{"source":"Seshat: Global History Databank","url":"https://seshat-db.com/","citation":"Seshat: Global History Databank, https://seshat-db.com/ , Public Data, CC BY-SA 4.0.","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licence_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/","retrieved":"2026-09-20","changes":["Selected 11 of Seshat's 218 endpoints - the demographic-structural set - and ignored the rest.","Joined Seshat polities to Wikidata ids by normalised name plus an overlap in years, in two tiers: 140 exact, 52 loose. A loose match across a difference in kind (empire vs republic) was refused. 672 Seshat polities matched nothing and are NOT carried; no atlas row was altered to make a match.","Kept 864 variable rows whose polity matched; dropped 4878 whose polity did not. Values are carried as the from/to RANGE Seshat records, never averaged or collapsed to a point, and the is_uncertain and is_disputed flags travel with them.","Stripped Seshat's inline citation markers and HTML from descriptions. Some rows are double-encoded UTF-8 at source, so the mojibake form of the marker is stripped as well. No value was edited."],"coverage":{"seshat_polities":864,"atlas_polities":1496,"atlas_polities_matched":186,"atlas_polities_with_variables":83,"seshat_polities_unmatched":672,"variable_rows":864},"polities":{"Q488880":{"seshat":["Greco-Bactrian Kingdom"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":1500000,"to":2000000,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Evidence of irrigation and the flourishing trade network seems to indicate a growth of population in the region controlled by the Indo-Greek Kingdom. However, this is largely speculative based on the current archaeological record. The description of Bactria as 'the land of a thousand cities' does seem to imply a relatively dense population. So far, only two of these have seen extensive excavation. There is also evidence that Bactria was fertile and extensively irrigated. McEvedy and Jones 200 BCE: Russian Turkestan: 1,000,000; Afghanistan 1,750,000. Highest density of population likely to be in the Greco-Bactrian region which contained cities. 126 BCE the Chinese chronicler Zhang Qian estimated \"some 1,000,000 or more persons.\""}],"territory":[{"from":2200000,"to":2200000,"year_from":-180,"year_to":-180,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers."},{"from":600000,"to":800000,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":25000,"to":50000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[25,000-50,000] - reasoning below ET Ai Khanoum was a substantial and sophisticated city: there was a \"sprawling\" palace complex, theatre, temple, gymnasium, arsenal, storehouses, cemetery, a wall, fortifications and multiple areas for habitation. The people imported olive oil and visited \"a Greek theatre like that of Delphi and larger than the one at Babylon.\" The city held \"an elite residential district with 50 or more mansions\" and among the segregated Greek/non-Greek population could be found \"every occupation and trade one would find in a prosperous town in Greece itself.\" The theatre had a seating capacity of 6,000; although this might not \"represent the size of the population living in the city.\" The gymnasium was remarkable for being \"the largest in the Greek world.\" The population at Ai Khanoum may be much larger than the theatre's 6,000 capacity. The region was surrounded by irrigated lands had a military base and diverse cultural life. The 6,000 may provide a lower limit for an estimate. The loose correlation between the seating-capacity of any settlement's largest theatre and its peak population size might assist an improved estimate. The largest Greek cities had theatres with seating-capacity of up to 17,000. If Ai Khanoum's theatre was one third of the size, then its population might be that much less than the population of the largest Greek city (100k?). For an upper limit for the population at Ai Khanoum we could look at Samarkand in 300 BCE which may have had 100,000. (No estimate for 200 BCE, however Samarkand still in existence at this time). Although Samarkand may not have had this population level in 200 BCE 100,000 might be considered to be near the upper limit of what could be expected for Ai Khanoum, which is in the same region, 100 years later. The seating-capacity of the theatre at Ai Khanoum, however, would suggest a population much lower than this. Ai Khanum is one of the only cities to have been discovered. The shape of the town was triangular, extending for two km in a north-south direction, one and a half km from east-west. It is located along the left bank of the Amu Darya at its confluence with the Kokcha River. The city was protected by large towers, a moat and an acropolis, as well as a large palace complex. Accurate estimates of its population are impossible because of the amount of looting on the site."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"There has been very little excavation of verified Greek settlements, with the major work based on a handful of Bactrian Greek sites. From what limited work that has been undertaken, The Greek polis was the administrative, ritualized, and monumental heartland of the territory, but not the dominant population centre and represented a new construction. Below this new urban space was the existing infrastructure of towns and villages of the indigenous Bactrians. For the most recent survey of archaeological sites, see the survey found below. Appian: “Seleucus founded sixteen Antiochs, nine Seleucias, five Laodiceas, three Apameas, and one Stratonicea (in total , thirty-four new cities”. 1. Greek Polis 2. Surrounding towns3. Villages"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Ai Khanoum had \"a Persian-style administrative center\" so earlier on multiple levels (departments and scribes) can be inferred from this apparatus. Fewer levels later on. By 126 BCE, according to the the Chinese chronicler Zhang Qian: \"Daxia (Bactria) is located ... south of the Gui (Oxus) river. Its people cultivate the land and have cities and houses. It has no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities. ... The capital is called the city of Lanshi (Bactra) and has a market where all sorts of goods are bought and sold.\" \" Based on the structure in place in the Seleucid empires, and assumed to have been adopted once the Satrap of Bactria became independent. 1. King 2. Topio overseen by the dioikites3. Epistates4. Panchayat (council of elders.) Seleucus and his successors had maintained the policy of Alexander in appointing a satrap to oversee a province. Below this level, the hyparchy, roughly translated as prefecture. Below the level of Satrap the local elites who supported of the ruler were ranked as varying level of 'friends' based on favor or eunoia. Loyalty was enhanced further by the granting of vast land holding, villages, slaves and other wealth. Below this level was the topoi. This hierarchical group was overseen by officials called dioikites or oikonomos."},{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":-150,"year_to":-150,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Ai Khanoum had \"a Persian-style administrative center\" so earlier on multiple levels (departments and scribes) can be inferred from this apparatus. Fewer levels later on. By 126 BCE, according to the the Chinese chronicler Zhang Qian: \"Daxia (Bactria) is located ... south of the Gui (Oxus) river. Its people cultivate the land and have cities and houses. It has no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities. ... The capital is called the city of Lanshi (Bactra) and has a market where all sorts of goods are bought and sold.\" \" Based on the structure in place in the Seleucid empires, and assumed to have been adopted once the Satrap of Bactria became independent. 1. King 2. Topio overseen by the dioikites3. Epistates4. Panchayat (council of elders.) Seleucus and his successors had maintained the policy of Alexander in appointing a satrap to oversee a province. Below this level, the hyparchy, roughly translated as prefecture. Below the level of Satrap the local elites who supported of the ruler were ranked as varying level of 'friends' based on favor or eunoia. Loyalty was enhanced further by the granting of vast land holding, villages, slaves and other wealth. Below this level was the topoi. This hierarchical group was overseen by officials called dioikites or oikonomos."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The ranks below are based on the organization of the Seleucid army. These ranks were not permanent, and command of individual units shifted with the campaign or battle. Civic volunteers and mercenaries would have also operated outside the structure indicated below. 1. King 2. Senior officers of the army: Strategoi3. Officers: Hipparchoi/Hegemones4. lower level?5. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"There seems to have been a fusion of Greek polytheism and Buddhist practices in at least some areas of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. There is no good evidence on whether this was made into a formalized practice, or the structure of religious practice. There was a \"Mesopotamian-style temple\" in Ai Khanoum so at least one level can be inferred. \"On the north side of the Oxus (present-day Amu Darya) River a few miles north of the Tajikistan/Afghanistan border and a day's ride west of Ai Khanoum, archaeologists have found a smaller, but no less interesting, 3rd - 2nd century BC Hellenistic-era site: a temple structure known locally as Takht-i-Sangin. The site appeared to be a combination Greek temple and Zoroastian fire temple, reflecting the dual traditions that existed in Bactria during the Hellenistic era.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The evidence is unclear. The Bactrian Greeks were on a cultural frontier between Iranian and Indian territories, but seemed to have maintained a proud and enduring identity. Whether this was extended to a full time bureaucracy is unknown at this point. The Seleucid empire did have full time bureaucrats. It is therefore inferred that some element of this system was preserved after independence. The city of Ai Khanoum, of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, had \"a Persian-style administrative center\" so departments and scribes can be inferred from such an apparatus."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In the Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms, Iranian aristocrats were members of a permanent elite cavalry. The military officers were a combination of Persian and Greek military thought."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The silver, bronze and nickel coins in circulation and issued by the Greco-Bactrian kings. Attic Greek standard coinage."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. silver coin from Athens. Fixed silver coinage based on Athenian standards also introduced to aid trade with the West."}]}},"Q5066":{"seshat":["Jin Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":45000000,"to":54000000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 32,700,000: 1142 CE; {44,705,086; 39,663,400; 36,989,014}: 1187 CE; 45,447,900: 1190 CE; 48,490,400: 1195 CE; {45,816,079; 53,532,151}: 1207 CE; 53,720,000: 1210 CE. A Chinese source believes 53 million is too high, because similar dynasties had populations between 30 million and 40 million. \"金朝人口数量(一)人口总置金朝人口发展,在其统治的北方地区,达到了比历史上几个盛大朝代更高的水平。其他各朝均只 3000 多万或 4000 多万,金朝则达到了5300 多万。对此或有不可理解,或对统计数字有怀疑.\""}],"territory":[{"from":3600000,"to":3600000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Polity: Emperor2. Central Secretariat3. Lu/Fu governor4. Zhou (country subdivision) governor5. County governor"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Inferred from previous polities. 1. Emperor 2. Ministry of Rites 3. Ritual specialists"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"By the tenth century, soldiers, to the intense consternation of statesmen, were wholly divorced from any productive activities and earned their livings by skill at arms. Despite many attempts to replace this \"mercenary\" system, it remained in place until the end of imperial times.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"As Northern Song."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q8733":{"seshat":["Early Qing","Late Qing"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":100000000,"to":140000000,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People 143,411,559: 1741 CE; 159,801,551: 1742 CE; 164,454,416: 1743 CE; 166,808,604: 1744 CE; 169,922,127: 1745 CE; 171,896,773: 1746 CE; 171,896,773: 1747CE; 177,495,039: 1748 CE; {177,495,039; 177,538,796}: 1749CE; 179,538,540: 1750 CE; 181,811,359: 1751 CE; 182,857,277: 1752 CE; 183,678,259: 1753 CE; 184,504,493: 1754 CE; 185,612,881: 1755 CE; 186,615,514: 1756 CE; 190,348,328: 1757 CE; 191,672,808: 1758 CE; 194,791,859: 1759 CE; 196,837,977: 1760 CE; {198,214,555; 198,214,553}: 1761 CE; {200,472,461; 201,013,344}: 1762 CE; 204,299,828: 1763 CE; 205,591,017: 1764 CE; 206,993,224: 1765 CE; 208,095,796: 1766 CE; {209,839,546; 209,749,547}: 1767 CE; 210,837,502: 1768 CE; 212,023,042: 1769 CE; 213,613,163: 1770 CE; {214,600,356; 214,647,251}: 1771 CE; 216,467,258: 1772 CE; 218,743,315: 1773 CE; 221,027,224: 1774 CE; 264,561,355: 1775 CE; {268,238,181; 268,238,182}: 1776 CE; 270,863,760: 1777 CE; 242,965,618: 1778 CE; 275,042,916: 1779 CE; 277,554,431: 1780 CE; 279,816,070: 1781 CE; 281,822,675: 1782 CE; {284,033,785; 284,033,805}: 1783 CE; 286,331,307: 1784 CE; 288,863,974: 1785 CE; 291,102,486: 1786 CE; 292,429,018: 1787 CE; {294,852,089; 294,852,189}: 1788 CE; 297,717,496: 1789 CE; {301,487,115; 301,487,114}: 1790 CE; {304,354,110; 304,354,160}: 1791 CE; 307,467,279: 1792 CE; 310,497,210: 1793 CE; {313,281,795; 313,281,295}: 1794 CE; 296,968,968: 1795 CE; 275,662,044: 1796 CE \"300 million in 1795\""},{"from":295000000,"to":295000000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People Later Qing has population over 300 million according to The Cambridge History of China 1812 CE: 361,695,492 people: The census was interrupted due to nature disasters, scattered rebellions, and White Lotus Rebellion occurred in 1794-1804 among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. 1833 CE: 398,942,036 people: 1852 CE: 334,403,035 people: (1) (2) The census was interrupted due to the outbreak of Nian Rebellion taking place in northern China from 1851 to 1868, and Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) in South China. 