1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. I don't 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: remember exactly what led me to write Iman cal Dune 5 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 1: on my episode shortlist, but what I wrote down was 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: Iman cal Dune Muslim historian. That's correct. He was a historian. 7 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: He focused mainly on northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: also a little bit of the Middle East and the Mediterranean, 9 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: and he was particularly focused on the history of Arabs 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: and the Emasan, which are also known as the Berbers. 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: Beyond that, he also wrote of original work on historiography, 12 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,479 Speaker 1: or the way history is studied and written, and on 13 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: economics and sociology, long before either of those was recognized 14 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: as a field. So already we have a lot beyond 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: just my simple description of his story orion. What I 16 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: did not know until I got into this is that 17 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: he did this work during a time of just ongoing 18 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: chaos and strife, and in that context, his life included 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: just continual political drama and intrigue and moving from place 20 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: to place as he gained favor or lost favor or 21 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: was suspected of some kind of plot, or in some 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,560 Speaker 1: cases was actually involved in some kind of plot. Like 23 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:29,319 Speaker 1: it wasn't just all of this playing out in the 24 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: background of the life of a scholar. He was personally 25 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:35,320 Speaker 1: involved in a lot of it. So that added a 26 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: whole unexpected layer of intrigued this podcast on somebody who 27 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: was really groundbreaking as a scholar and was one of 28 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: the most important intellectual figures of his age. Even Caldoun 29 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: lived shortly after the end of the Islamic Golden Age. 30 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: That's a term that was coined in the nineteenth century 31 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: to describe a period of cultural, scientific, and artistic flourishing 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: that spanned from about the eighth century through the thirteenth century. 33 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: We've talked about several figures from this era on the 34 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: show before, including physicist ibanel Hathum, polymath and physician Ibn Sina, 35 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,080 Speaker 1: and mathematician Alquarismi. One of the events that's used to 36 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: mark the end of the Islamic Golden Age is the 37 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: Siege of Baghdad and twelve fifty eight. That's when the 38 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,919 Speaker 1: last remaining territory of the Abbasid Caliphate fell to Mongol invaders. 39 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: Ivan Caldoune spent most of his life in Northern Africa 40 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: and the Iberian Peninsula, which was to the west of 41 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: all of that, but that region was going through its 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: own upheaval at roughly the same time with the fall 43 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: of the alma Had Caliphate. The alma Had Caliphate had 44 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: been established by an Almazaik also known as Berber Confederation 45 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: in the twelfth century, which had controlled much of what 46 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:58,000 Speaker 1: is now Spain in Northern Africa into the thirteenth century, 47 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: the Caliphate started losing territory in Spain to both the 48 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: Reconquista or the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and 49 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,880 Speaker 1: to other Muslim factions in North Africa. Other Muslim dynasties 50 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: and sultanates had taken over various parts of what had 51 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:18,200 Speaker 1: been al Mahad territory. The alma Head and Abbasid Caliphates 52 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 1: were both very large political dynasties, and their collapse led 53 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: to a power vacuum and the rise of much smaller 54 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: city states, as well as the rise of a lot 55 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: of tensions as their various leaders each tried to reunite 56 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: the territory into one empire under their control. All of 57 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: this affected Ibn cal June's family directly. According to his 58 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: family genealogy, the House of cal June had been founded 59 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: by an Arab ancestor from what's now Yemen who had 60 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: settled in Andalusia near Seville during the Muslim conquest of 61 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,840 Speaker 1: the Iberian Peninsula that took place around the eighth century. 62 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: Ivan Caldune was proud of this lineage. Arabic names trace 63 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: a person's ancestor story, and he gave his name in 64 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: his autobiography as abdella Rockman Ibn Mohammed Ibben Mahabed Ibn 65 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,520 Speaker 1: al Hassan Ibn Mohammed Immin Jabber Ibban Mahabban Immen Ibraheim 66 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: Ibben Abdal Krochman ibn kal Dune. Although he expressed some 67 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: doubts that this genealogy was maybe not totally correct, he 68 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: thought logically there should be some more generations between him 69 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: and that first cal June. After moving to Seville, the 70 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: House of Caldoune had become part of the Muslim aristocracy, there, 71 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: holding high ranking government and military posts in various administrations 72 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: for generations, including the Almah Head Caliphate after it took 73 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: control of civil in eleven seventy two, but then in 74 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: twelve forty eight, Ferdinand the Third Lacey to Seville during 75 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: the Reconquista. At that point, the Calduns fled to Tunis, 76 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: which the House Seeds had seized from the Almahads just 77 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: six years before. The house Seeds were another Almasak dynasty 78 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: which had been founded by a former almah Head governor. 79 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: Although they'd had to fle from Seville, the Caldun family 80 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: still had a lot of wealth and power and prestige, 81 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: so when they got to Tunis, they continued to be 82 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: part of the elite. This was also true of Iban 83 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: Caldun's father, although he broke with family tradition to focus 84 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: more on law and intellectual pursuits instead of on politics. 