and the cycle of dynasties)
- Text (date)
- Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah (1377)
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