This book explores the significance of Ibn Khaldun’s magnum opus, the Book of Examples, to our understanding of human history and the disciplines of anthropology, history, and sociology.

Operating outside of the confines of the Western intellectual tradition, Ibn Khaldun’s the Book of Examples is perhaps the first attempt to propose a global history of humanity. In doing so, Ibn Khaldun pioneered approaches from what we today term sociology, anthropology, ecology, economics, geography, and urban studies. Drawing upon the Muqaddima and the other volumes of the Kitab al-Ibar, Cheddadi proposes novel ways of viewing human history and classifying societies. While Ibn Khaldun’s attempts to develop a true global history were ultimately flawed, Cheddadi argues that they nevertheless offer pertinent lessons for our attempts to write a global history and to understand the world today.

This stimulating and original work on a seminal figure in Islamic sociology and historiography will be of interest to students and researchers across the humanities and social sciences.