85 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,359 Speaker 1: I Been cal June was born in Tunas on May thirteen, 86 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: thirty two. It's a little more than eighty years after 87 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: his family had fled from Seville, and the house that 88 00:05:28,760 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: he's believed to have been born in is still standing today. 89 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: We don't know much at all about the personal details 90 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: of Iban Caldun's upbringing, but we do know that he 91 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 1: got the kind of education that was typical for a 92 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: son in a family with the Caldoun's social status. He 93 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: studied Arabic language and literature and Islamic law, and he 94 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:53,239 Speaker 1: memorized the Koran. But Tunis wasn't as large or cosmopolitan 95 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: as some of the other cities in North Africa, so 96 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: Ivan Caldoun didn't really have access to the most prestigious 97 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: teachers and mentors. That changed in thirteen forty seven when 98 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: Merinid Sultan Abul Hassan Ali of Fez occupied Tunis as 99 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: part of a campaign to take control of much of 100 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: Northern Africa. Fez is one of the oldest cities in 101 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 1: what's now Morocco, and in the fourteenth century it was 102 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:22,159 Speaker 1: a center for cultural, religious, and intellectual scholarship. It's home 103 00:06:22,279 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: to the University of Al Karawian, which is the oldest 104 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: institution of higher learning in the world. It was established 105 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:32,159 Speaker 1: as a mosque and teaching center by Fatima Alphahiri in 106 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: the year eight fifty nine. When the Marinids occupied Tunis, 107 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: they brought legal scholars and theologians from Fez with them. 108 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: One of these was Mohammed Ibban Ambraham al Abili, who 109 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: was an influential scholar and mathematician. He lodged with the 110 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: Caldun family, and he became Iban Caldoun's teacher. As Iban 111 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: Caldoun's education continued, he learned Malachi jurisprudence, which is one 112 00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 1: of four schools of law in Sunni Islam. But even 113 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: Caldune only had access to this new set of teachers 114 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: and mentors for a couple of years. The Black Death 115 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: arrived in Tunas in thirteen forty eight, and by thirteen 116 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: forty nine, both of him and Caldune's parents had died 117 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: of the plague. Plague also killed multiple other members of 118 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: his family and some of his teachers. Mohammed Ibn Ibrahim 119 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: all Abeli survived, but he and most of the other 120 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: surviving scholars all returned to Faz when the Marinids withdrew 121 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: from Tunis. The Merited occupation had become increasingly unpopular. It 122 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: had never really had a very strong control over the region, 123 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:39,520 Speaker 1: especially among the semi nomadic peoples who were living in 124 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: more outlying areas, and they just couldn't maintain control in 125 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: the wake of the devastation of the plague. After the 126 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: Marinade withdrawal, Tunas was back under how Seed control. Even 127 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: Caldune was about seventeen when all of this happened, and 128 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: he stayed in Tunis for a while. When he was 129 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: about eighteen, he got his first court position, and it 130 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: was as a senior staff member to one of the 131 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:07,240 Speaker 1: most powerful men in Tuness. That was the Sultan's doorkeeper, 132 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: who was in charge of security and controlled who did 133 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: or did not get audience with the Sultan. Iban Caldoune 134 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: was Master of the sultan Seal, making him responsible for 135 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 1: writing the Sultan's formal signature on official documents, and he 136 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: probably had some diplomatic responsibilities as well. Although this was 137 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,720 Speaker 1: a high ranking position, it would not have been particularly 138 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,319 Speaker 1: challenging or interesting. Most of the time that formal signature 139 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: involved elaborate calligraphy that Evan Caldoune had to replicate exactly 140 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: over and over. So in the end, this was the 141 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: first of many positions that he held, and over the 142 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: course of his life he moved from place to place. 143 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: I Like I said at the top of the show, 144 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: there was a lot of falling out of favor and 145 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: then going somewhere else and falling out of favor there 146 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: as well. He ultimately worked for four different political dynasties 147 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: that were often rivals are even enemies. There was the 148 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: half Seeds and the Merinids, who we've already mentioned, as 149 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,800 Speaker 1: well as the abdalt Wadis and the Nasrids. So we're 150 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: gonna talk more about all of the shifts in his 151 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: life after we first paused for a sponsor break. Like 152 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: we said before the break, over the course of his life, 153 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: even Caldoune moved around a lot. He worked for various 154 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: political dynasties all over North Africa and at some points 155 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: on the Iberian Peninsula, and he either got caught up 156 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: in or actively sought out all kinds of intrigue. Some 157 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: historians have interpreted this as a combination of ambition and 158 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: just outright opportunism. He does definitely seem to have been ambitious, 159 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 1: but other historians have interpreted that opportunism more as a 160 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: byproduct of the politically unstable world that he was living in. 161 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:01,319 Speaker 1: So basically he had to be at least a little 162 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: bit opportunistic just to get by God play the game. Yeah, 163 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:10,560 Speaker 1: a lot of brief articles that I read about his 164 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: life that have been written in more recent years made 165 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: comparisons to the Game of Thrones series. Uh, And it 166 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: would sort of like if he did not participate in 167 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,679 Speaker 1: this to at least some extent, he would have been 168 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: one of the starks. In thirteen fifty two, the Marinids 169 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: occupied the city of Bougie, which is Bijaya, Algeria today. 