1912 CE: 347,902,562 people: The census was conducted since 1910 and completed in 1912. Other figures: Po-Ju Tuan coded the following estimates--they have been moved to the description field in case this level of detail is useful in the future: 275,662,044: 1796 CE; 271,333,544: 1797 CE; 290,982,980: 1798 CE; 293,283,179: 1799 CE; 295,237,311: 1800 CE; 297,501,548: 1801 CE; 299,749,770: 1802 CE; 302,250,673: 1803 CE; 304,461,284: 1804 CE; 332,181,403: 1805 CE; 335,369,469: 1806 CE; 338,062,439: 1807 CE; 350,291,724: 1808 CE; 352,900,024: 1809 CE; 345,717,214: 1810 CE; 358,610,039: 1811 CE; {333,700,560; 361,695,492; 363,695,492}: 1812 CE; 336,451,672: 1813 CE; 316,574,895: 1814 CE; 326,574,895: 1815 CE; 328,814,957: 1816 CE; 331,330,433: 1817 CE; {301,260,545; 371,580,173}: 1819 CE; {353,377,694; 373,773,394; 383,100,000}: 1820 CE; 355,540,258: 1821 CE; 372,457,539: 1822 CE; {375,153,122; 380,619,569}: 1823 CE; {374,601,132; 382,439,631}: 1824 CE; {379,885,340; 387,026,888}: 1825 CE; {380,287,007; 386,081,958}: 1826 CE; {383,696,095; 388,608,215}: 1827 CE; {386,531,513; 390,755,718}: 1828 CE; 390,500,650: 1829 CE; 394,784,681: 1830 CE; 395,821,092: 1831 CE; 397,132,659: 1832 CE; 398,942,036: 1833 CE; 401,008,574: 1834 CE; {401,767,053; 403,052,086}: 1835 CE; 404,901,448: 1836 CE; {405 923 174; 406 984 114}: 1837 CE; 409,038,799: 1838 CE; 410,850,639: 1839 CE; 412,814,828: 1840 CE; 413,457,311: 1841 CE; {414,686,994; 416,118,189}: 1842 CE; 417,239,097: 1843 CE; 419,441,336: 1844 CE; 421,342,730: 1845 CE; 423,121,129: 1846 CE; {424,938,009; 425,106,201}: 1847 CE; {426,737,016; 426,928,854}: 1848 CE; {412,986,649; 428,420,667}: 1849 CE; {414,493,899; 429,931,034}: 1850 CE; {432,164,047; 431,894,047}: 1851 CE; 334,403,035: 1852 CE; 347,902,565: 1920 CE."},{"from":334000000,"to":348000000,"year_from":1900,"year_to":1900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People Later Qing has population over 300 million according to The Cambridge History of China 1812 CE: 361,695,492 people: The census was interrupted due to nature disasters, scattered rebellions, and White Lotus Rebellion occurred in 1794-1804 among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. 1833 CE: 398,942,036 people: 1852 CE: 334,403,035 people: (1) (2) The census was interrupted due to the outbreak of Nian Rebellion taking place in northern China from 1851 to 1868, and Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) in South China. 1912 CE: 347,902,562 people: The census was conducted since 1910 and completed in 1912. Other figures: Po-Ju Tuan coded the following estimates--they have been moved to the description field in case this level of detail is useful in the future: 275,662,044: 1796 CE; 271,333,544: 1797 CE; 290,982,980: 1798 CE; 293,283,179: 1799 CE; 295,237,311: 1800 CE; 297,501,548: 1801 CE; 299,749,770: 1802 CE; 302,250,673: 1803 CE; 304,461,284: 1804 CE; 332,181,403: 1805 CE; 335,369,469: 1806 CE; 338,062,439: 1807 CE; 350,291,724: 1808 CE; 352,900,024: 1809 CE; 345,717,214: 1810 CE; 358,610,039: 1811 CE; {333,700,560; 361,695,492; 363,695,492}: 1812 CE; 336,451,672: 1813 CE; 316,574,895: 1814 CE; 326,574,895: 1815 CE; 328,814,957: 1816 CE; 331,330,433: 1817 CE; {301,260,545; 371,580,173}: 1819 CE; {353,377,694; 373,773,394; 383,100,000}: 1820 CE; 355,540,258: 1821 CE; 372,457,539: 1822 CE; {375,153,122; 380,619,569}: 1823 CE; {374,601,132; 382,439,631}: 1824 CE; {379,885,340; 387,026,888}: 1825 CE; {380,287,007; 386,081,958}: 1826 CE; {383,696,095; 388,608,215}: 1827 CE; {386,531,513; 390,755,718}: 1828 CE; 390,500,650: 1829 CE; 394,784,681: 1830 CE; 395,821,092: 1831 CE; 397,132,659: 1832 CE; 398,942,036: 1833 CE; 401,008,574: 1834 CE; {401,767,053; 403,052,086}: 1835 CE; 404,901,448: 1836 CE; {405 923 174; 406 984 114}: 1837 CE; 409,038,799: 1838 CE; 410,850,639: 1839 CE; 412,814,828: 1840 CE; 413,457,311: 1841 CE; {414,686,994; 416,118,189}: 1842 CE; 417,239,097: 1843 CE; 419,441,336: 1844 CE; 421,342,730: 1845 CE; 423,121,129: 1846 CE; {424,938,009; 425,106,201}: 1847 CE; {426,737,016; 426,928,854}: 1848 CE; {412,986,649; 428,420,667}: 1849 CE; {414,493,899; 429,931,034}: 1850 CE; {432,164,047; 431,894,047}: 1851 CE; 334,403,035: 1852 CE; 347,902,565: 1920 CE."}],"territory":[{"from":13100000,"to":13100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"km^2"},{"from":11300000,"to":11300000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"km^2"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":668200,"to":822600,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people. 580,390: 1647 CE; 612,075 : 1657 CE; 668,226: 1671 CE; 822,625: 1711 CE; 890,892: 1781 CE - Hankou : 99,380 people in 1721 CE"},{"from":890892,"to":890892,"year_from":1796,"year_to":1796,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people"},{"from":1039360,"to":1039360,"year_from":1882,"year_to":1882,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people"},{"from":1104372,"to":1104372,"year_from":1910,"year_to":1910,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2. Province seat 3. Tao seat 4. Prefecture seat 5. County seat 6. Town 7. Village Province: 18 provinces Tao: Grouping of two or more prefectures for certain purpose, was interposed between the prefectures and provinces Prefecture (Fu): 180 prefectures \"The Ch'ing judicial system rose upward through a territorial hierarchy of some six different levels. It began with the 1,500 xians or counties (also called districts) and similar regions and then proceeded to the higher levels of the 180 prefectures and the 18 provinces. Thence cases went to the Board of Punishments at the capital and then to a fifth level, the three high courts. The emperor was the top level. He might confirm or reject recommendations concerning capital cases sent up from below.”"},{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital City2. Province3. Tao seat inferred 4. Prefecture (Fu) seat inferred 5. County (Xian) seat inferred 6. Town/City (Xiancheng)7. Village Province: 18 provinces Tao: Grouping of two or more prefectures for certain purpose, was interposed between the prefectures and provinces Prefecture (Fu): 180 prefectures “The Ch'ing judicial system rose upward through a territorial hierarchy of some six different levels. It began with the 1,500 xians or counties (also called districts) and similar regions and then proceeded to the higher levels of the 180 prefectures and the 18 provinces. Thence cases went to the Board of Punishments at the capital and then to a fifth level, the three high courts. The emperor was the top level. He might confirm or reject recommendations concerning capital cases sent up from below.”"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. This number equivalent to the number of levels in the provincial government, plus the Emperor. 1. Emperor\"During the Qing conquest of Ming China, the Manchus struck a deal with local elites that allowed them to rule the empire in return for non-interference in local affairs.\" _Central government_ 2. Grand Councilcreated by the Yongzheng emperor \"the Qianlong emperor's reign saw the expansion of the Grand Council system begun by his father during the war against the Zunghars. The Grand Council was a tool of imperial centralization that allowed the emperor to bypass the official bureaucracy for many decisions, particularly in prosecuting wars.\" 3. Ministries _Provincial government_ 3. Zongdu (viceroy, governor general) or Xunfu (governor)In charge of provinces. 4. Officials in charge of taos5. PrefectsIn charge of prefectures. 6. County chiefs7. County magistrates8. Clerks to the above offices The yamen of the district magistrate (usually the county magistrate, but sometimes prefecture or ting) was the lowest point in the official hierarchy. District Magistrate occupied position 7A in the Qing territorial administrative hierarchy. Mostern confirmed that county should be one level above district, since 'xiang' are subordinate to 'xian,' which is routinely translated to 'county.' There was a prefect level between county magistrates and provincial governors, while district magistrates were too low to be included in a prefecture so they were overseen directly by the provincial governor. Promotion from county magistrate to prefect was possible. \"Western Sichuan was controlled by hereditary chieftains with only the vaguest connections to the Qing government. These non-Han peoples were widely dispersed in mountainous terrain, where one of their main distinguishing features from the Qing court's perspective was their constant internecine fighting.\""},{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Emperor2. Central Government3. Provincial Government-general (Zongdu, viceroy) 3. Provincial Governor (Xunfu)4. Tao governor inferred 5. Prefect inferred 6. County governor7. District Magistrate 7. Official in charge of Prefecture/ Ting The yamen of the district magistrate (usually the county magistrate, but sometimes prefecture or ting) was the lowest point in the official hierarchy. District Magistrate occupied position 7A in the Qing territorial administrative hierarchy. Mostern confirmed that county should be one level above district, since 'xiang' are subordinate to 'xian,' which is routinely translated to 'county.' There was a prefect level between county magistrates and provincial governors, while district magistrates were too low to be included in a prefecture so they were overseen directly by the provincial governor. Promotion from county magistrate to prefect was possible."}],"military_levels":[{"from":10,"to":10,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Commander-in-chief (Emperor)2. Provincial governor/Governor-general3. Provincial military commander/Provincial commander-in-chief/General-in-chief4. 副將5. 參將6. 游擊7. 都司8. 守備9.千總10. 把總 \"Most Chinese troops were incorporated into Green Standard armies that restored order in the countryside. These forces were under the command of provincial governors and tightly constrained in the ambit of their activities. After peace was restored most of these ad hoc measures solidified into regular practice.\" One army unit 35,000 men? 1695 CE at Kerulen and Tula rivers. \"The Kangxi emperor seized the opportunity to pounce upon Galdan's 20,000 men, sending three armies of 35,000 men each some 700 miles into the steppe. Just as before, he was lucky that as Galdan fled one army he ran into another. Galdan's army was decisively crushed at Jaomodo on 12 June 1696, though he escaped.\""},{"from":8,"to":11,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Commander-in-chief (Emperor) 2. Provincial governor/Governor-general3. Provincial military commander/Provincial commander-in-chief/General-in-chief4. Fu jiang, Deputy General5. Can jiang6. Youji7. Dusi8. Shoubei9. Qianzong10. Bazong, Low-level officer11. Soldier _1868 CE: Yung-ying (Brave Battalions)_ 4. Army Commanders (t'ung-ling)5. Battalion Commander (ying-kuan)6. Company Officer (Shao-kuan)7. Platoon Officers (Shih-chang)8. Soldiers _1904 CE: New Army_\"The thirty-six divisions of the New Army, each with 12,500 men including officers and soldiers, would total 450,000 men and compose the Regular Army. Besides this, Reserves for the First Call (Hsu-pei chiin) and Reserves for the Second Call (Hou-pei chiin) were to be organized. The term of service in the Regular Army (Ch'ang-pei chiin) was three years, after which men would return home and receive occasional drill and a small stipend for another three years. These men would be the Reserves for the First Call. As Reserves for the Second Call they would then serve another four years, receiving less drill and less salary. On completion of this term, men would return to civilian status released from further military duty.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Inferred from previous polities. 1. Emperor 2. Ministry of Rites 3. Ritual specialists"},{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Inferred from previous polities. 1. Emperor 2. Ministry of Rites 3. Ritual specialists"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The number of both clerks and secretaries grew dramatically over the course of the Qing dynasty in response to the growing complexity of governmental tasks. Rowe refers to the \"empire-wide clerical diaspora\" of literate males part of the state and local level administrative apparatus."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. Civil Service, Military bureaucracy Grand Secretariat, Six Boards (Revenue, Civil Office, War, Criminal Justice, Public Works, and Rites) each with large clerical staffs, presidents and vice presidents."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. Green Standard officers"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Bronze coin for everyday use. In the early Qing, as in the late Ming, the state treated coinage more as a source of revenue than an instrument of sovereign control over the economy. However, the growth of the commercial economy in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries rekindled market demand for coin. Bimetallic system, includes the use of silver taels with copper and bronze coins. When the supply of silver changed as a result of international trade, it caused great financially instability within the system."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Bronze and copper coinage, by 1887 a mint established in Guangdong to mint silver coins. Bimetallic system, includes the use of silver taels with copper and bronze coins. When the supply of silver changed as a result of international trade, it caused great financially instability within the system."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"With the development of foreign trade in the Qing dynasty, more foreign silver coins entered into China, including Spanish silver coins, Mexican silver coins, and Japanese silver coins."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Development of foreign trade in the Qing dynasty led to a tremendous inflow of foreign silver coinage in the late Qing, including Spanish silver coins, Mexican silver coins, and Japanese silver coins."}]}},"Q128938":{"seshat":["Late Shang"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":5000000,"to":5000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 5,000,000: 1045 BCE. 3000 BCE about a million either side of lower Huang Ho (Longshan culture), plus 1 million food-gatherers elsewhere. In Shang period agricultural area extended 1 million KM, population had become 5 million people (6m total in China)."}],"territory":[{"from":1000000,"to":1000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM. 850,000: 1250 BCE; 1,000,600: 1200 BCE; 1,160,000: 1150 BCE; 1,050,000: 1100 BCE; 55,000: 1050 BCE Maximum extent reached no further than northern Henan, south-eastern Shanxi provinces of modern China. Core in Henan province \"in a triangular area between the cities of Anyang, Luoyang, and Zhengzhou, the latter two which are on the Yellow River.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":4000,"to":4000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people. Old capital at Zhengzhou, Ao. Aristocratic stronghold. Extended 7000 meters, enclosed 3.2 km. If population density 350 per urban hectare and there's 11.2 hectares, about 4000. Perimeter walls of the capital Anyang just 800 yards."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Royal capital.2. Aristocratic strongholds.3. Village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Shang political system was organized into a hierarchy, meaning that it had many levels of rank and many specialized functions and jobs, all passed down within a noble family.