Ibn Khaldun
A North African judge invents something very close to sociology.
- When
- Known to
- ± 2 years
- Era
- Post-Classical, Holocene
The Muqaddimah, completed in 1377, sets out to explain why dynasties rise and fall, arguing from group solidarity, the difference between nomadic and settled life, the economics of taxation and the cycle of luxury and decline. Ibn Khaldun explicitly criticises historians who repeat implausible reports without asking whether they are consistent with how societies actually work. He is routinely described as a founder of sociology and historiography.