170 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: Even Caldoon moved there not long after, possibly hoping that 171 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: he would find access to the sorts of scholars and 172 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: mentors that he had had when the Marinids had been 173 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 1: in control of Tuness. He stayed until the Sultan of 174 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: Morocco invited him to the Marinade capital of Fez in 175 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: thirteen fifty four. Once he was in Fez, he spent 176 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: three years as one of the sultan secretaries, and this 177 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 1: might seem like a step up since he was working 178 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: directly for the Sultan rather than for the the sultan storekeeper, 179 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: but overall this was a less prestigious position than when 180 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: he had back in tunas he was basically a clerk. 181 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: Being in Fez did let him continue his education, though 182 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: he studied at the Al Karawian Mosque, and at some 183 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: point during these years he also got married. While Iban 184 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: Caldoun was living in Fez, there was a plot to 185 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,880 Speaker 1: ouse the Marinids from Bougie and restore a previous Hot 186 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: Seed ruler, Iban Caldoun was suspected of involvement in this plot, 187 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,600 Speaker 1: and he was imprisoned. He remained imprisoned until after the 188 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: sultan was murdered in thirteen fifty eight, at which point 189 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: he was released and given a position in the new administration. 190 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: But after that Iban Caldoun turned around and rallied support 191 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: for one of the new sultan's rivals. His motivations for 192 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 1: this are not stated anywhere, but the new sultan was 193 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: the infant son of the one who had just been murdered. 194 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: In his vizier, who was acting as regent was the murderer, 195 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: so that might have had something to do with it. 196 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 1: In thirteen fifty nine, Mohammed the fifth was deposed as 197 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 1: ruler of Granada and he went into exile in Fez. 198 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: He brought one of his primary advisors with him, that 199 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: was poet and historian Ibn al Kateib. Eban Caldune got 200 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: to know both of these men, and in particular he 201 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,079 Speaker 1: became friends and colleagues with Eban al Kateb. Mohammed the 202 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: fifth was restored as Sultan of Granada in thirteen sixty two, 203 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,160 Speaker 1: and the next year Iban Caldune asked for permission to 204 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: leave Fez. That permission was granted, and he went to Granada, 205 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: where he took a position in the Sultan's administration. He 206 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: worked very closely with Eban Alkatib, who at that point 207 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: had become Mohammed the fifth Vizier. Although this would have 208 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: been a step up for Eben Caldune and he probably 209 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: looked forward to working with Iban al Kateb, he had 210 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: once again fallen under suspicion in Fez after the Sultan 211 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 1: was presumably murdered in a revolt. He was given permission 212 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 1: to leave Fez only if he did not go to 213 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: one of the neighboring city states that was under the 214 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: rule of a rival political dynasty. In thirteen sixty four, 215 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: Mohammed the fifth tasked Eban cal Dune with making a 216 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,839 Speaker 1: diplomatic mission to Pedro, the First of Castile, to negotiate 217 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: a peace treaty. Pedro seems to have been really impressed 218 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: with Evan Caldune and offered to restore the Caldoune family's 219 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,080 Speaker 1: lands to him under the condition that he converted to Christianity. 220 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,680 Speaker 1: Eban Caldun refused this and wound up returning to North Africa. 221 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: But before long his relationship with iban Active started to 222 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 1: become strained, and it was reportedly because his success in 223 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: Castile led to him becoming increasingly influential with the sultan. 224 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: A year later, iban Caldoune was once again on the move, 225 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,720 Speaker 1: this time to become chief Minister to the House seed 226 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: Emir a Bouji. His younger brother was made Vizier in 227 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:58,320 Speaker 1: the same administration. One of the things that iban caldoun 228 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: did in this role is to try all out to 229 00:14:00,559 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: the semi nomadic peoples in the mountainous areas around the 230 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,840 Speaker 1: city to try to convince them to pledge their loyalty 231 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: to the Sultan and to collect taxes. This required a 232 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: lot of diplomacy, and he also started making observations about 233 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: these people's cultures and lifestyles and drawing conclusions about how 234 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:25,479 Speaker 1: their social connections helped them survive in a demanding environment. Meanwhile, 235 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: the intrigue was continuing. Iban Caldoune's brother fell out of favor, 236 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: and then so did iban Caldoune. For a few years, 237 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: he moved from place to place, sometimes separated from his 238 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: family if they were not given permission to join him. 239 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: Even Alcati also fell out of favor in Granada, and 240 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 1: by extensions, suspicion fell on Ibban Caldun as well. Even 241 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: alcate went back to North Africa, and then a few 242 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: years later he again fell under suspicion and was charged 243 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: with heresy. He was killed in prison in thirty five. 244 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: Over these years, at areas points, even Caldoun was arrested, 245 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: captured while trying to flee from places where he'd fallen 246 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: under suspicion, extradited, and also held high ranking positions in 247 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: various