\" The state had to \"organize the mining of large quantities of ore for bronzework; wage military campaigns; construct city walls and palaces; or build elaborate tombs for themselves.\" 1. King _Central government_ 2. Highest official in the administration3. Official who over-saw mining activities and possibly also bronze workshops 3. Official for transport\"As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official\" 4. Bronze workshop manager inferred level \"Casting large objects was not easy; it required large crucibles and efficient furnaces. Casting some of the largest objects required coordinated melting in many crucibles similar to a modern factory.\" 4. Mine manager inferred level 5. Bronze worker inferred level _Provincial government_ 2. Aristocratic leaders (local elite families). Feudal state. Familial kingship: Elder brother - Younger brother, Father - Son. King ruled core lands. King appointed officials. Government secretariate: Great Minister and Councillors. High officials to run palace affairs and feasts (included religious chroniclers and ceremonial specialists). Military officials. Shang territory was not contiguous. Authority over outer regions closest to Anyang was delegated to aristocratic leaders who usually were linked to royal family through kinship ties. They supplied king manpower for military, tribute, workers for construction projects. Beyond aristocratic rulers were friendly tribal chieftains. Administration is used in a very loose sense, recognizing that officials, including local elite families ('local elite' probably more accurate than 'aristocratic') as well as members of the King's retinue in Anyang seem to have acted largely independently, contributing to the King's projects (including military campaigns, building, and religious activities) in order to participate in and to benefit from association with Anyang, rather than as dependents or non-elite officials directly controlled by the Kings."}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Chariots allowed commanders to supervise their troops efficiently and across great distances.\" 1. King2. General inferred level 3. Commander inferred level 4. Officer inferred level 5. Individual soldier Chariot and infantry corps."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Shang worshipped the \"Shang Di,\" who was the supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places. They also worshipped their ancestors because they believed that although their ancestors lived in heaven after their death, they were still actively involved in the affairs of family and descendants.\" 1.King.2. Chief diviners.3. Lesser diviners (e.g. scribes). Theocracy. King considered god called Di's representative on earth. His responsibility was to ensure harmony between the \"cosmic cycle of the seasons and the agricultural cycle of humanity.\" Ritual functions included fixing the timetable for farming activities through divination. To help him he had colleges of soothsayers and scribes who carried out royal divination activities. Scapulimancy and plastromancy were practised. Sacrifices were made to dead kings (ancestral worship cult) who were thought to be able to communicate with Di."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"King appointed a government and recorded official transactions. \"The king was served by officials who held specialized positions of authority and function; and the officials belonged to a hereditary class of aristocrats, usually related to the king himself.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Chariots allowed commanders to supervise their troops efficiently and across great distances.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Coins evolved at a later time. Cowrie shells used at the time Jade ."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Coins evolved at a later time. Cowrie shells used at the time Jade ."}]}},"Q7405":{"seshat":["Sui Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":46000000,"to":46000000,"year_from":600,"year_to":600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. History of the Sui Dynasty reports 46,000,000 in 609 CE. \"The Sui empire reached the pinnacle of its power in 609 when its population peaked.\" 37,000,000: 705 CE under Tang."}],"territory":[{"from":3000000,"to":3100000,"year_from":600,"year_to":600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 1,500,000: 581 CE; 3,000,000: 589 CE; 3,100,000: 610 CE"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":500000,"to":500000,"year_from":600,"year_to":600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. \"The Sui empire reached the pinnacle of its power in 609 when its population peaked.\" Luoyang. \"The metropolitan area of Luoyang boasted a total of 202,230 registered households at the peak of the Sui or approximately 1,045,500 residents. Of these, probably around 40-50 percent resided in the urban area. Further, there may easily have been an additional unregistered population of several tens of thousands, including royalty and their entourages, clerics, the military, and transients. With an estimated population of half a million or more during its prime..."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. inferred continuity with Tang periods 1. Capital 2. Large cities (21)3. smaller towns4. villages?5. Hamlets?"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. This number equal to the number of levels in the central government, plus the Emperor. 1. Emperor 2. Three preceptors (san shih) and the three dukes (san kung)\"At the top of the imperial service were the three preceptors (san shih) and the three dukes (san kung) who were supposed to be, after the model of the early Chou, supreme advisors of the emperor.\" However \"these were not functional offices, and they were often unfilled for long periods.\" Three preceptors was abolished by Yangdi. 2. Department of the Palace Library / Department of the Palace Domestic Service\"in charge of palace affairs and were practically left outside the core leadership.\" _Central government_ 2. Shangshu Ling (President) of the Department of State Affairs (Secretariat / Chancellery were the other two departments)\"as the most powerful position of the bureaucracy, it was rarely filled, so its lieutenants puye ... served de facto as heads of the department.\" \"The Secretariat served as the originator of policy proposals, which were reviewed by the Chancellery before being sent to the executive branch - the Department of State Affairs - for implementation. But in practice, heads of the Department of State Affairs had major policy making responsibilities.\" Wendi set up \"an oligarchic leadership under his direct control. Thus, three departments instead of a single one constituted the central nerve system of the government.\" During the reign of Wendi the shangshu ling of the DSA \"only existed in name\", \"The two vice presidents of the Department of State Affairs, together with the heads of the Chancellery (menxia) and the Secretariat (neishi; zhongshu under the Tang), made up the top echelon leadership of the central government, known as chief ministers.\" 3. Shangshu Sheng (vice-president of the department)\"since the presidency (ling ...) virtually left unfilled, the vice-presidents (puye ...) were by default leaders of the department and the most powerful chief ministers.\" 4. Civil Office (Li-pu), Finance (Min-pu), Rites (Lǐ-pu), Army (Ping-pu), Justice (Hsing-pu), Public Works (Kung-pu).Under the jurisdiction of the Department of State Affairs were the six boards 5. Sub-official 2. Censorate (Yu-shih t'ai)\"Beyond the structure of the three central ministries and the six boards, the Sui established other offices...\" 2. Inspectorate General of the Water Works (Tu-shui t'ai)\"Beyond the structure of the three central ministries and the six boards, the Sui established other offices...\" 2. Supervisory Office for the State University \"All the principle officers of these bureaux had proscribed titles and a set number of subordinates at all levels, and the regulations specified the rank (p'in) required for each office.\" 2. Inspectorate General of the Imperial Works 2. Inspectorate General of the Imperial Ateliers 2. Nine Courts (chiu ssu)Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Court of Imperial Banquets, Court of the Imperial Family (three examples) \"In essence, these central agencies often overlapped the Six Boards in function but were not nearly as powerful. However, unlike the Tang period when the None Courts were ranked lower bureaucratically and functioned as subordinate agencies to carry out directives of the Six Boards, the Sui Nine Courts were headed by officials with the same rank as the presidents of the Six Boards ...\" reforms under Yangdi \"paved the way for the functional subordination of the Nine Courts to the Six Boards, a practice institutionalized under the Tang.\" 2. Delegate of Court Assembly\"Each prefecture (chou) sent a representative to a special assembly held in the presence of the emperor. While in the capital they were lodged in special quarters in the south-east part of the city. The assemblies were held on the fifteenth of the second, seventh and tenth moons. We know more about the function of the system under the T'ang, which held such assembles annually. The T'ang delegates were generally prefects or other ranking officials who were expected to bring to the capital their candidates for the official examinations plus tribute gifts for the emperor. An examination into the performance of the local officials in each local unit was held, and this was followed by an audience. In the Sui, the procedure was perhaps less elaborate, at least at the beginning of the dynasty.\" _Provincial government_ 2. Circuit (dao)\"Under normal circumstances, a zongguan corresponded to a zhou ... (prefecture) in area. However, three zongguan (area commands - Luozhou ... (mainly in present-day Henan), Bingzhou ... (in present-day Shanxi), and Yizhou ... (the Southwest) - functioned as super area commands; each of them took charge of dozens of area commands. In 582, Wendi replaced these super area commands with the circuit (dao ...), with its head office known as the Branch of the Department of State Affairs (xingtai sheng ...), and converted Luozhou ..., Bingzhou, and Yizhou [Super] Area Commands into Henan ..., Hebei ..., and Xinan ..., Circuits, respectively.\" \"Yangdi was the top administrator of the Bingzhou area whether as [superior] area commander of Bingzhou, or president of the Branch Department of State Affairs of Hebei ... Circuit (dao)\" 2. Prefectures (became Commanderies under Yangdi)\"From the Three Kingdoms through the Western Jin, a three-tier local government system, comprised of zhou ... (province), jun ... (region), and xian ... (county), was in place. After the fall of the Western Jin, the system continued to exist in name. However, both the zhou (renamed \"prefectures\") and jun (renamed \"commanderies\") shrank in size and increased in number. By Sui times, they were hardly distinguishable from one another. Wendi created a zhou-xian two-tier system by abolishing the jun. Yangdi then replaced zhou with jun.\" 3. xian _Three Chiefs System_ \"A system of mutual surveillance to facilitate tax collection ad fulfillment of corvee and military duties. Proposed by Li Chong ..., it was first promulgated in Northern Wei in 486 in the name of Xiaowendi. Replacing the system of clan masters (zongzhu ...) at the grassroots level, it organized every five households into units known as lin (neighbourhoods). Five lin constituted a li ... (village), and five li, a dang ... (community). The heads (zhang) of lin, li, and dang were the three chiefs.\" 4. dang (community) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted 125 households (five li) perhaps 750 people 5. li (village) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted 25 households (five lin) perhaps 150 people 6. lin (neighbourhoods) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted five households perhaps 30 people? Aristocratic ranks (before Yangdi changed it to prince - duke - marquis) State Prince (guowang) Commandery prince (junwang) State duke (guogong) Commandery duke (jungong) County duke (xiangong) Marquis (hou) Earl (bo) Viscount (zi) Baron (nan)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Militia units: \"While the Sui had subordinated these units to the local civil administration, the T'ang controlled them centrally, via a bureaucracy answerable to the ping-pu or Ministry of the Army. 1. Emperor \"These figures attest the overwhelming influence of the Northern Chou military elite on the Sui establishment.\" 2. Military agricultural colonies (t'un-t'ien) under a GeneralWen-ti ordered these to deal with supply problems. 2. Central command: four guards (wei) and eight army headquarters offices (fu)Troops of the Northern Chou reorganized \"into twelve units - four guards (wei) and eight army headquarters offices (fu).\" 3. Regional commands (tsung-kuan fu)Wen-ti's reforms: \"In addition to his central command structure, regional military commands (tsung-kuan fu), which had overall control of an area, sometimes of a few prefectures (chou) and in other cases more than ten, were established in areas of major strategic importance. These districts were officered by ranked military officials appointed from the capital; in some cases the generals appointed were made concurrently civil governors of the regions in which they were to serve.\" After 605 CE Yang-ti reform \"all units under the regional military commands (tsung-kuan fu) were henceforth to come under the direct control of the twelve guards and army commands in the capital. After the pacification of the south, the number of these regional military commands had already been reduced, but in 604 approximately thirty-six remained, with the most heavily-garrisoned of these concentrated along the northern and north-western frontiers.\" 4. Regiment (tuan) of 1000?\"No records on Sui fubing organization have survived. It seems that its basic unit was probably similar to the tuan (regiment) at one thousand in strength, under which was the dui (company) of about one hundred.\" 5. Company (dui) of 100?\"No records on Sui fubing organization have survived. It seems that its basic unit was probably similar to the tuan (regiment) at one thousand in strength, under which was the dui (company) of about one hundred.\" 6. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Yangdi \"Extending his administrative control into the religious sphere, Yangdi ordered that a supervisor (jian) and an assistant supervisor (cheng) be assigned to each Buddhist monastery, now renamed daochang, and each Daoist abbey (guan), now renamed xuantan.\" 1. Emperor 2. Supervisor (jian) 3 Assistant supervisor (cheng)"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“At the central government level, the Sui Dynasty restored the centralized system created by the Han and Wei, featuring the Three Departments and Six Ministries which governed all state affairs. Within this structure, the function of decision-making was separated from that of evaluation and deliberation, and from implementation, each of these three being performed by different bodies, which enhanced the government’s control of power. In local government areas, the existing three-tier form of government was reduced to a two-tier system, resulting in a more effective control of local affairs by the central government.”"