State theory of Ibn Khaldun from a historical perspective

Philosophers are prone to be affected by the ideas, social conditions and political events that happened at their time and space. People generally fall into the mistake of anachronism that is to evaluate the past in accordance with the present values/norms/ideas while considering the ideas of great thinkers in a purely abstract form. Philosophers, on the other hand, produce their theories in regard to the problems of their times. In this context, it would be meaningful to examine the theory of State of Ibn Khaldun, a historian, sociologist and politician, in the axis of his geography and century. Ibn Khaldun, who lived in the 14th century, spent his life in the regions of North Africa, Andalusia and Egypt. In this study, the political events of these concerned states and regions, and the relationship of Ibn Khaldun with the statesmen and the people of the region were examined in order to understand to what extent these factors were effective in the formation of his theory of State. In addition, the theory of State is analyzed structurally and the historical context of his concepts such as asabiyyah, bedouinness, welfare and imitation are discussed. In this sense, in the first chapter, the life of Ibn Khaldun and the political situation in the regions of North Africa, Andalusia and Egypt and the prominent events in the states of that period are explained. In addition, parts of the theory of State were evaluated through Ibn Khaldun's conceptualizations. In the second chapter, the effects of the events, which Ibn Khaldun experienced in those regions, on the formation of the theory of State and the structural part of the theory are analyzed by the historical context.