governments, including multiple positions that involved acting as an 248 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: emissary to nomadic people's in a lying areas. By the 249 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 1: time Ibn al Kateb was killed, Eban Caldoune had worked 250 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: for and was out of favor with seemingly everyone. Finally, 251 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: in thirteen seventy five, the same year that Ivan Alkhatib 252 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,120 Speaker 1: had died, he stepped away from all of this and 253 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: took refuge at a remote castle also described as a 254 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: fortress in what's now western Algeria, and he brought his 255 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: family with him. Over the next few years, he wrote 256 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: the first draft of the Mukadema or the Introduction, which 257 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 1: was the first Book of his katab Bar or Book 258 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,520 Speaker 1: of Lessons. The Book of Lessons was to be a 259 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: history of Arab and Amazak people's. Its full name translates 260 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: approximately to Book of Examples and the Collection of Origins 261 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: of the history of the Arabs and Berbers. He worked 262 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,600 Speaker 1: on that longer work during this period as well. This 263 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:13,520 Speaker 1: work was deeply informed by Islamic law and Greek philosophy 264 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: as seen through a Muslim lens, as well as all 265 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:19,360 Speaker 1: of his travel and all of those positions that he'd held, 266 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: the political intrigues he'd either been involved in or at 267 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: least suspected of, and the time that he had spent 268 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: among nomadic and semi nomadic people's. But it wasn't just 269 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: his written history of many of the peoples of North 270 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. He had also explored how 271 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: he thought history should be researched, written, and recorded, outlining 272 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: what he saw his errors in earlier chronicles and applying 273 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 1: his ideas. When he wrote the Book of Lessons, for example, 274 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: he thought the work of many earlier historians and chroniclers 275 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:56,240 Speaker 1: had really fallen short. He described seven sources of historical error. 276 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:02,120 Speaker 1: They included partisanship, hubrists, not examining the context and intent 277 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:06,719 Speaker 1: of earlier sources of written history and uncritically repeating the 278 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:11,120 Speaker 1: work of previous scholars without verifying it. He pointed out 279 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: multiple widely held historical facts facts kind of in quotation 280 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,880 Speaker 1: marks that just did not make sense, like armies whose 281 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 1: numbers were impossibly big considering the population of the place 282 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:29,280 Speaker 1: they were supposedly recruited from. What what doing actual math? 283 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: No um. He also thought that history should not be 284 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: just a simple chronological documentation of people and events, but 285 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: then it should explore the social moraise, politics, and other 286 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 1: factors that led events to progress in a certain way. 287 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,679 Speaker 1: He thought that the purpose of history was not just 288 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:51,640 Speaker 1: to document what happened, but to understand why societies rise 289 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: and fall. He wanted to understand what caused things to 290 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: happen a certain way in the past, and what could 291 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 1: be learned about the present based on that understand ending, 292 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 1: in his words, quote history is an art of valuable 293 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: doctrine numerous, and its advantages an honorable in purpose. It 294 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,359 Speaker 1: informs us about bygone nations in the context of their habits, 295 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: the profits, in the context of their lives and kings, 296 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: in the context of their states and politics. So those 297 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: who seek the guidance of the past in either worldly 298 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: or religious matters may have that advantage. Because of all this, 299 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:33,720 Speaker 1: Sometimes even Caldoun is called the father of historiography, one 300 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: of at least three disciplines that he is often credited 301 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: as starting. We'll talk more about that after a sponsor break. 302 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: The Arabic version of Eban cal Juan's Book of Lessons 303 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: or Book of Examples was first printed over seven volumes. 304 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: As we said earlier, Book one was the Mukadema, which 305 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: had th owne introduction, followed by six chapters that was 306 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: all printed as one volume. Book two was then printed 307 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: over four volumes, and it primarily focused on the history 308 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,880 Speaker 1: of Arab peoples and dynasties, but it also incorporated histories 309 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,960 Speaker 1: of non Arab people such as the Persians and Greeks. 310 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: Then the remaining two volumes were focused on Amzi history, 311 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,639 Speaker 1: and there was a brief autobiography that was included as 312 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,879 Speaker 1: an appendix. This was a monumental work and one that 313 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,119 Speaker 1: he revised over the remainder of his life. But the 314 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: part that's most well known and most studied is the Mukadema, because, 315 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: among other things, In addition to the portions on historiography 316 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,840 Speaker 1: that we talked about just before the break, he also 317 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,480 Speaker 1: outlined concepts that would fit in with the fields of 318 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:50,480 Speaker 1: sociology and economics centuries before either of those fields was established. 319 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: He also had a chapter on pedagogy, or how people 320 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: teach and learn that we're not really even getting into today. 