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Troops of the Northern Chou reorganized \"into twelve units - four guards (wei) and eight army headquarters offices (fu). In addition to his central command structure, regional military commands (tsung-kuan fu), which had overall control of an area, sometimes of a few prefectures (chou) and in other cases more than ten, were established in areas of major strategic importance. These districts were officered by ranked military officials appointed from the capital; in some cases the generals appointed were made concurrently civil governors of the regions in which they were to serve.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q722071":{"seshat":["Ashanti Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":3000000,"to":3000000,"year_from":1874,"year_to":1874,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. This number refers to the whole of the Ashanti Union and is also taken from Obeng's work ."}],"territory":[{"from":259000,"to":259000,"year_from":1874,"year_to":1874,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Obeng claims this for the whole of the Ashanti Union at the time , which covered most of present-day Ghana and some neighbouring regions: 'At the height of its power the Asanteman, the Asante nation, dominated an area much the size of present-day Ghana, and the frontiers of the old kingdom approximated those of the modern republic. This is the area that, following Kwame Arhin, we have come to know as “Greater Asante” rather than “the Asante Empire.” [...] The Asante lacked cartographic skills, and Greater Asante had, therefore, to be “mentally mapped.” In 1817, T. E. Bowdich was the first to make a serious attempt to represent the extent of Greater Asante on paper and to locate what he called the “boundary of Ashantee authority.” In doing so, he drew heavily upon Asante perceptions of space.' Wilks' informants measured distance in travel time rather than geographical figures: 'Kumase, the capital, was the central point from which the great roads of Asante, the nkwantεmpon, radiated out. The day's journey, the kwansin, was the basic unit in terms of which distance from the capital was measured.' But McLeod provides an approximation: 'Looking back they recall how, until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, they controlled an ever-increasing area which at its peak stretched over 550 km into the interior and encompassed many distinctive groups and regions. Asante armies were powerful and well-organised, equipped with imported firearms scarcely available to poorer and more isolated northern groups.' The Republic of Ghana today covers an area of almost 240,000 squared kilometers, the coastline being around 540km long. We can therefore accept Obeng's claim as a reasonable approximation."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":13500,"to":13500,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"Inhabitants. {12,000-15,000; 20,000-25,000} 'The population of Kumasi, variously estimated at 12,000-15,000, 20,000-25,000, and 70,000-100,000 (Bowdich 1819: 324; Bascom 1959), included the Asantehene's relations, courtiers, and members of palace associations; the heads and peoples of the Kumasi wards; visiting rulers and their attendants from the Asante central, provincial, and tributary states (Wilks 1975: chap. 2); traders from the coastal areas (Freeman 1844); resident Muslim foreigners (Wilks 1975: 263, 345; Schildkrout 1978: 68); visitors from the Sudan and northern Africa; and representatives of the European coastal traders and Christian missions (Huydecoper 1817, Bowdich 1819, Dupuis 1824, Freeman 1844, Ramseyer and Kühne 1874). These formed a substantial clientele for the subsistence markets and sources of external cultural influences that, in addition to courtly traditions, patterned Kumasi culture differently from that of the rural areas.' The 70,000-100,000 slot is a highly unlikely estimate for the time period covered here, given that numbers around 10,000 or 20,000 appear more frequently in the literature. We have therefore chosen to go with the above."},{"from":22500,"to":22500,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"Inhabitants. {12,000-15,000; 20,000-25,000} 'The population of Kumasi, variously estimated at 12,000-15,000, 20,000-25,000, and 70,000-100,000 (Bowdich 1819: 324; Bascom 1959), included the Asantehene's relations, courtiers, and members of palace associations; the heads and peoples of the Kumasi wards; visiting rulers and their attendants from the Asante central, provincial, and tributary states (Wilks 1975: chap. 2); traders from the coastal areas (Freeman 1844); resident Muslim foreigners (Wilks 1975: 263, 345; Schildkrout 1978: 68); visitors from the Sudan and northern Africa; and representatives of the European coastal traders and Christian missions (Huydecoper 1817, Bowdich 1819, Dupuis 1824, Freeman 1844, Ramseyer and Kühne 1874). These formed a substantial clientele for the subsistence markets and sources of external cultural influences that, in addition to courtly traditions, patterned Kumasi culture differently from that of the rural areas.' The 70,000-100,000 slot is a highly unlikely estimate for the time period covered here, given that numbers around 10,000 or 20,000 appear more frequently in the literature. We have therefore chosen to go with the above."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. According to Ethnographic Atlas variable 31 'Mean Size of Local Communities', the Ashanti possess 'Towns of 5,000-50,000 (one or more)', meaning that they are likely to have a settlement hierarchy as follows: (1) Town (administrative buildings, storehouse)) (2) Village (shrine) (3) Hamlet (residential only). This remains to be confirmed. SCCS variable 157 'Scale 9-Political Integration' is coded as '3 levels above community' (1) the Capital with its central administrative and political functions;(2) regional Towns housing the leaders of divisions of the Ashanti Union;(3) Villages integrated into the recognized regional power hierarchies, comprising multiple family farms;(4) residential Hamlets and other non-permanent micro-settlements A reviewer of Arhin's work comments on some general features of the territorial hierarchy: 'the Asante people formed a typical African kingdom, headed by a paramount ruler called “king” who, from his central village or town, administered the community in groups of villages with their own administrative and political organizations that owed absolute allegiance to the king, sometimes miles away. In every such African kingdom there was a princely city, special in every sense-the home of the paramount ruler of the state, the centre of government, and the residence of members of the royal family, religious leaders, courtiers, members of the extended-family system, servants, and slaves. Its economic, political, and cultural characteristics flowed down to the villages that made up the state [...] Every village consisted of free-born citizens, servants, and slaves. Individuals were like the fingers of a hand, all working together for the betterment of the village and, through the council of elders and the king's representative or chief, paying tribute to and serving their lord and master' Arhin's own work confirms this: 'An Asante state consisted of divisions ( amansin), which in turn consisted of villages ( nkuro) and hamlets ( nkuraa). The hamlet was of no political significance, since, like the hunting lodge ( nnanso), it was a temporary settlement. The village, inhabited by members of localised matrilineages of three or more of the dispersed Akan matriclans ( mmusua) (Rattray 1929: 67), was headed by an individual called the owner of the village ( odekro).' Villages can accordingly be differentiated from Hamlets by virtue of their integration into regional lineage structures: 'A village proper is distinguished from less permanent settlements as much by social complexity as by sheer size. Nearly all established villages are occupied by a number of distinct matrilineal groups, perhaps as many as five or six. [...] The establishment of a core of women in a village, who have children there, and whose daughters there give birth to other daughters who will continue the matrilineage, marks that settlement's existence as an independent and viable unit. Marriage, birth and death, as much as sheer numbers, mark the distinction between a well-established village and a settlement of less certain status.' Hamlets could develop into more complex villages: 'an akuraa might, in favourable circumstances, develop into a village proper ( okrom), with its own name and chief or odekuro and a clearly defined position in the kingdom's political and military framework. This change in status usually occurred gradually and only after the place became the primary residence of many of those using it.'"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. According to the Ethnographic Atlas' variable 33 'Jurisdictional Hierarchy Beyond Local Community' there are 'Two levels (e.g., larger chiefdoms) (.2)' of administrative control-Chiefs and Elders. SCCS variable 76 'Community Leadership' is coded as 'Single local leader and council' SCCS variable 237 'Jurisdictional Hierarchy Beyond Local Community' is coded as 'Two levels (e.g., larger chiefdoms)' Central authority rests with the King, but the role of sub-chiefs who complement the hierarchy have developed over time. (1) King (Asantehene), the chief executive of the polity and occupant of the Golden Stool;(2) Queen Mother (Asantehema), a mother's sister, grandmother, cousin or sister of the King and occupant of the Silver Stool, a Council of Elders from major lineages, and major officials of the capital, all of whom the Asantehene consulted with;(3) chief executives of core provinces of the Ashanti Union (Omanhene);(4) a corresponding structure of Ohema and a Council of Elders;(5) Chiefs of lineages;(6) councils of village leaders (mpanyinfo, odekro, obaapanyin) Arhin describes the power hierarchy from the village upwards: 'Female stools complemented the hierarchy of male stools. In the village the elders, mpanyinfo, heads of the matrilineages, who constituted with the odekro the village council, had their aberewa or obaapanyin, who looked after the women's affairs. The odekro had an obaapanyin who was responsible for the affairs of the women of the village and was a member of the village council; the ohene, head of a division, and the omanhene, head of the autonomous political community, had their female counterparts known as ohemma, female ruler, who sat on their councils. The ohene and the ohemma were all of the same mogya, blood, or clan. The Asantehemma, the occupant of the female stool of the Kumasi state, and therefore of united Asante, since her male counterpart was ex officio the Asantehene, king of Asante, was a member of the Kotoko council, the executive committee or cabinet of the Asanteman Nhyiamu, general assembly of Asante rulers.' Major and minor chiefs were also summoned to council: 'Where the paramount King of a state summons the Head-Chiefs of provinces and chiefs of minor communities to attend a State Council, it is the privilege of the Councillors of the several communities composing the State, according to their rank and importance, to accompany their several Heads to the capital and to join in the “palaver,” or discussion, that will take place, the King in person presiding over the deliberations, supported by his own Councillors and principal Linguists. This is the full Parliament of the people, who are thus fully and duly represented in every way from the highest to the lowest. The commands which go forth from this assembly are binding upon every individual family of the entire State, from the most important province to the most insignificant hamlet, and the sanction operates equally upon all.' The paramount executive authority was the Asantehene: 'The King is the Chief Executive Officer of the State, but not the Executive Council of the State. Such a council exists, and any acts done by the King without its concurrence are liable to be set aside.' The attribution of concrete entities to a particular executive level is not always clear, though, especially in the early period: 'The state of the union that emerged after the War of Independence was obviously a very fluid one. The Asanteman is referred to as the Asante Aman Nnum, the Five Asante States, but there is no clear consensus about which states comprised the original union. [...] The fact of the matter seems to have been that the coalition against the Denkyira included what were no more than “estates” on the one hand, like Bekwae, and what were established states on the other, like Mampon, Dwaben, and Kumase itself. Some were to decline and some were to prosper; some were to become powerful components of the Asanteman and some were to become little more than their clients.' On the executive level it therefore seems best to go with the stool system: 'Every Asante village was a microcosm of the Asante economic, social, and political universe. Its population included both rulers and ruled, both “owners” of the land with the right of succession to the local, divisional, and state stools and free men grouped in other lineages with corporate interests in other political offices.' Only a few leaders in executive positions achieved the additional special status of Abrempon or 'big man': 'However many sikafo aspired to the award of the elephant tail, relatively few seem to have achieved it. Three successful nineteenth century claimants are well documented, namely, Gyaasewahene Opoku Frefre (died 1826), Ankobeahene Kwaku Tawia (died ca. 1850), and Manwerehene Kwasi Brantuo (died 1865). [...] I know of no female recipient of the honor. I do not think that women were disbarred by reason of their sex, rather that few if any achieved the necessary level of accumulation. [...] Those chiefs who were allowed to use elephant tails were called Abrempons. A chief who lives on his own land with his own subjects is known by the King as Abrempon.' The initiation required involved presentations of wealth as well as ritualized ceremonial. The Abrempon are excluded from the list above on the grounds of their precise position in the power hierarchy not being spelled out by the relevant sources."