A careful reading of Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli’s (“The Sicilian”) masterpiece of political philosophy Sulwan al-Muta’ (سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباع, or The Consolation of the Ruler in Dealing with the Hostility of His Subjects) shows an emergent theory of political revolutions. In a previous article here we have discussed the fundamentals of the subtle Sicilian’s treatise. We will now give the details of his ideas on how revolutions are born and take hold in a nation.
We have previously mentioned the political philosopher Ibn Zafar Al-Siqilli (“The Sicilian”), who lived from 1104 to about 1171. Very little is known of his early life; his entry in Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary reveals little more than a few sad anecdotes. We do know that he was born under the Norman rule of Sicily, and received a good education in Mecca in Arabia. A period of wandering followed, which ended around 1150 when he secured a teaching position in Aleppo, Syria. When war broke out in Syria, Ibn Zafar moved back to Sicily; some years later he moved back to Syria, ultimately residing in Hama, where he died around 1172.
Quintus Curtius 
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