321 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: In terms of sociology, and Caldoune described what he was 322 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:05,360 Speaker 1: writing as the science of human society or the science 323 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:09,600 Speaker 1: of social organization. His work on history and all that 324 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,960 Speaker 1: time he had spent working in the extremely turbulent world 325 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: of fourteenth century North Africa had led him to really 326 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: examine how and why society's rise and fall. Through all this, 327 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: he came to believe that a political dynasty could survive 328 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,440 Speaker 1: for only about four generations, and that all of them 329 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 1: followed a similar cycle. This idea was underpinned by a 330 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 1: concept called asabia, which is an Arabic term. It really 331 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,919 Speaker 1: doesn't have a perfect translation into English. A lot of 332 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: sources translated as solidarity or community cohesion, but that's really 333 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,679 Speaker 1: only part of it. Assaba incorporates political power and the 334 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: social bonds that give a community a shared sense of purpose. 335 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: Even Caldun believed that society started out with a deep 336 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: sense of assabia and the people living in them struggled 337 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: to serve five and that a saba was a huge 338 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: part of how nomadic societies living in remote, mountainous or 339 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:10,440 Speaker 1: desert regions were able to But as a society grew 340 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: and started to flourish, or as a nomadic society established 341 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: a town or otherwise stopped migrating, it lost that sense 342 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:21,479 Speaker 1: of social cohesion. Then, over time of bureaucracy would evolve, 343 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 1: along with a hierarchy within that population. Leaders would eventually 344 00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:29,040 Speaker 1: become farther and farther removed from the people they were 345 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,440 Speaker 1: supposed to be governing, focusing more on things like luxury 346 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: and opulence than on the needs of the community. Eventually, 347 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: their leadership would fail and this society would be overthrown 348 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,360 Speaker 1: by an uprising on the part of the more common 349 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:47,280 Speaker 1: people or an invasion from the outside. Basically, he saw 350 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,919 Speaker 1: this as a continual cycle of growth and decay, and 351 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: he connected that to the role that violence played in 352 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: the creation and maintenance of societies. He described nomadic people's 353 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: as somewhat protected from the cycle because of the demands 354 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: of their living environment. You just had to have a 355 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: strong sense of social cohesion to survive while migrating through 356 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: the mountains or the desert, But that really changed if 357 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:17,919 Speaker 1: a nomadic society became more sedentary. Even Caldoun's ideas on 358 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: economics were connected to some of these same parts of 359 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: the Mukadema, as well as two chapters that discussed different 360 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,199 Speaker 1: crafts and trades. As societies went through that cycle of 361 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: growth and decay, they also changed economically, with a greater 362 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: population providing more labor, which in turn led to more profits. 363 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: He thought taxes were necessary, but we're also part of 364 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 1: this same cycle, with newly established societies levying lower levels 365 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: of taxes that people happily paid, and then demanding more 366 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,239 Speaker 1: and more until people ultimately refused. He also thought that 367 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: prosperity and population rose hand in hand, at least to 368 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: a point. As societies became bigger and wealthier, they needed 369 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:06,719 Speaker 1: increasingly complex divisions of labor. He also noted connections between 370 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: supply and demand and the price of goods, and how 371 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:13,920 Speaker 1: a society's growth stimulated that cycle of supply and demand. 372 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: He was also opposed to monopolies, especially when those monopolies 373 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,920 Speaker 1: were held by the leaders of a society. He also 374 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 1: thought that there were natural and unnatural ways for people 375 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: to earn a living. Natural jobs included things like agricultural work, hunting, fishing, 376 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 1: being a craftsperson. Unnatural jobs included rulers, soldiers, and treasure hunters. 377 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,200 Speaker 1: He really did not like treasure hunters at all. He 378 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: talked about not a lot. Eventually, Evan Caldoune left the 379 00:23:47,119 --> 00:23:49,480 Speaker 1: fortress where he had drafted all of this work and 380 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 1: he went back to Tunis. He had written the first 381 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,639 Speaker 1: draft of his book without access to any kind of 382 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: archive or library, and getting access to more of that 383 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 1: research material might have been one of his reasons for returning, 384 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,200 Speaker 1: but he also seems to have been ill at this point, 385 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 1: and the level of drama and intrigue had not really 386 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: gone down while he was away. His brother was murdered, 387 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: probably for political reasons, but the details aren't clear, and 388 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: even Caldun himself also had plenty of detractors. In two, 389 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: when he was fifty, Eben Caldun was given permission to 390 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,399 Speaker 1: embark on the Hajj, that is, the pilgrimage to Mecca 391 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: that Muslims must make at least once in their adult 392 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: lives if they are physically and financially able. Even Caldoune 393 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,080 Speaker 1: went to Alexandria, Egypt, and then on to Cairo, where 394 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 1: he was impressed by the city's architecture and by its 395 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: institutions of higher learning. Although he definitely had critics and 396 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:49,959 Speaker 1: was a controversial figure, Ivan Caldune was also in demand 397 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,479 Speaker 1: as a teacher. He'd already made a name for himself 398 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: with his work. He started teaching at Al Hazar University, 399 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:58,880 Speaker 1: which had been established in the year nine seventy two 400 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: and still exists today. He also became a katti or judge, 401 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: practicing malec jurisprudence, and although he wasn't under the same 402 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,440 Speaker 1: spotlight as he had been in his earlier political appointments, 403 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:14,959 Speaker 1: this was still a role that was influenced by politics. 