His father was an employee in the engineering department in the General Administration of the Hejaz railway in Damascus.
Then his uncle was killed by a bomb thrown by a British plane, so his mother was forced to search for work to support the family.
He was keen to visit many archaeological sites in Palestine, and at the beginning of his life and considered himself a "historian under training".
In 1935, he was chosen for a mission to study ancient history at the University of London, and this was a fulfillment of his hopes.
His first book was published in 1943 CE entitled "Pioneers of the Eastern Arabs in the Middle Ages" (original text: rwwad alshrq alearabii fi aleusur alwustaa).
During this period, he wrote a number of articles in the excerpt, culture and others, dealing with various aspects of Arab history.
Nicola spent two years in London preparing his doctorate on "Syria in the First Mamluk Era,".
After the occupation of Palestine, Nicolas immigrated to Lebanon, where he joined the American University in Beirut.