More than six centuries ago, the medieval Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun developed theories about why civilizations rise, prosper and eventually decline. A new collection of research examines how his ideas continue to shape our understanding of politics, economics and society in the modern world.
Born in Tunis in 1332, Ibn Khaldun was a historian, philosopher and statesman whose remarkable career took him across North Africa and into the courts of medieval rulers. He is best remembered for the Muqaddimah, a work completed in the late fourteenth century that sought to explain the forces shaping human societies and the rise and fall of political powers.
The book brings together 16 chapters exploring Ibn Khaldun’s contributions to history, sociology, economics and political thought, as well as the ways his ideas can be applied to societies both past and present. It emerged from the International Ibn Khaldun Colloquium, held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in December 2025.
Understanding the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
A page from Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah, written in his own hand. Manuscript Atıf Efendi 1936, fol. 7a. Wikimedia Commons.
Ibn Khaldun’s life was marked by political upheaval and personal tragedy. He lost family members during the Black Death, experienced imprisonment while serving North African rulers, and later lost his wife and children in a shipwreck. His career also brought him into contact with some of the most powerful figures of his age. These experiences helped inform his understanding of how political authority was established, maintained and eventually lost.
In the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun argued that societies could not be understood simply by recording the actions of rulers or the outcomes of wars. Historians needed to examine the underlying social, economic and political conditions that shaped events.
Central to his thinking was the concept of asabiyyah, often translated as group solidarity or social cohesion. He believed that strong bonds of cooperation could enable groups to establish political power and build states. Over successive generations, however, prosperity, luxury and changing social conditions could weaken these bonds, leaving ruling dynasties vulnerable to replacement.
Ibn Khaldun also examined taxation, economic activity, education, urban development and the relationship between nomadic and settled populations. His approach treated these subjects as interconnected elements of a larger social system.
“One major takeaway is that Ibn Khaldun’s ideas are not simply historical theories; they can still help us understand how societies work today,” explains Mesut Idriz, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Sharjah and co-editor of the new volume. “Ibn Khaldun’s concepts explain, in accessible terms, why people need social bonds and cooperation, how strong communities and states emerge, and how prosperity, leadership, taxation, education, and social cohesion can influence the strength or weakness of a society.”
Applying Medieval Ideas to Modern Societies
“Circle of Justice” from Ibn Khaldun, al-Muqaddimah, 15th c. MS, British Library Add. 9574, s. 29v.
The new collection examines how Ibn Khaldun’s theories can be used to interpret both medieval history and contemporary developments. Its chapters cover subjects ranging from taxation and economic thought to leadership, education, gender relations and social integration.
Several contributions focus on historical questions. One chapter examines the rise and decline of civilizations through a critical assessment of Ibn Khaldun’s theories, while another applies his concepts of solidarity, luxury and political subjugation to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada, the last Muslim-ruled state in medieval Iberia.
Other chapters explore his understanding of taxation, the relationship between Bedouin and urban societies, and the connections between his ideas and later economic and sociological thought.
“A key finding is that Ibn Khaldun should not be viewed only as a medieval Muslim historian but as an important contributor to the broader history of the social and human sciences,” Idriz says.“By applying his ideas to historical and contemporary cases—including Granada, Bosnia, Sahrawi society, and the UAE—the volume demonstrates that his intellectual framework can still contribute to discussions about governance, social cohesion, diversity, economic development, and civilizational change.”
The book also considers how Ibn Khaldun’s ideas might help explain challenges facing modern states. Several chapters examine the United Arab Emirates, including the country’s approaches to tolerance, social integration and institutional development. Other contributions investigate the reception of his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its relationship with American social thought.
Anja Zalta, Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Ljubljana and lead editor of the collection, believes that Ibn Khaldun’s approach offers a particularly useful way of examining the connections between different aspects of society.
“Ibn Khaldun viewed society as an interconnected system rather than as separate political, economic, or social problems,” she explains. “The studies in this volume show that his thinking can be applied to very different societies and periods, including contemporary contexts.”
“In simple terms, Ibn Khaldun’s work reminds us that a successful civilization depends not only on wealth or political power but also on cooperation, social trust, effective institutions, education, and the ability of societies to adapt and renew themselves.”
The editors also argue that Ibn Khaldun deserves greater recognition within the wider history of the social sciences. Although he is frequently compared with later European thinkers, they suggest that his intellectual framework should also be studied on its own terms.
“Rather than studying him mainly in comparison with later Western thinkers, future scholarship can examine his intellectual framework on its own terms and bring it into dialogue with contemporary social sciences,” says Zalta. “This would encourage more interdisciplinary and comparative studies and further demonstrate how Islamic intellectual heritage can contribute to addressing questions facing societies in the twenty-first century.”
More than 600 years after Ibn Khaldun wrote the Muqaddimah, scholars continue to debate his explanations of political power, economic prosperity and civilizational decline. The new collection demonstrates that his work remains a subject of active research, not only for historians of the medieval Islamic world but also for those studying the challenges facing societies today.
Reading Ibn Khaldun: His Heritage, Applications, and Significance for Modern Science, edited by Anja Zalta and Mesut Idriz, is published by the University of Ljubljana. Click here to read it.