404 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 1: As a judge, he tried to be impartial and to 405 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: really follow the letter of the law, regardless of whether 406 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: doing so would be politically unpopular. That meant that soon 407 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: he had a reputation for being uncompromising and almost intentionally contrarian. 408 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: Over the rest of his life. He was removed from 409 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: his appointment as chief Katti and then reinstate into it 410 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: again at least five times drama. When Iban Caldoune left 411 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: for Egypt, it was at least in theory, to undertake 412 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: the Hajj, so his family was not with him. As 413 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 1: he remained in Cairo. Arrangements were made for his wife 414 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: and five daughters to join him, but in eighty four 415 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 1: the ship they were on sank off the coast of 416 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: Alexandria and they were killed. Now we know almost nothing 417 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 1: about these people in his life. The first mention of 418 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 1: their existence is the report on their deaths. Many of 419 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,639 Speaker 1: Eban Caldune's personal possessions were also on board that ship, 420 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,359 Speaker 1: and that included his personal library. Yeah, there are some 421 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:22,240 Speaker 1: people who have written about his biography that interpret him 422 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,879 Speaker 1: as being just absolutely devastated by the loss of his family, 423 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,160 Speaker 1: but we know almost nothing about it from his own 424 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: point of view. Like the way he mentions it in 425 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:35,159 Speaker 1: that brief autobiography is almost off handed, which doesn't necessarily 426 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: signify anything because it was not typical for people to 427 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: include a lot of personal details and their autobiographies at 428 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: this point in time. But they are really a mystery 429 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: that we know virtually nothing of. Evan cal Dune did 430 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 1: undertake the Hajj. He did that in seven and then 431 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 1: returned to Cairo afterward. Two years later he participated in 432 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: a palace revolt, and that was apparently under duress. He 433 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:04,160 Speaker 1: was not prosecuted for that. In fourteen hundred, to Mur, 434 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: also known as Tamberlane, invaded Syria, having already conquered much 435 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,000 Speaker 1: of Persia, and invaded the Indian subcontinent as he tried 436 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,000 Speaker 1: to rebuild the Mongol Empire. We've run our episode onto 437 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:20,160 Speaker 1: Mur as a recent Saturday Classic. Parts of Syria were 438 00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: under the control of mom Luk Egypt, and although Egypt 439 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,640 Speaker 1: had been allied with the Ottomans against Timer, that alliance 440 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 1: had weakened in quick succession. To Mur had occupied Aleppo 441 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: and besieged Damascus. Egypt dispatched a military force, switched to 442 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,920 Speaker 1: Moor's forces, than defeated, and then afterward forage. The Sultan 443 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: of Egypt took a delegation to Damascus. One of its 444 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: members was it In Caldoune, who at that point was 445 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,959 Speaker 1: almost seventy. Some sources described him as going along with 446 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,440 Speaker 1: this delegation mostly because he was really curious about two more. Others, though, 447 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:58,880 Speaker 1: make it sound like he was deeply reluctant to go Eventually, 448 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: Forage and his retinue withdrew and returned to Egypt, but 449 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: even Caldoon stayed behind to negotiate with Timur. There's one 450 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,359 Speaker 1: particularly dramatic account of him being lowered over the wall 451 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: of the besieged city in a basket. He was really 452 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,679 Speaker 1: impressed with Tumor and described him this way. Quote this 453 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: King Timur is one of the greatest and mightiest of kings. 454 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,800 Speaker 1: Some attribute to him knowledge, others attribute to him heresy 455 00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: because they note his preference for the members of the 456 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: House of Ali. Still others attribute to him the employment 457 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 1: of magic and sorcery. But in all this there is nothing. 458 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: It is simply that he is highly intelligent and very perspicacious, 459 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: addicted to debate and argumentation about what he knows and 460 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: also about what he does not know. This is not 461 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: at all how this person is usually described in accounts 462 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: from places that he conquered. Now the subscriptions, they're more like, 463 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: this was a terrifying tyrant. This is a ruthless man's 464 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:02,680 Speaker 1: single of purpose. Not she wanted to talk to me 465 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: about philosophy, None of that. Eman Caldun stayed in Damascus 466 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: for thirty five days and returns back to Cairo in 467 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,720 Speaker 1: March of fourteen o one. Before leaving, he did manage 468 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: to negotiate for civilians in Damascus to get safe passage 469 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: out of the city. Based on his conversations with some more, 470 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: Iman Caldun seems to have thought that he would protect 471 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,400 Speaker 1: the city of Damascus, or at least treat it pretty kindly. 472 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: But after Iman Caldune had left, two Moore's forces sacked 473 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: the city, including setting fire to its great mosque. Then 474 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,719 Speaker 1: Iman Caldoune was attacked on the way home and robbed 475 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: of all of his possessions. There's that ruthless part. Uh 476 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: Ivan Caldoun spent the rest of his life in Cairo. 477 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,959 Speaker 1: He died there on March seventeen, fourteen oh six. At 478 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: the time of his death, he was once again Chief Cuddy, 479 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:59,000 Speaker 1: having been reinstated after his most recent ouster. He was 480 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: buried in a sue the cemetery, but it's not clear 481 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: whether he thought of himself as a Sufi at this point. 