Contents

pp v-vii

Acknowledgments

pp viii-viii

Glossary

pp ix-xiv

General Introduction

pp xv-xlvi

Part I - On History

pp 1-1

1 - History is a branch of philosophy1

pp 2-7

2 - Errors to which historians are prone

pp 8-14

Part II - On Combat Solidarities

pp 15-15

3 - Man is a social animal

pp 16-21

4 - Bedouins are naturally courageous, much more so than sedentary peoples

pp 22-26

5 - On combat solidarities, and the conditions in which their strength declines

pp 27-32

6 - Bedouin nations are more skilled at conquest than other nations

pp 33-38

7 - As long as combat solidarities exist among members of the same nation, the monarchy will remain in that nation’s control, even if power changes hands between its various branches

pp 39-44

8 - When the Arabs take control of cultivated territories, they quickly bring about their ruin

pp 45-50

Part III - On the State

pp 51-51

9 - States and universal dynasties are built by tribes and combat solidarities

pp 52-57

10 - A religious cause endows a nascent dynasty with force in addition to the combat solidarities derived from the number of its supporters

pp 58-63

11 - Every dynasty controls a finite number of domains and territories, which cannot be exceeded

pp 64-69

12 - It is natural for the sovereign to isolate himself in his glory, seeking peace and comfort

pp 70-75

13 - The leader of the dynasty puts his clients and those whom he has reared before his own kin and combat solidarities

pp 76-81

14 - The caliphate; the kingdom of the Jews; and the pope and the emperor in Christendom

pp 82-86

15 - On war

pp 87-93

16 - On taxation

pp 94-99

17 - The dissolution of a dynasty

pp 100-105

18 - A nascent dynasty cannot overthrow the sitting dynasty in a single blow; victory must come in time

pp 106-112

Part IV - Cities

pp 113-113

19 - States precede cities and capitals; the latter cannot exist without the prior existence of the state

pp 114-119

20 - On the construction and organization of cities

pp 120-126

21 - The superiority of urban centres and cities, the prosperity of their inhabitants, and the amount of spending in their markets are based on the size of their populations

pp 127-133