}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (1) King (Asantehene), chief executive and primary commander-in-chief of the Ashanti Union;(2) Captain-General (Tufu Hin) of the forces, or secondary commander-in-chief (Adontenhene);(3) generals, or commanders of particular armies and campaigns;(4) the standing body of armed men, or Department of War;(5) Chiefs acting as captains of companies;(6) farmers and other commoners fulfilling the role of infantry 'The King is the Chief Military Officer of his forces. In time of war, he directs the operations; and if he is a man of capacity, he has the leading place in the councils of war. There is generally a Tufu Hin, or Captain-General, of the forces; but his authority is subordinate to that of the King, and he is, in every essential, an officer of the King.' According to Mensa-Bonsu, and in the early period at least, the Bantamahene filled this role, as described in the story of his oath: 'This account begins with the Ntam of the Bantamahene who is the Adontenhene (Commander-in-Chief) of Asante. The Ntam dates from the time of Osei Tutu. When Osei Tutu returned from his travels to succeed to the stool, his uncle Obiri Yeboa had just died. He felt he had to offer a sacrifice to his dead uncle to show his affection. He therefore chose his trusted friend Baafour Amankwatia, Chief of Bantama. Amankwatia had already been besmeared with redclay ready to be executed. Okomfo Anokye would not allow him to be killed and ordered his release. This occasion on which he nearly lost his life became a very serious event for the Bantamahene. It thus became his Ntam. Amankwatia lived to become one of Osei Tutu's greatest generals and won many wars for Asante.' The head executives were assisted by a cadre of commanders and generals, who carried ceremonial swords as a sign of their special status and commanded particular armies and campaigns: 'A second class of sword, domfena, was carried by generals: ‘… a general is appointed to the command of an army, by receiving a gold-handled sword of the King's from his hand [...] The captains used these to swear before the King' There was a nucleus of armed professionals based in the capital: 'The local government of Kumasi was in the hands of the Kwaintsirs, a body of men who were the keepers of the golden stool. They formed the Department of War, and the great General Amankwatsia was formerly their Chief. The fact that the Department of War held in its keeping the royal stool illustrates vividly the origin of the kingly office in the Native State, which will be explained later on.' Most of the time, political and military hierarchies coincided, with leaders fulfilling a dual role: 'It has already been noted that among the Akan the military organisation was given in the political organisation. Political status determined military status. The commanders of the Asante army and its subdivisions were first elected as heads of territorial divisions or appointed as heads of palace associations and then assumed corresponding military positions: European visitors to the Akan states in the nineteenth century referred to the heads of the subdivisions as ‘captains’.' Finally, major and minor chiefs commanded their communities of citizen-soldiers in battle:'A chief is generally a captain of a company. In fact, every male member of the community is liable to military service in time of war, and during peace he has to drill every year with his company. A fortiori, a chief is the natural leader of the men of his company. There are cases known, however, where civil chiefs hold no military command in their companies.'"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (1) head-priests involved in the organized ceremonial of the state and its ruler;(2) priests serving major deities and chiefs;(3) priests serving minor deities and chiefs;(4) priests and healers associated with the commoner population and village shrines From the information gathered so far, we infer that organized religion shared some basic structural principles with the territorial and military organization. Some particularly powerful priests worked with the Asantehene himself, in organized ceremonial and military campaigns: 'Before a war senior servants of the Asantehene visited the shrines of major gods with gifts, to ask for guidance and support, and to promise rewards for success. They may also, of course, have received knowledge obtained by the webs of communication centred on the shrine. After successful campaigns, gods were rewarded with land and captives, large umbrellas and asipim chairs, and their priests given gold or silver crescent-shaped pendants to wear. Some priests and gods accompanied the armies, or missions, as in the case of the three priests in the retinue of General Akyeampon when he returned to the capital after negotiating in the south in the early 1870s.' The practice was projected back to the times of Osei Tutu, but this may have had ideological reasons . Major gods and their shrines produced offshoots in the form of minor deities and temples, both with their respective religious specialists: 'The god Tano has long enjoyed a particularly high place in the Asante pantheon. Thus in 1817 Bowdich remarked that “the present favourite fetish of Ashantee is that of the river Tando.” Such a god was divisible. Water and sediment might be transferred from the river to other locations and, provided this was done with all due ritual and honors, access to the god might be gained at them. Such local offshoots, the atano, were regarded as “children” of Tano and given a second name to distinguish each from the other, thus Taa (or Tano) Odomankoma, Taa Kora, Taa Bobodwo, Taa Kwadwo, Taa Yawo, Taa Mensa, and Taa Dwemo, to name but a few. An atano resided in a shrine, commonly a brass pan, which was housed in an abosomfie or temple protected and maintained by a custodian or bosomwura. Depending upon its prestige and wealth, the atano was served by a greater or lesser number of priests and priestesses - akomfo - who had been possessed by the god, and by such other attendants - atanokwaa - as cooks, musicians, umbrella carriers, and the like. Indeed, the temple of a powerful atano might, in terms of its personnel, closely resemble the court of a chief.' Priests also participated in the organized ceremonial relevant to chiefs: 'Eto (mashed yams) are cooked once a year by the priests, and upon the day appointed (a Saturday) the chief will place a spoonful in the pan upon top of the forked branch, with the words: ‘Me Nyankopon me sere wo nkwa, na me sere wo ahooden’ (My God, I pray you for life and I pray you for strength). A sheep is also killed and the blood allowed to fall upon the ground [...].' The smallest shrines were associated with the village-level: 'Temples of gods ( bosom'dan, bosom'fie) were also often situated towards the edges of the village, although some were built well away from human habitation, usually on the banks of rivers or streams (from which gods were thought to come). In their simplest form the temples were small rectangular buildings, entered by steps, the outer surfaces decorated with low reliefs and covered with red and white clay. More usually they consisted of a number of units around a court. Here male priests would periodically carry the god's shrine on their heads, becoming possessed and showing their powers to see, say and do things beyond the abilities of ordinary mortals.' Those priests 'combine with their office the cure of disease. Some of them are very good doctors and pull through cases where European skill has failed. They are skilled in the use of herbal remedies, and it might repay European medical men to study native therapeutics in its application to the treatment of diseases peculiar to the Gold Coast.'"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists The time period in question was characterized by a trend towards greater bureaucratization and functional specialization: 'State organisation became extremely complex in the Kumasi state because at the close of the 17th century it became the capital of the union of Asante states and, in the course of the following century, the seat of an empire which was roughly coterminous with the boundaries of modern Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast (Wilks 1975: 374-86). The expansion of the state made necessary administrative reforms within Kumasi itself and for the maintenance of effective relations between the Asantehene, the head of the Asante Union and, by consent, also the head of the Kumasi state, and the heads of the conquered territories. The palace administration ( gyase) was expanded with appointive headships of innumerable functional units or palace associations ( afekuo, sing. fekuo) (Rattray 1929: 81-92; Wilks 1967: 214-28; Hagan 1971). The memberships of the palace associations, each of which had either military or nonmilitary functions, cut across the divisions, so that they formed checks on, and counterpoises to, the traditional power units. The heads of the most important of the palace associations, including the units assigned to the offspring of former and reigning Asantehene (Busia 1951: 95), were included in the state council. Since appointments to the headships of the palace associations were in the gift of the Asantehene, the administrative reform represented an intrusion of patrimonialism (Weber 1947: 347) into the traditional political organisation.' The purpose of this new administrative structure was to 'enforce subordination of the conquered rulers to the Asantehene. For this purpose the Asante kings used an administrative staff recruited from their gyase, household organization, consisting of units of functionaries with appointive headships [...] These palace associations, called afekuo (Reondorf, 1895: 119; Rattray, 1929: 91), were recruited from free attendants, warcaptives, purchased slaves (nnonkofo), and other bondsmen; in other words, persons connected by “ties of personal loyalty” (Weber, 1947: 342) to the various Asante Kings.' Senior public functionaries had a stool system of their own: 'In Kumasi proper there were seventy-seven stools, representing seventy-seven public functionaries, as, for example, the Bantuma Chief, or the Chief of the Royal Burial Grove, the Ateni Chief, or the Chief of the Lamplighters.' Some foreigners were employed in highly specialized roles: 'A form of treasury partly staffed by literate Muslims was created. Groups within the capital began to build up expertise in particular areas of administration and to concentrate on this as a way to power and wealth. Careers began to open for those with intelligence, negotiating skill and a steady nerve.'"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists While the Ashanti infantry mostly consisted of citizen-soldiers who were not specialists in their own right, there was also a nucleus of armed professionals not disbanded during times of peace: 'The local government of Kumasi was in the hands of the Kwaintsirs, a body of men who were the keepers of the golden stool. They formed the Department of War, and the great General Amankwatsia was formerly their Chief. The fact that the Department of War held in its keeping the royal stool illustrates vividly the origin of the kingly office in the Native State, which will be explained later on.' The King was assisted in his military duties by secondary commanders and generals:'The King is the Chief Military Officer of his forces. In time of war, he directs the operations; and if he is a man of capacity, he has the leading place in the councils of war. There is generally a Tufu Hin, or Captain-General, of the forces; but his authority is subordinate to that of the King, and he is, in every essential, an officer of the King.' During annual military drills, armed commoners gathered in the capital, where they paraded through the streets with specialists: 'Meanwhile the different regiments, under their several Head-Captains, and all commanded by the Captain-General, are preparing to go through their manoeuvres. To avoid disputes, the several regiments parade through the town one after the other, pouring forth thunderous volleys from their long flint Dane guns. After the parade each regiment presents to the King its flags and emblems, new and old, as an act of homage, which the King returns with suitable words. The several Head-Chiefs next renew their allegiance to the King; and, after more dancing and popular rejoicing, thè King retires to his “compound,” where his vassals subsequently take leave of him, each vassal receiving a suitable present.'"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to SCCS variable 17 'Money (Media of Exchange) and Credit' 'Tokens of conventional value as media of exchange' were used, not 'No media of exchange or money' or 'Domestically used articles as media of exchange' or 'Foreign coinage or paper coinage', or 'Indigenous coinage or paper currency'."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to SCCS variable 17 'Money (Media of Exchange) and Credit' 'Tokens of conventional value as media of exchange' were used, not 'No media of exchange or money' or 'Domestically used articles as media of exchange' or 'Foreign coinage or paper coinage', or 'Indigenous coinage or paper currency'."}]}},"Q603771":{"seshat":["The Emirate of Crete"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":250000,"to":250000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. This is a rough estimate."}],"territory":[{"from":8336,"to":8336,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Km2. In terms of its political organization, Crete was divided into forty districts and was ruled by an emir who only nominally recognized the Caliph of Baghdad. The area of the whole island of Crete is 8,336 square kilometres."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":12000,"to":12000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. The largest settlement of the island is Khandax (Candia, the modern Iraklion). It population is speculated to 12,000 souls."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1-3 Written sources (excavated testimonies are very meager) suggest the existence of 29 towns the largest of which were Khandax (the modern Heraklion), Gortys (south central Crete) and Kydonia (west Crete) the population of which is speculated to 12,000 inhabitants. Small villages and hamlets were scattered in the hinterland. Almost nothing is known about the situation of the towns of Crete and about the urban and country population."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"level. Crete was divided into forty districts and it was ruled by an emir who only nominally recognized the Caliph of Baghdad. These emirs were Abu Hafs descendants and issued their own coins. The Arabs emirs of Crete were: Abu Hafs Umar I al-Iqritishi (827/828 - ca. 855CE); Shu'ayb I ibn Umar (ca. 855-880CE); Umar II ibn Shu'ayb Babdel (ca. 880-895CE); Muhammad ibn Shu'ayb al-Zarkun (ca. 895-910CE); Yusuf ibn Umar (ca. 910-915 CE) ;Ali ibn Yusuf (ca. 915-925CE); Ahmad ibn Umar (ca. 925-940 CE); Shu'ayb II ibn Ahmad (940-943 CE); Ali ibn Ahmad (943-949CE); and And al-Aziz ibn Shu'ayb (949-961 CE)."}],"military_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 3-1"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 4-1 For the Christian population: The Patriarch of Constantinople (4); the archbishop of Crete (3); 22 regional bishops (2); priests (1). The Arab population was muslims sunnis and recognized the supreme religious authority of Amir al-Mu'minin of Bagdad."