482 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: Sufism is a mystical school of Islam, and Eben Caldoune's 483 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: earlier writing on it was contradictory. He had a lot 484 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: of opinions about this kind of thing that we did 485 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 1: not really get into in this episode, Like he thought 486 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 1: that prophecy could be real, but that fortune telling was not, 487 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: like there was There's just a lot of nuance that's 488 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: sort of through this very Muslim lens, that's beyond what 489 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,680 Speaker 1: we have really talked about today. In addition to his 490 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,600 Speaker 1: surviving works which we've talked about, there are at least 491 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: five other works by Iban Caldun that are mentioned in 492 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,080 Speaker 1: contemporary accounts, including work on logic and arithmetic. He only 493 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,120 Speaker 1: had a couple of students in his last years in Cairo, though, 494 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,520 Speaker 1: and he had a lot of enemies. So towards the 495 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: end of his life and after his death he was 496 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,680 Speaker 1: accused of all kinds of wrongdoing and immorality, and people 497 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: said he was a bad scholar and that his history garbage. 498 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:04,239 Speaker 1: That just a lot of criticism. Many works from the 499 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: Islamic Golden Age were translated into Latin and became influential 500 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,960 Speaker 1: to scholars in Europe, but by the time Iban Caldoun died, 501 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,880 Speaker 1: works in Arabic were not being translated nearly as often, 502 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,280 Speaker 1: so for a time he fell into obscurity in North 503 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:22,640 Speaker 1: Africa and was unknown in Europe. The Ottomans occupied Egypt 504 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,680 Speaker 1: in the fifteen teens, and after that point some of 505 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: his work was reprinted in compilations in the Ottoman Empire. 506 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:34,040 Speaker 1: The rediscovery of ivan Caldoune's work in both Europe and 507 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: North Africa started around the nineteenth century. Part of this 508 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 1: involved France invading Algeria in eighteen thirty, and French officials 509 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:45,920 Speaker 1: were looking for local resources so they could try to 510 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: learn about, understand, and ultimately control the Amasaik people. This 511 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,960 Speaker 1: included getting translations of the work of iban Caldoun, and 512 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: from there some of his ideas started making their way 513 00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 1: into the newly developing field of socioity g He doesn't 514 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,200 Speaker 1: seem to have been incorporated as much into the field 515 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 1: of economics, although sometimes he is described as predicting the 516 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,800 Speaker 1: work of Adam Smith and then German philosopher Friedrich Engels 517 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: definitely read translations of iban Caldun's work. In the twentieth century, 518 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,880 Speaker 1: historian Arnold Toynbee described iban Caldun's work on historiography as 519 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 1: quote a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest 520 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: work of its kind that has ever yet been created 521 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,600 Speaker 1: by any mind, in any time or place. Iban Caldun 522 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: has also been influential in other ways. For example, Frank 523 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 1: Herbert's novel Dune draws heavily from Islam and from the 524 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: histories and cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. 525 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: There are some clear parallels between the universe of Doune 526 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,720 Speaker 1: and events that play out there, and Iben Caldune's Mukadema, 527 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: and there's an in world book that shares its name 528 00:32:56,200 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: with iban Caldun's history. In one interview, Herbert can firm 529 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,720 Speaker 1: that he had read the Mukadema. And in ninety one, 530 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 1: President Ronald Reagan quoted iban Caldoun in a speech on 531 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:14,320 Speaker 1: his administration's ideas of supply side economics, in other words, 532 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 1: attempting to spur economic growth by lowering taxes and lifting regulations. 533 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:24,080 Speaker 1: Reagan described Eban Caldoune as the earliest origin of these ideas, 534 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: paraphrasing from the Mukadema by saying, in part quote in 535 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: the beginning of the dynasty, great tax revenues were gained 536 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: from small assessments. At the end of the dynasty, small 537 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:38,320 Speaker 1: tax revenues were gained from large assessments. Reagan went on 538 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,280 Speaker 1: to say, quote, we're trying to get down to the 539 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: small assessments and the great revenues. However, in Iben Caldoon 540 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,280 Speaker 1: and Intellectual Biography, which was published by Princeton University Press 541 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:54,120 Speaker 1: in eighteen, historian Robert Irwin argues that either Reagan or 542 00:33:54,200 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 1: his speechwriter totally misread and misinterpreted Iban Caldoune's ideas on taxes, saying, quote, 543 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,000 Speaker 1: he did not think that high taxes were the main 544 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,520 Speaker 1: cause of reduced revenue. Rather, the high taxes were a 545 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:12,280 Speaker 1: consequence of increased expenditure and reduced income. Yeah he's uh. 546 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,600 Speaker 1: He read about high taxes more as an indicator of 547 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: the decline of a society, not as the closet, not 548 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:25,640 Speaker 1: as the thing to shift around. Uh So, yeah, that's 549 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,320 Speaker 1: even Caldoune and his very dramatic life full of intrigue. 550 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,319 Speaker 1: Do you have a listener mail that may or may 551 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: not include intrigue? I don't know if it includes intrigue. 552 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,240 Speaker 1: Intrigue might be a little stronger than uh than it's 553 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 1: This is another email about chaos cows. Uh. This one 554 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,719 Speaker 1: is from Mark, and Mark wrote high Tracy Holley. I'm 555 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:51,960 Speaker 1: a huge fan and have been dying to email you both. 556 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,120 Speaker 1: Actually I've tried many times, but I have made many 557 00:34:55,200 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 1: foolish attempts, which I must confess. I started listening to 558 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,280 Speaker 1: y'all back in when I was king for something enjoyable 559 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: to listen to, and boy, did you to make me happy. 