Ibn Khaldun, Taxes and the Rise and Decline of Empire
By Nathan Lewis
February 7, 2010
When I'm feeling lazy and Sunday is coming up, I grab something out of my book. There's so much good stuff in there, it's a practically endless resource. You should really buy a copy if you haven't yet.
Today, we have passages by Ibn Khaldun, an Arab genius of the 14th century. Ibn Khaldun must have one of the most impressive resumes of all history. He was born in Tunis to a family of high-level bureaucrats. Although he held minor government offices from a young age, his first high office, as prime minister, came about after he had been plotting against a local monarch. He was thrown in prison; one of his prison friends later became the monarch, and brought Khaldun into his government. He was part of the court of the Sultan of Grenada, for whom he successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the King of Castile. Pedro the Cruel was so impressed by his abilities, he offered Khaldun a place at his court, along with landholdings in the area that had previously been in his family. More diplomatic positions followed. Eventually, frustrated with the constantly changing alliances and politics, he sought refuge wth one of the Berber tribes. For three years, in a small village, he wrote the "Prolegomena," the first book of an enormous history of the world that he had planned. The "prolegomena" consisted of his theory of history, from which we get our passages below.
By Nathan Lewis
February 7, 2010
When I'm feeling lazy and Sunday is coming up, I grab something out of my book. There's so much good stuff in there, it's a practically endless resource. You should really buy a copy if you haven't yet.
Today, we have passages by Ibn Khaldun, an Arab genius of the 14th century. Ibn Khaldun must have one of the most impressive resumes of all history. He was born in Tunis to a family of high-level bureaucrats. Although he held minor government offices from a young age, his first high office, as prime minister, came about after he had been plotting against a local monarch. He was thrown in prison; one of his prison friends later became the monarch, and brought Khaldun into his government. He was part of the court of the Sultan of Grenada, for whom he successfully negotiated a peace treaty with the King of Castile. Pedro the Cruel was so impressed by his abilities, he offered Khaldun a place at his court, along with landholdings in the area that had previously been in his family. More diplomatic positions followed. Eventually, frustrated with the constantly changing alliances and politics, he sought refuge wth one of the Berber tribes. For three years, in a small village, he wrote the "Prolegomena," the first book of an enormous history of the world that he had planned. The "prolegomena" consisted of his theory of history, from which we get our passages below.