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Coins issued by the Byzantine Empire."}]}},"Q756895":{"seshat":["Kediri Kingdom"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":200000,"to":300000,"year_from":1100,"year_to":1100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Estimates for Indonesia (less West New Guinea): 4.0m in 1100 CE. 4.5m in 1200 CE Total area of Indonesia (less West New Guinea) 1,500,000 km2. On the basis of territorial extent, Kediri, which was 50,000-70,000 km2 may have had 3-5% of the Indonesian population. 200,000 in 1100 CE, 225,000 in 120,000 CE. Will use these figures for the bottom end of a range that assumes this well-organized polity was more density populated than surrounding regions."},{"from":250000,"to":350000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Estimates for Indonesia (less West New Guinea): 4.0m in 1100 CE. 4.5m in 1200 CE Total area of Indonesia (less West New Guinea) 1,500,000 km2. On the basis of territorial extent, Kediri, which was 50,000-70,000 km2 may have had 3-5% of the Indonesian population. 200,000 in 1100 CE, 225,000 in 120,000 CE. Will use these figures for the bottom end of a range that assumes this well-organized polity was more density populated than surrounding regions."}],"territory":[{"from":50000,"to":70000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. \"Kadiri was an ancient kingdom on the island of Java.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Large town e.g. capital Kediri/Daha 2. Village3. Hamlet Ruling class, religious authority, hamlets, non-farming sub-communities, commoners, slaves. Hamlets within villages came to increased prominence and became taxable units within the larger community. Other non-farming sub-communities emerged as regular features of expanded settlement complexes e.g. groups of artisans, small religious establishments, and merchant enclaves. \""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Increasingly hierarchical state administrative structure. By the tenth and eleventh centuries, royal command passed from the monarch through 'expansive networks of individuals with state and local titles of authority'. 1. King \"The capital, where the king abided in his palace, was called nagara, and the palace itself was called kadatwan. The denomination of the capital may, occasionally, be used as a synonym for the whole country. Based on the location where inscriptions issued by authorities of the Kadiri kingdom have been found, the territory of this kingdom can be identified as within the present-day East Java Province.\" _Central government_ 2. upper level bureaucrats functioning as intermediaries 3. mid level bureaucrats who needed to go through upper bureaucrats for favours 4. Storehouse manager for rice5. Storehouse worker village officials managed irrigation system and guaranteed supply of rice to capital in exchange for privileges. _Provincial government_ 2. Several villages (wisaya)\"It was the first kingdom known in Indonesia to have developed a stratified territorial administration, consisting of three levels: the village (called thani, which itself consisted of several subdivisions, each having its own name); the coordinated unity, made up of several villages (called wisaya); and the state or kingdom (called bhumi).\" 3. Village (thani) 4. officials at central village level both of which managed irrigation system and guaranteed supply of rice to capital in exchange for privileges. 4. Subdivision of village"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King 2. General inferred 3. Officer of higher group? 4. Unit leader\"Every unit had a leader and a certain symbol put on its flag. Most symbols used a figure of an animal.\" 5. Individual soldier \"Aside from territorial administration, the Kadiri period also saw developments in military organization and mobilization. Troops were divided according to the mastery of different kinds of weapons, such as the club, the arrow, the battle-ax, and the lance, or according to mastery over different serving animals, such as the elephant and the horse.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. No firm data, but inferred on the basis of Majapahit. 1) Buddhist and Saivite clergy (sogata); or 1) Vaisnava clergy (wipra); 2) local religious specialists (resi); 3) residential communities of monks (caturdwija); and 3) rural shamans (jangga)."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"There was a multi-tiered administrative structure."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Military organisations protected outlying regions."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"A mixture of silver, tin, lead, and copper."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q49326":{"seshat":["Majapahit Kingdom"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":5000000,"to":5000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Based on MacDonald's estimate."}],"territory":[{"from":500000,"to":500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Km2 0.5 Mm^2 One source says 2.7 EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://empires.findthedata.org/compare/60-150/Majapahit-Empire-vs-Srivijaya-Empire . However, while Majapahit had many vassals, it likely did not have much administrative power outside Java, Bali, and Madura, whose combined territory is c 0.14 EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://www.indonesianhistory.info/map/majapahit.html . Estimate of 0.5 reflects influence of navy."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 200,000 is the figure given by John Miksic for the supposed capital of Majapahit located in the vicinity of a model village called Trowulan. Within the walled kratons resided 700-800 families resided including 8 residential chiefs. There is no description, however, of a settlement which can confidently be called a city."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2. Village3. Hamlet Ruling class, religious authority, hamlets, non-farming sub-communities, commoners, slaves. Hamlets within villages came to increased prominence and became taxable units within the larger community. Other non-farming sub-communities emerged as regular features of expanded settlement complexes e.g. groups of artisans, small religious establishments, and merchant enclaves. More broadly speaking, the state is characterized as consisting of villages (wanua), religious communities, and the royal compound (râjya), which was the social center"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. King; upper level bureaucrats functioning as intermediaries; mid level bureaucrats who needed to go through upper bureaucrats for favours; officials at village level; officials at central village level, both of which managed irrigation system and guaranteed supply of rice to capital in exchange for privileges. Kinney suggests that this administrative structure was carried through to the Majapahit era. 1. King. _Central government_ 2. upper level bureaucrats functioning as intermediaries 3. mid level bureaucrats who needed to go through upper bureaucrats for favours 4. Storehouse manager for rice5. Storehouse worker village officials managed irrigation system and guaranteed supply of rice to capital in exchange for privileges. _Provincial government_ 2. Several villages (wisaya) Inferred from the preceding Kediri kingdom Kediri \"was the first kingdom known in Indonesia to have developed a stratified territorial administration, consisting of three levels: the village (called thani, which itself consisted of several subdivisions, each having its own name); the coordinated unity, made up of several villages (called wisaya); and the state or kingdom (called bhumi).\" 3. Village (thani) Inferred from the preceding Kediri kingdom 4. officials at central village level Inferred from the preceding Kediri kingdom both of which managed irrigation system and guaranteed supply of rice to capital in exchange for privileges. 4. Subdivision of village Inferred from the preceding Kediri kingdom"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Commander-in-chief; Subcommanders; Noble cavalry; Troops (composed of swordsman, archers and skirmishers). 1. King. 2. Commander-in-Chief3. Sub-commanders4. Noble cavalry = officers?5. Individual soldiers"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Buddhist and Saivite clergy (sogata); 1) Vaisnava clergy (wipra); 2) local religious specialists (resi); 3) residential communities of monks (caturdwija); 3) rural shamans (jangga)."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Court administrators."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Warrior elite class. Commander-in-chief given 8,000 copper coins per day."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In 1300, during reign of first Majapahit king, indigenous coinage is replaced with Chinese copper coinage. Gold and silver remain important as commodities."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Chinese copper coinage."}]}},"Q402145":{"seshat":["Mataram Sultanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":3000000,"to":3500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. density of 30 people per km2. -- was 4 million code the estimate made by the source or a calculation done by RA on basis of a polity area estimate? Highest figure we get from a maximum polity territory of 110,000 at 30 per km2 is 3.3m."}],"territory":[{"from":90000,"to":110000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Estimated from map of Java."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Inferred continuity with preceding polity 1. 2.3."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":2,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 5 levels inferred continuity with previous polity in region. 1. King _Central government_ 2. Top functionaries 3. 4. 5. _Provincial government_ 2.powerful coastal regions, and administrative structures within these regions 3. 4. Information on the administration of the Mataram Sultanate is very scarce. It seems that the Majapahit structure of the ruler and a few top functionaries with varying influence was retained. There were various different titles for functionaries, but it is unclear whether there was a particular hierarchical structure between them, and moreover the relationship of these functionaries to powerful coastal regions, and the administrative structures within these regions, is far from clear and there was probably much fluidity and development over time. Moertono shows that in later Mataram (possibly after the VOC came to dominate) there was a ligion including rendering justice in disputes under the jurisdiction of Islamic law. Thseparate and more independent department, the reh pangulon, which was responsible for matters of ree institution of the penggulu (head of the clergy in the main mosque in the king's capital) was gradually incorporated into the administrative system as head of a special division. The penggulu had his say about appointing lower penggulu naibs, who each administered the religious affairs of a certain number of villages. These lower officials were not thought of as belonging to the king's administration, for unlike other royal officials they did not receive income from the king."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Commander-in-chief; Subcommanders; Noble cavalry; Troops (composed of swordsman, archers and skirmishers). Slaves used as auxiliaries. Mataram often adopted fighting formations inspired by Indian astrological signs, including a huge crayfish. The feelers represented special troops of amok fighters, the body of the crayfish was the sovereign, preceded by sons and relatives, the commander and ministers, and other numbers represented troops of different nobles and officials. 1. King 2. Commander-in-chief3. Sub-commander4. Officers?5. Individual soldiers"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Moertono says that generally the Islamic clergy did not have an organized hierarchical structure in the sense of the Christian church. However, once religious specialists began to be more intertwined with the state administration in later Mataram, some hierarchies of power did develop (see 'Administrative Levels')."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time state administrators"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Warrior elite class."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q33296":{"seshat":["Mughal Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":110000000,"to":150000000,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[110,000,000-150,000,000] The reference refers to the year range 1650-1750 CE, which is turned into 1700 CE, so that it can be matched up with the population range."}],"territory":[{"from":3200000,"to":4500000,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometres. [3,200,000-4,500,000]"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":400000,"to":400000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Dehli. The Mughal rulers of India constantly toured the realm and maintained no fixed capital. Mid-seventeenth century Delhi is reputed to have had a population of about 400,000 but one European observer claimed most of it moved with the royal court, reducing its population to as little as 65,000. Another compared Mughal Delhi to a ‘camp’ rather than a city like Paris, and apparently there were so many trees that from a distance it looked like a wood. -- we have a reference but no number."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Administration of parganas adjacent to cities inhabited by peasants lacking strong lineage organizations could be managed on a village by village basis.(81) Villagers carried agricultural products to sell at the nearest market or pargana town. (91) By the 1680s hundreds of prosperous market towns (qasbas) had proliferated in northern India. In each pargana the central town served as a principal market. Gradually, the networks of these trading towns and larger villages grew more dense. (194) Each provincial capital had a governor, responsible directly to the emperor. (59, 67) 1. The capital 2. Provincial capitals3. Towns4. Villages"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Delhi Sultanate which \"had a powerful impact on small states and principalities that were formed after its disintegration as well as on the Mughal administration that would come into existence in the sixteenth century.\" needs more work on central government 1. Emperor Furthermore, the Zamindars belonged to the nobility and formed the ruling class. _Central government_ 2. WakilHighest administrative officer 3. Departments? inferred 4.5. _Provincial government_ 3. Subahdar of several SarkarsA group of one or more villages constitutes a paragana, a few paragana a sarkar, and several sarkar's (or 'shiqqs') a subahdar. A wakil was the highest administrative officer. 