560 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:06,279 Speaker 1: I've learned so many interesting things for me all. But 561 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,839 Speaker 1: here comes my confession. I now listen to you at 562 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,680 Speaker 1: double speed. It didn't always start this way. Actually, it 563 00:35:11,719 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: was another podcast that made me start doing it. They 564 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,160 Speaker 1: would drone on and I finally stopped listening to them, 565 00:35:16,239 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: but it didn't stop me from speeding up all my podcasts. 566 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: Everyone sounds slow when I go back to normal speed. 567 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:25,440 Speaker 1: I drive my kids and their friends a lot of places, 568 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:27,239 Speaker 1: and they always find it funny when I listened to 569 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: my podcast on double speed. This makes it hard for 570 00:35:29,640 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: me to hear the email address and the disclaimer that 571 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:34,799 Speaker 1: this might be an old email address. So the first 572 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,479 Speaker 1: three emails I tried to send may never have gotten there. 573 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 1: It doesn't matter because I don't remember what I might 574 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: have said in them. So why this one? Well? I 575 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,320 Speaker 1: loved when you spoke about the tour guide saying chaos 576 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:51,319 Speaker 1: cows and your initial reaction to it. I'm sure you've 577 00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 1: heard by now the reason for it, But since you 578 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:54,840 Speaker 1: didn't say as much, I thought I might try to 579 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: enlighten you as you have done for me countless times. 580 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 1: I took classics at umss am Hers and one of 581 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,879 Speaker 1: my professors, who taught Greek sieve and Ancient Greek, explained 582 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:11,480 Speaker 1: the word this is spelled using Greek letters kai, alpha, omicron, sigma, 583 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,800 Speaker 1: does not mean chaos a lack of order. It's actually 584 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 1: closer to meaning chasm pronounced cows and the way Greeks 585 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:23,319 Speaker 1: described something that was before the existence of gaia and 586 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:26,000 Speaker 1: orinos for the earth and sky, and it would definitely 587 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:29,919 Speaker 1: sound like cows if you'd never heard it before. Mark 588 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: then goes on to talk about kids and cats. There 589 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,640 Speaker 1: were lots of cat pictures attached this email, which is great, Um, 590 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,399 Speaker 1: and then says keep doing what y'all are doing so well, 591 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:43,000 Speaker 1: Thanks Mark, So thanks so much Mark for this email. 592 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:46,879 Speaker 1: I find this information so fascinating and it's such an 593 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:51,400 Speaker 1: intriguing idea to me. But I also feel pretty confident 594 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,520 Speaker 1: that this tour guide was just sounding out the word 595 00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 1: chaos the way that those letters would be pronounced in Italian, 596 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,120 Speaker 1: so that it would rhyme with like chow rather than 597 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 1: chaos as we would say it. But I still found 598 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,960 Speaker 1: this to be such an intriguing idea. Um, it's a 599 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:12,440 Speaker 1: little bit longer walk to the idea that she was 600 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:17,239 Speaker 1: using a Greek term that was pronounced differently rather than 601 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:21,839 Speaker 1: a sounding out of a term whose letters would sound 602 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:26,680 Speaker 1: differently in Italian. Um. Also, the idea of playing a 603 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:31,840 Speaker 1: podcast at double speed and then everything sounds slow resonates 604 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,960 Speaker 1: with me, mostly from playing video games, because if a 605 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,200 Speaker 1: video game has given me the option to sprint everywhere 606 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,279 Speaker 1: without any kind of penalty, I will absolutely do it, 607 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:45,040 Speaker 1: and then if I try to walk somewhere, it's too slow, 608 00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:50,000 Speaker 1: it's taking forever. I listened to audio books not at 609 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:54,000 Speaker 1: double speed, but it like one point to five or something, 610 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,480 Speaker 1: and a regular one. I always feel like, is there 611 00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,680 Speaker 1: a gas leak in my car? Am I having some 612 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:06,240 Speaker 1: sort of yeah? We um. We Occasionally will get an 613 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: email from somebody who says you talk way too fast. 614 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,839 Speaker 1: I can't understand what you're saying, and often it has 615 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,400 Speaker 1: turned out that the person accidentally hit the playback to 616 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:22,520 Speaker 1: double speed. Um. I accidentally hit mine to one point 617 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:24,960 Speaker 1: to five. Recently, while I was trying to like listen 618 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,880 Speaker 1: to one of our older episodes to see if it 619 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:28,920 Speaker 1: was workable for a Saturday Classic. And I had a 620 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: moment where I wasn't sure it was going on because 621 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,000 Speaker 1: it sounded just different enough that I knew it wasn't right, 622 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 1: but not in a way that immediately made me go oh. 623 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,640 Speaker 1: I changed the playback speed by accident. Anyway, Thank you 624 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 1: so much for this note about chaosk Cows, and for 625 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:48,160 Speaker 1: all of these animal pictures. We love them, of course, 626 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:50,760 Speaker 1: if you would like to send us a note about 627 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 1: this or any other podcast or history podcast and I 628 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:55,880 Speaker 1: heard radio dot com and we're all over social media. 629 00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,960 Speaker 1: Missed in History which before you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 630 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,719 Speaker 1: and Instagram. And you can subscribe to our show on 631 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:04,880 Speaker 1: the i heeart Radio app or anywhere else you'll like 632 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:12,640 Speaker 1: to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 633 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,719 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts 634 00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:18,160 Speaker 1: from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 635 00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:21,440 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.