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Full-Text Articles in History
Between The Circle And The Line: Ibn Khaldun’S View Of History And Change, Allen James Fromherz
Between The Circle And The Line: Ibn Khaldun’S View Of History And Change, Allen James Fromherz
Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective
Historians from many different eras and contexts have viewed history and historical change as either linear or circular in nature. Giambattista Vico (d. 1744 CE), the Italian philosopher and historian, organized history in a cyclical way as different nations and peoples rise and fall. At the same time, according to Vico (2000), humanity was destined towards equity. Sima Qian of China (d. 86 BCE) viewed the past as a series of circular attempts to restore the Mandate of Heaven and consolidate central power, attempts that were then followed by breakdowns into feudal states (Qian, 1995). For Qian, history seemed to …