His Life Abu Zaid Abd ar-Rahman ibn Khaldun was bom at Tunis on May 27, 1332 in an Arab family, which had dwelt for nearly five centuries at Seville in Muslim Spain. When driven out from there by the Christians, it settled in Tunis in North Africa. It was a family of scholars and jurists. After receiving education at home with renowned scholars, Ibn Khaldun at the age of twenty began to participate in the political life of the petty kingdoms of North Africa and even of the Muslim kingdom of Granada in Spain. Though he aspired to high office in the service of these Muslim kingdoms, but he rarely succeeded in holding it for long, partly due to his restless energy and partly due to the intrigues of his enemies.<\/p>