4. Sarkar of a few Paragana 5. Paragana of one or more villages 6. Muqqaddam (Village headman)Also of note are the Muqaddam and Patwari. The village head was a muqaddam - the sole link between government and village. Although not a government servant, he was responsible for maintaining law and order. Similarly a patwari, a record keeper, was not employed by the state but by the village community. -- not a paid official but still took orders i.e. maintain law and order 7. Patwari (record keeper) 7. Employed by muqaddam to help maintain law and order inferred"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Noteworthy was the decimal chain of command, the grouping of soldiers in tens, hundreds, and thousands, up to an army division of 10,000 men (Mongolian tümän, Pers. tūmān), which was to have an enduring impact on the military organization of succeeding eastern Islamic powers, being adopted by, e.g., the Mughals in India.\" Decimal: 1, 10s, 100s, 1000s, 10000s, Emperor = 6 1. Emperor 2. Bakhshi (Adjutant-General). Bakhshi-titles were given to those with administrative duties, the Adjutant-General commanded the army in the Emperor's absence.3. Mir Bakhshi4. Other Bakhshi (such as Bakhshi-i-tan)5. Officer.Mansabdars were also chiefs and leaders, ranked based on the number of men they recruited, the mansab rank was further divided into zat and suwar, where zat referred to foot-soldiers and suwar to horsemen. 6. Soldier."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Would be at least one level. Din-e Ilahi, religion of the empire from 1582 CE to 1605 CE, had no priestly hierarchy or sacred scriptures. Islam (which both proceeded and succeeded Din-e Ilahi) similarly has no hierarchy, although there are Shaikh, Olama or Imam's who are seen as spiritual teachers and leaders."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The army and revenue service to support it were run on bureaucratic lines."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Mansabdar was the generic term for the military-type grading of all imperial officials who governed the empire and commanded it's armies in the emperor's name."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Silver based money, the rupiya introduced by Sher Shah. Sher Shah (c.1540) issued a pure silver coin called a rupya (rupee) with a weight of 178.25 grains. He issued gold coins, which were rare, as well as a copper coin called paisa and extended the issuing of this coinage on a uniform basis from all his 15 mints. This trimetallic system became permanent when it was adopted by Akbar with minor modifications. The Mughal rupee soon became the standard for which commodity prices, rates for exchange and for loans were quoted in. Akbar sanctioned the following daily rates of wages: ordinary labourers 2 dams, superior labourers 2-4 dams, carpenters 3-7 dams and builders 5-7 dams. The dam was a copper coin a litter over 1 tola and 8 Masas in weight and 1/40 of the value of the silver rupiya in value. The purchasing power of an Akbari Rupiya was nearly 6 Indian Rupees in 1912. (82) The lowest servants were entitled to less than two rupees monthly (e.g. 65 dams for a sweeper, 60 for a camel-driver, etc.) while the bulk of the menials and the ordinary foot-soldiers began at less than three Rupees. Even slaves were entitled to one dam daily, equivalent to three-quarters of a rupee monthly in the currency of the time. (82) Cost of wheat equals 0.30 rupees per maund of 25.11kgs c.1595 CE in Lahore. (21, Table 3) In 1611, price of wheat in Surat (Gujarat) was 1.03 rupees per maund, rising to 6.37 in 1630 during famine. In 1631 at Broach (Gujarat) the price rose to 6.66 rupees per maund (25, Table 4). The prices of wheat in Agra were higher than Lahore by almost 20 percent. (31) Ordinary Labourer receives 1.50 rupees per month c.1595 (64) Lowest wage of a worker in the Imperial Establishment (domestic servant, peon, porter, etc) c.1613-89 in Agra was 3.00 rupee per month on average. The daily wages of an unskilled labourer more than doubled between c.1595 and 1637 from 2 dams to 6.5 paisas. In 1637 the monthly wages of unskilled labourers was 3.5 rupees. (69-70, Table 24)"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In use, although foreign coins were often remelted as Mughal coins,"}]}},"Q167639":{"seshat":["Vijayanagara Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":25000000,"to":25000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. The population of the peninsula south of the river Krishna may have been around 25 million, if the population of all of India was about the 150 million that has been estimated ."}],"territory":[{"from":350000,"to":370000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. The realm can be defined by the provenance of royal inscriptions over some 140,000 square miles (equal to 362,598 square km)."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":1337,"year_to":1499,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[100,000-250,000]: 1560 CE By the early 1400s the fortified core of the city of Vijayanagara covered nearly 20 square km, and its population may have been as high as 100,000. By the time the Vijayanagara capital was abandoned in 1565 following a major military defeat, the city core extended over approximately 30 square km and its fortified hinterland was more than 400 square km in area. The city's population at that time is estimated to have exceeded 250,000 . According to a different source, though, the city's population in the 16th century is described as \"over 100,000\" ."},{"from":150000,"to":250000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1646,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[100,000-250,000]: 1560 CE By the early 1400s the fortified core of the city of Vijayanagara covered nearly 20 square km, and its population may have been as high as 100,000. By the time the Vijayanagara capital was abandoned in 1565 following a major military defeat, the city core extended over approximately 30 square km and its fortified hinterland was more than 400 square km in area. The city's population at that time is estimated to have exceeded 250,000 . According to a different source, though, the city's population in the 16th century is described as \"over 100,000\" ."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital City, the City of Vijayanagar - encompassed by massive fortifications and was of enormous size. According to the accounts of foreign travelers to India during the 15th and 16th centuries, the circumference of the city was 60 miles, and it was a highly populous city . According to another source, the city covered 10 square miles in 1500 . 2. Provincial capitals - The Empire was divided into several principal provinces .3. Town between provincial city and village? inferred 4. Village - Lowest territorial division in the Karnataka portion of Vijayanagara ."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King . _Central or court government_ 2. Council of MinistersThe king also had a hierarchical central bureaucracy - he was assisted in the task of administration by a council of ministers, appointed by him, as well as by chief treasurer, custodians of the jewels, an officer who looked after the commercial interests of the State, the prefect of the police, the chief master of the horse etc . 2. Chief treasurerEach viceroy was required to submit regular accounts of the income and expenditure of his charge to the central government 3.4.5. 2. Custodian of the jewels 2. Prefect of the police 2. Chief master of the horse 2. MahanayakacharyaThe King maintained a link with the village administration through his officer called the Mahanayakacharya, who exercised a general supervision over it. . _Provincial government_ 2. Viceroy, nayaka or naik - in each province .3. Civil (e.g. treasury), military, judicial officials at department head level inferred Each viceroy exercised civil, military and judicial power within his jurisdiction, but he was required to submit regular accounts of the income and expenditure of his charge to the central government and render it military aid in times of need 4. Accountant (income, expenditure, tax receipts etc) inferred 5. Assistant/scribe inferred 3. Village officers.Villages were the lowest unit of local administration. Each village was a self-sufficient unit. The village assembly conducted the administration of the area under its charge (executive, judicial and police) through its hereditary officers like the senateova or the village accountant, the talara or the village watchman or commandant, the begara or the superintendent of forced labor, and others. These village officers were paid either by grants of land or a portion of agricultural produce. The King maintained a link with the village administration through his officer called the Mahanayakacharya, who exercised a general supervision over it. . 4. Senateova 4. Village accountant 4. talara (village watchman or commandant) 4. begara (superintendent of forced labor)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. The rulers of Vijayanagara had a carefully organized military department, called Kandachara: 1. King 2. Commander-in-ChiefThe military was under the control of the Dandanayaka or Nannayaka (Commander-in-Chief) 3. Staff of minor officials -- same level is generals? are these the generals?The Commander-in-Chief was assisted by a staff of minor officials . 3. Generals inferred 4. Officers inferred -- more than one level?5. Individual soldierThe lowest level of the military was a soldier ."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":0,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. There are no official hierarchies in Hinduism . However, some would argue for the importance, at least for some branches of the religion, of the relationship between student and teacher or guru (e.g. ). Based on that viewpoint, it may not be entirely inappropriate to say that there is indeed a Hindu religious hierarchy, and that it is composed of two levels."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The King was assisted in the task of administration by a council of ministers, appointed by him, as well as by chief treasurer, custodians of the jewels, an officer who looked after the commercial interests of the State, the prefect of the police, the chief master of the horse etc ."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The coinage of Vijayanagara Empire was of various types, both in gold and copper, and there was one specimen of silver coin ."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Foreign coins (such as the Portugese cruzado, the Persian dinar, and the Italian florin and ducat) were also in circulation in the coastal areas ."}]}},"Q10914393":{"seshat":["Neo-Assyrian Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":5000000,"to":7000000,"year_from":670,"year_to":670,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In the 7th Century population of Mesopotamia reached its height of about 2 million. Egypt possessed from 671 CE. About 2.5m inhabitants South-eastern Anatolia, Levant, western Iran may have contributed another 2.5 million."}],"territory":[{"from":1400000,"to":1400000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Assyrian heartland in northern Iraq covered approximately 4000 km2"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":10000,"to":10000,"year_from":-911,"year_to":-911,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"70,000 in new city of Kalhu after it was built during reign of Assurnasirpall II (883-859 BCE). All inhabitants and workers, totalling 70,000, invited to a multi-day opening ceremony banquet. Nineveh: 10,000 in 1000 BCE. 120,000 in 650 BCE. Older, wilder estimate of 700,000. Assur, Nineveh (modern Mosul) and Arbilu were three major cities."},{"from":70000,"to":70000,"year_from":-875,"year_to":-875,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"70,000 in new city of Kalhu after it was built during reign of Assurnasirpall II (883-859 BCE). All inhabitants and workers, totalling 70,000, invited to a multi-day opening ceremony banquet. Nineveh: 10,000 in 1000 BCE. 120,000 in 650 BCE. Older, wilder estimate of 700,000. Assur, Nineveh (modern Mosul) and Arbilu were three major cities."},{"from":120000,"to":120000,"year_from":-700,"year_to":-700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"70,000 in new city of Kalhu after it was built during reign of Assurnasirpall II (883-859 BCE). All inhabitants and workers, totalling 70,000, invited to a multi-day opening ceremony banquet. Nineveh: 10,000 in 1000 BCE. 120,000 in 650 BCE. Older, wilder estimate of 700,000. Assur, Nineveh (modern Mosul) and Arbilu were three major cities."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital City 2. Royal cities the king maintained his presence by establishing “royal cities” with palaces throughout the realm, which he appears to have used on a regular basis. 3. Provincial city 4. Client state capitals 5. Town 6. Village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. p.504 Longest governmental chain in central bureaucracy? King directly appointed leaders down to the level of municipal government. 1. King “The king personally selected and appointed every official, be it a state, provincial, municipal, or temple official.” King's Court _ Central government line _ 2a. Central bureaucracy 2a. Top officials called Magnates, likened to a cabinet, Governors and Deputy-Governors, Provincial Governors. 3a. Scribes4a. ... ? ... _ Provincial government _ 2b. Provinces Provincial governors , appointed by king, lived in palaces Position nepotistic until reign Shalmaneser III (r. 859-824 BC), thereafter governors were Eunuchs sent from the central government. Storage depots became nucleus of provincial capitals. Shalmeneser III integrated conquered areas as provinces, or made them tribute paying vassals. Since routine decision-making was delegated to governors most letters from provinces concerned unforeseeable problems. 2c. Smaller provinces within provinces Reforms of Tiglath-pileser III. Previously: conquered land integrated into empire through a governorship. Governors became over-mighty, hereditary and independent. Tiglath abolished governorships and created many new smaller provinces. These were governed by a district lord (be-pihati) or a governor (shakkanakku), who were responsible to the king. Overseers (qepu) placed in each province to report to king. 2d. Municipal government “The king personally selected and appointed every official, be it a state, provincial, municipal, or temple official.” Town chiefs ; Mayor and Overseer (chosen by the residents); City leaders 3d. Scribes 3c. Village heads Inferred level"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King. Commanded the \"Royal Cohort\" 2. Commander-in-chiefCommander-in-chief called turtanu. 3. Leaders of the KisruMain unit group of kisru (knots) of 200-1,000 men. 4. CaptainsNext level had 50 men lead by a captain (rab hanshe). The basic command unit numbered 50 men. Captains raised troops from towns and villages within province designated to him. Governors of province set troop quota for captains to raise. 