Ibn Khaldun - Core Concept

A Brief Introduction 

Ibn Khaldun ابن خلدون [1332-1406] was an Arab Tunisian philosopher and historian, widely known for his book Muqaddimah مقدّمة , the introduction to his Universal History, the Kitāb al-ʿIbar كتاب العِبَر. The work is known as the precursor to sociology thanks to its analysis of the societies of the time.

The Core Concept

The heart of his explanation of the success of societies lies in the arab concept Asabiyyah, which referred to the family ties belonging to nomadic clans and tribes; as civilizations grew, this conception started meaning the "Sense of Belonging" to those societies or, as it is commonly translated, Social Solidarity.

To simply put it, the more a society grows and ages, the lower its Asabiyyah/[Sense of Purpose and Destiny] is. This happens because they pass through the cycle of Rise, Stabilization and Decline; basically meaning the Rise and Fall of the Social Solidarity at different stages. This allows the civilization to be conquested by a new group with stronger unity.

According to him, "When a dynasty is at its end, its group feeling has disappeared, and the people have become accustomed to luxury and lost their toughness... It is then easily overcome by another group that still possesses strong group feeling".

Note

This is just a study block that's present in my silly project Tome of Understanding. That's also the reason why it's so short.