mukaddimah
Mukaddimah, also spelled muqaddimah, is an Arabic term that translates to "introduction," "preface," or "prologue." It is most famously associated with the groundbreaking work of the 14th-century historian and sociologist Ibn Khaldun, whose magnum opus, the Kitab al-'Ibar (Book of Lessons), begins with a lengthy and highly influential mukaddimah.
In Ibn Khaldun's context, the mukaddimah served as more than just a simple introduction to his history.
Beyond Ibn Khaldun's seminal use, the term mukaddimah is a general literary and academic term in Arabic