Barbarian

A barbarian is a human who is perceived to be uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be any member of a nation judged by some to be less civilized or orderly (such as a tribal society), but may also be part of a certain "primitive" cultural group (such as nomads) or social class (such as bandits) both within and outside one's own nation. Alternatively, they may instead be admired and romanticized as noble savages. In idiomatic or figurative usage, a "barbarian" may also be an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, warlike, insensitive person.

The term originates from the Greek: βάρβαρος (barbaros). In ancient times, Greeks used it mostly for people of different cultures, but there are examples where one Greek city or state would use the word to attack another (e.g. haughty Athenians calling the Boeotians barbarian); in the early modern period and sometimes later, Greeks used it for the Turks, in a clearly pejorative way. Comparable notions are found in non-European civilizations, notably China and Japan. In the Roman Empire, Romans used the word "barbarian" for many people, such as the Germanics, Celts, Iberians, Thracians and Parthians.

Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldūn (/ˌɪbənxælˈduːn/; Arabic: أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي‎, Abū Zayd ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khaldūn al-Ḥaḍramī; May 27, 1332 – March 19, 1406) was a (Tunisian) ArabMuslim historiographer and historian, regarded to be among the founding fathers of modern sociology,historiography, demography, and economics.

He is best known for his book, the Muqaddimah (literally the "Introduction", known as the Prolegomena in Greek). The book influenced 17th-century Ottoman historians like Ḥajjī Khalīfa and Mustafa Naima who used the theories in the book to analyze the growth and decline of the Ottoman Empire. 19th-century European scholars also acknowledged the significance of the book and considered Ibn Khaldun as one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages.

Biography

Ibn Khaldun's life is relatively well-documented, as he wrote an autobiography (التعريف بابن خلدون ورحلته غربا وشرقا, at-Taʻrīf bi-ibn Khaldūn wa-Riḥlatih Gharban wa-Sharqan) in which numerous documents regarding his life are quoted word-for-word.