More than six centuries ago, the medieval Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun developed theories about why civilizations rise, prosper and eventually decline. A new collection of research examines how his ideas continue to shape our understanding of politics, economics and society in the modern world.
Born in Tunis in 1332, Ibn Khaldun was a historian, philosopher and statesman whose remarkable career took him across North Africa and into the courts of medieval rulers. He is best remembered for the Muqaddimah, a work completed in the late fourteenth century that sought to explain the forces shaping human societies and the rise and fall of political powers.
Now, an international group of scholars has revisited his intellectual legacy in Reading Ibn Khaldun: His Heritage, Applications, and Significance for Modern Science, an open-access volume published by the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia.
The book brings together 16 chapters exploring Ibn Khaldun’s contributions to history, sociology, economics and political thought, as well as the ways his ideas can be applied to societies both past and present. It emerged from the International Ibn Khaldun Colloquium, held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in December 2025.
Understanding the Rise and Fall of Civilizations
Ibn Khaldun’s life was marked by political upheaval and personal tragedy. He lost family members during the Black Death, experienced imprisonment while serving North African rulers, and later lost his wife and children in a shipwreck. His career also brought him into contact with some of the most powerful figures of his age. These experiences helped inform his understanding of how political authority was established, maintained and eventually lost.
In the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun argued that societies could not be understood simply by recording the actions of rulers or the outcomes of wars. Historians needed to examine the underlying social, economic and political conditions that shaped events.
Central to his thinking was the concept of asabiyyah, often translated as group solidarity or social cohesion. He believed that strong bonds of cooperation could enable groups to establish political power and build states. Over successive generations, however, prosperity, luxury and changing social conditions could weaken these bonds, leaving ruling dynasties vulnerable to replacement.
Ibn Khaldun also examined taxation, economic activity, education, urban development and the relationship between nomadic and settled populations. His approach treated these subjects as interconnected elements of a larger social system.
“One major takeaway is that Ibn Khaldun’s ideas are not simply historical theories; they can still help us understand how societies work today,” explains Mesut Idriz, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Sharjah and co-editor of the new volume. “Ibn Khaldun’s concepts explain, in accessible terms, why people need social bonds and cooperation, how strong communities and states emerge, and how prosperity, leadership, taxation, education, and social cohesion can influence the strength or weakness of a society.”
Applying Medieval Ideas to Modern Societies
The new collection examines how Ibn Khaldun’s theories can be used to interpret both medieval history and contemporary developments. Its chapters cover subjects ranging from taxation and economic thought to leadership, education, gender relations and social integration.
Several contributions focus on historical questions. One chapter examines the rise and decline of civilizations through a critical assessment of Ibn Khaldun’s theories, while another applies his concepts of solidarity, luxury and political subjugation to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada, the last Muslim-ruled state in medieval Iberia.
Other chapters explore his understanding of taxation, the relationship between Bedouin and urban societies, and the connections between his ideas and later economic and sociological thought.
“A key finding is that Ibn Khaldun should not be viewed only as a medieval Muslim historian but as an important contributor to the broader history of the social and human sciences,” Idriz says.“By applying his ideas to historical and contemporary cases—including Granada, Bosnia, Sahrawi society, and the UAE—the volume demonstrates that his intellectual framework can still contribute to discussions about governance, social cohesion, diversity, economic development, and civilizational change.”
The book also considers how Ibn Khaldun’s ideas might help explain challenges facing modern states. Several chapters examine the United Arab Emirates, including the country’s approaches to tolerance, social integration and institutional development. Other contributions investigate the reception of his work in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its relationship with American social thought.
Anja Zalta, Professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Ljubljana and lead editor of the collection, believes that Ibn Khaldun’s approach offers a particularly useful way of examining the connections between different aspects of society.
“Ibn Khaldun viewed society as an interconnected system rather than as separate political, economic, or social problems,” she explains. “The studies in this volume show that his thinking can be applied to very different societies and periods, including contemporary contexts.”
“In simple terms, Ibn Khaldun’s work reminds us that a successful civilization depends not only on wealth or political power but also on cooperation, social trust, effective institutions, education, and the ability of societies to adapt and renew themselves.”
The editors also argue that Ibn Khaldun deserves greater recognition within the wider history of the social sciences. Although he is frequently compared with later European thinkers, they suggest that his intellectual framework should also be studied on its own terms.
“Rather than studying him mainly in comparison with later Western thinkers, future scholarship can examine his intellectual framework on its own terms and bring it into dialogue with contemporary social sciences,” says Zalta. “This would encourage more interdisciplinary and comparative studies and further demonstrate how Islamic intellectual heritage can contribute to addressing questions facing societies in the twenty-first century.”
More than 600 years after Ibn Khaldun wrote the Muqaddimah, scholars continue to debate his explanations of political power, economic prosperity and civilizational decline. The new collection demonstrates that his work remains a subject of active research, not only for historians of the medieval Islamic world but also for those studying the challenges facing societies today.
Reading Ibn Khaldun: His Heritage, Applications, and Significance for Modern Science, edited by Anja Zalta and Mesut Idriz, is published by the University of Ljubljana. Click here to read it.
Top Image: Bust of Ibn Khaldoun in the entrance of the Casbah of Bejaia, Algeria. © Reda Kerbouche, CC-BY-SA, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons
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