Escape From Politics

With time, Ibn Khaldun's political maneuverings as a Minister resulted in him constantly changing patronage of rulers in Tunis, Fez, Algiers and Grenada. As his career advanced, he attracted much jealousy, intrigue and enmity. For 25 years, he was constantly on the move, always dodging danger, starting one adventure after another.

At age 42, he felt weary to continue his political career. He longed for quiet solitude to study and research at leisure. Nevertheless, he found this excessively elusive as he was dragged into conflict time and again. He decided to retire near Tunis, his birthplace in a remote rural location.

He was extremely productive in his solitude and wrote the first edition of his magnus opus - the Prolegomenon (Al Muqaddimah) in just 5 months. It was an introduction to his work which in itself become his claim to fame. Ibn Khaldun initially wanted to write about the history of the Maghreb and its peoples and then he expanded the scope to write a general history covering ancient civilizations, the Arabs before and after Islam, the Berbers and the Zanata, Muslim lands in the East and European nations. 

After revising and editing Al Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun had it published. Its original ideas of social dynamics explained so eloquently were warmly received by the literary circles. Ibn Khaldun felt that he did not have enough reference books to continue his project of writing the history of the world, so he returned to Tunis' rich libraries to continue this research.

No sooner had he returned that he was dragged into political expedition by the Sultan whose request Ibn Khaldun could not turn down. Returning from the expedition, Ibn Khaldun realized that the only way he could find peace was to extricate himself from the Maghreb. Thus, he requested the Sultan permission to make the pilgrimage to Makkah.

Around the start of his fifth decade of life, Ibn Khaldun set sail East to Egypt, leaving his family and hometown forever.

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