Chapter 1. Theory as Context: The Man and His Times
Chapter 2. Social Solidarity and the Theory of Cyclical History
Chapter 3. Free Will and the Individual
Chapter 4. The Anthropology of Religion: Inner States and Overt Acts
Chapter 5. Shari’a, Custom, and the Anthropology of Law
Chapter 6. Ibn Khaldun as an Arab Thinker

Conclusion: The Allure of the Universal, the Tug of the Particular

Appendix

References
Index

Ibn Khaldun

Lawrence Rosen

154 pages, 15 ills., bibliog., index

ISBN 978-1-83695-195-7 Hb Published (March 2026)

eISBN 978-1-83695-193-3
web ISBN 978-1-83695-193-3

Details

Ibn Khaldun’s theory of dynastic history, economics, and group cohesion has drawn attention far beyond his North African home. He holds a unique place in the Western imagination, cited by figures as diverse as Mark Zuckerberg and President Ronald Reagan. His holistic, functionalist approach foreshadowed the development of modern social science. Whether analyzing kin-based solidarity, the role of religion in communal life, or the interplay between the universal and the particular, his emphasis on direct observation and cultural interpretation makes him a vital progenitor to contemporary anthropology.

Lawrence Rosen is the Cromwell Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at Princeton University and Adjunct Professor Emeritus of Law at Columbia University. He is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Courtand has received multiple teaching awards and the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Donne Award

Series: Volume 8, Anthropology's Ancestors

Subject: Anthropology (General) Theory and Methodology

Area:

LC: GN21.I36 R67 2026

berghahn New York · Oxford

Contents

Ibn Khaldun

Lawrence Rosen

Series: Volume 8, Anthropology's Ancestors

Subject: Anthropology (General) Theory and Methodology

Area:

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Contents

Ibn Khaldun

Lawrence Rosen

Series: Volume 8, Anthropology's Ancestors

Subject: Anthropology (General) Theory and Methodology

Area: