The concept was familiar in the pre-Islamic era, but became popularized in Ibn Khaldun's "Muqaddimah", in which it is described as the fundamental bond of human society and the basic motive force of history, pure only in its nomadic form. Ibn Khaldun argued that "asabiyya" is cyclical and directly related to the rise and fall of civilizations: it is strongest at the start of a civilization, declines as the civilization advances, and then another more compelling "asabiyyah" eventually takes its place to help establish a different civilization.