5. Officers\"Army organised into units based on the decimal system (10, 50, 100)\" implies another level below the command unit of 50. The different bodies of the army were structured into smaller contingents led by officers, at least some promoted from the ordinary ranks. \"The Assyrian army of the first millennium BC was really many armies, termed poetically the “Hosts of the God Aššur” in the royal inscriptions. The different contingents were allowed to preserve and develop their own customs and idiosyncrasies.\" Militia organization abolished by Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 BCE). Governors responsible for collection of taxes and civil and military conscription."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The god Aššur and the city of Aššur are inseparable, as the deity is the personification of the rocky crag that towers high above a bend of the river Tigris.\" 1. KingAssur’s representative on Earth and the highest priest. 2. High Priests 3. Other priestsPriests and astrologers. Priests and diviners. Sacrifices. Sheep livers examined for omens."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q168518":{"seshat":["Uruk"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":20000,"to":38540,"year_from":-4000,"year_to":-3501,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Adams proposed estimations for northern and southern enclaves. The southern enclaves had 20,110 inhabitants and the northern enclave had 38,540 people in Early-Middle Uruk Period. The northern enclave had 21,300 people and southern enclave had 41,020 people in the Late Uruk period The available data concerns also the Susiana Plain. The population of whole Uruk polities is unknown. Early Uruk Period: 6,290-12,580 people; Middle Uruk: 8,860-17,520; Late Uruk Period: 4,560-9,120 people."},{"from":21300,"to":41000,"year_from":-3500,"year_to":-3000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Adams proposed estimations for northern and southern enclaves. The southern enclaves had 20,110 inhabitants and the northern enclave had 38,540 people in Early-Middle Uruk Period. The northern enclave had 21,300 people and southern enclave had 41,020 people in the Late Uruk period The available data concerns also the Susiana Plain. The population of whole Uruk polities is unknown. Early Uruk Period: 6,290-12,580 people; Middle Uruk: 8,860-17,520; Late Uruk Period: 4,560-9,120 people."}],"territory":[{"from":2000,"to":2100,"year_from":-4000,"year_to":-3501,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometres. Adams discerned two settlement areas: northern and southern. In the Early Uruk period, the southern area had 2010 km2, and the northern area had 2087 km2. In the Late Uruk Period: southern enclave: 2231 km2 and the northern area: 1619 km2."},{"from":1600,"to":2200,"year_from":-3500,"year_to":-3000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometres. Adams discerned two settlement areas: northern and southern. In the Early Uruk period, the southern area had 2010 km2, and the northern area had 2087 km2. In the Late Uruk Period: southern enclave: 2231 km2 and the northern area: 1619 km2."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":7000,"to":20000,"year_from":-4000,"year_to":-3501,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"By the Early Uruk period {4000-3500}, Uruk (Warka, Erech, Unu)2 encompassed 70 hectares, two other cities were 50 hectares, and a final two 30 hectares each (M. = CAM 58-9). The population in these cities might have ranged fi.-om 7000 to 20,000.\""},{"from":40000,"to":50000,"year_from":-3500,"year_to":-3000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"By the Early Uruk period {4000-3500}, Uruk (Warka, Erech, Unu)2 encompassed 70 hectares, two other cities were 50 hectares, and a final two 30 hectares each (M. = CAM 58-9). The population in these cities might have ranged fi.-om 7000 to 20,000.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. cities (1), towns (2), villages (3), hamlets (4) ; The biggest cities had between 40 to even 100 ha in extent in the Early Uruk Period, towns reached size of 10 ha. The huge agglomarations had even more than 100 ha (Uruk - 250 ha), big towns had - 50 ha, smaller towns - 25 ha, but there are known also smaller towns, ar. 15 ha."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Monetary system did not exist in the Uruk polity."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Monetary system did not exist in the Uruk polity."}]}},"Q389688":{"seshat":["Achaemenid Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":20000000,"to":26000000,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"20-26 million at peak 6.2m km2. 15.5 million. 4 million \"in Persia proper.\" Table of modern estimates of the population of the Achaemenid Empire from Wiesehofer (2009). Low EstimatesEgypt 3.5mNear East (without Arabia) 12.0mCentral Asia and India 1.5mTotal 17.0m High EstimatesTotal 30-35m"},{"from":17000000,"to":35000000,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"20-26 million at peak 6.2m km2. 15.5 million. 4 million \"in Persia proper.\" Table of modern estimates of the population of the Achaemenid Empire from Wiesehofer (2009). Low EstimatesEgypt 3.5mNear East (without Arabia) 12.0mCentral Asia and India 1.5mTotal 17.0m High EstimatesTotal 30-35m"}],"territory":[{"from":2500000,"to":4100000,"year_from":-539,"year_to":-501,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Square kilometers. 2,500,000: 550 BCE; 4,100,000: 525 BCE; 5,500,000: 500 BCE; 4,800,000: 450 BCE; 3,800,000: 400 BCE; 4,325,000: 350 BCE Egypt independent from empire between 403 - 343 BCE. At peak 6.2m km2."},{"from":4800000,"to":5500000,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-451,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Square kilometers. 2,500,000: 550 BCE; 4,100,000: 525 BCE; 5,500,000: 500 BCE; 4,800,000: 450 BCE; 3,800,000: 400 BCE; 4,325,000: 350 BCE Egypt independent from empire between 403 - 343 BCE. At peak 6.2m km2."},{"from":3800000,"to":4325000,"year_from":-450,"year_to":-331,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Square kilometers. 2,500,000: 550 BCE; 4,100,000: 525 BCE; 5,500,000: 500 BCE; 4,800,000: 450 BCE; 3,800,000: 400 BCE; 4,325,000: 350 BCE Egypt independent from empire between 403 - 343 BCE. At peak 6.2m km2."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":200000,"to":200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Babylon. Persepolis 50,000 430 BCE Susa 70,000 430 BCE Babylon 200,000 430 BCE"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Susa was the administrative capital. Persepolis was the ceremonial and religious center. Ecbatanna were commercial, strategic and provincial centers. 1. Capital City. 2. Satrap capital.3. Provincial capital.4. Town.5. Village6. Hamlet"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King of Kings Hereditary kings who ruled from a royal court within a feudal Iranian milieu. Darius I was a slight exception as he was an Achaemenid who was elected by members of the Persian elite. Dual kingship (father and son) possibly existed from Darius I to Artaxerxes II. King of kings. \"However, unlike previous Near Eastern dynasties, they did not claim divine descent or nature.\" King ruled law by decree but 'bound by tradition to respect the views of elders and consult great nobles on important occasions; he had to marry from the great noble's families; he could not pass arbitrary judgement; and there was alway sthe fear of assassination if he went too far in autocracy.\" _Central government line_ Designed according to a Babylonian template. Presumably via Elamties? Persians 'learned a good deal of Elamite culture, especially in administration and arts.\" 2. Head of administration Steward of the House\"during Darius I's reign, Parnaka, the king's uncle, headed the administration, supported by a core of assistants ... and a battalion of lower administrators and scribes Steward of the House was viceroy of the empire. The very centre of the bureaucracy was the royal palace and an efficient chancellery. 3. Core of Assistants 4. Scribes 4. Lower administrators 5. Scribes _Provincial government_ 2. Satrap (or king)\"As long as the subject nations obeyed the central authority and paid their taxes, they were free to follow their own laws and religious traditions, continue their artistic norms, retain their own languages, write in their own script, and maintain their own social system. In some cases, even local dynasties were left undisturbed and native kings retained their hereditary rights to kingship. Hence, the Persian king was called 'the Great King' or 'the King of Kings'.\" Twenty taxation districts called satrapies that had a civilian governor, assisted by military commander and treasurer. These individuals were \"inspected by the most trusted envoys of the sovereign (called the 'King's ears and eyes'), who had full authority to reward meritorius deeds and punish unlawful ones.\" Governor of a satrapy. Had an indefinite period of term. All the satrapies - except the Persians who were governed by the king directly - were responsible to the king's command and had to pay him tribute. Before Darius the empire had been split into satrapies by Cyrus II but government was mostly at a local level according to local traditions. Darius, who expanded the empire to its peak territorial extent, implemented a more centralized organization. 525-404 BCE \"Egypt became a Persian satrapy, along with Libya, Cyrene and Barca (Herodotus 3.91), and was governed by a satrap in Memphis, who had to ensure the payment of tribute to the royal treasury. Satraps appointed by king. The 'Medizing' Greek Themistocles left Greece after Greek-Persian war c479 BCE to become a Persian satrap. 3. Satrap's court 3. Provincial sub-satrapsSatrapies were themselves divided into provinces which paid a tribute tax to the satraps. 4. Local districts. 5. Village headmen. \"Prior to the Parthians, political systems in Southwest Asia were for the most part relatively loose confederations in which central government ruled their 'empires' through unstable alliances with vassals and satraps. Even Hammurabi, Darius, and Alexander were only temporarily successful in linking their centralized governments to local administrative institutions, particularly outside of the core areas of Greater Mesopotamia.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Decimal system. 1. King 2. General3. myriad (10 hazaraba)4. hazaraba (1000 men)5. sataba (100 men)6. dathaba (10 men)7. Individual soldier Supreme Commander of the spāda. Baivarapati of the Corps. Hazārapati of the division. θatapati of the battalion. Daθapati of the company. Top position in the army was the commander of the royal guards, the hazārapati or chiliarch. Reputed to be second in power only to the king, this position may have functioned as a prime minister but little evidence supports this idea. In Egypt \"Garrison commanders were usually Persian, but the garrison commander of the Hermopolite nome during the fifteenth year of Darius' reign was Egyptian.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Achaemenid king \"However, unlike previous Near Eastern dynasties, they did not claim divine descent or nature.\" Achaemenid kings claimed a divine right to rule as the representative of the supreme god Ahura Mazdā on earth - a cultural link to the Mesopotamian peoples. When the empire expanded the Achaemenid kings assumed the pre-eminent position at the top of the religious hierarchy in conquered lands. In Egypt he became \"son of the god Atum.\" 2. Mobats (upper magi) does this term encompass multiple levels? 3. Herbats (lower magi) does this term encompass multiple levels? \"Alexander is cited by Zoroastrian tradition as having \"killed the magi ... many teachers, lawyers, Herbats [the lower magi], Mobats [the upper magi]. Much of the literature of Persia, notably works of learning and Zoroastrian texts, simply perished during the Alexandrian conquests.\" \"Darius supproted alien faiths and temples 'as long as those who held them are submissive and peaceable.\" Persepolis was a palatial city and the ritual centre of the empire. However, priests of the temples performed the coronation ritual in Parsargadae, in which the new king had to wear the old clothes of Cyrus the Great. Numerous religions. State contributed to building of temples. Cyrus II left native religious and political institutions intact."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"At its peak the permanent bureaucracy employed 3 million, and many millions on contract. Including contractual functionaries, mercenaries and services that were obliged of conquered people estimate for workers in the bureaucracy would be 6-8 million."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to one military historian (data needs to be checked by an expert for this polity) \"The Assyrian army as well as the Persians always retained a large corps of loyal professionals as the centerpiece of their military establishments and ensured that loyal professionals remained in control of key logistics and supply functions of the various national units under imperial command.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":-550,"year_to":-516,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Daric. Darius I was probably the first Achaemenid king to mint coins. Created a single currency monetary system. Standard coin was the gold Daric which was maintained at 97% purity. 3,000 darics made one talent. Silver coins were called shekels and were at least 90% pure. Twenty shekels to one daric, for a 40:3 silver-gold ratio. The currency system was maintained from 515 BCE until 330 BCE. The reluctance of the Persian kings to release their treasure to be minted hampered the empire's economy. Royal coinage encouraged trade. Before Darius trade was in barter or Lydian gold coins. Satraps could coin money but only King of Kings could coin in gold. Coin potraits first appeared in Persia."},{"value":"present","year_from":-515,"year_to":-331,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Daric. Darius I was probably the first Achaemenid king to mint coins. Created a single currency monetary system. Standard coin was the gold Daric which was maintained at 97% purity. 3,000 darics made one talent. Silver coins were called shekels and were at least 90% pure. Twenty shekels to one daric, for a 40:3 silver-gold ratio. The currency system was maintained from 515 BCE until 330 BCE. The reluctance of the Persian kings to release their treasure to be minted hampered the empire's economy. Royal coinage encouraged trade. Before Darius trade was in barter or Lydian gold coins. Satraps could coin money but only King of Kings could coin in gold. Coin potraits first appeared in Persia."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Royal coinage encouraged trade. Before Darius trade in barter or Lydian gold coins."}]}},"Q189326":{"seshat":["Qajar Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":6000000,"to":10000000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. The population of Iran was between six and ten million during the nineteenth century. It was composed mainly of peasants, but between a quarter and a third of the people were tribal, and roughly 10-20 per cent lived in cities.\""}],"territory":[{"from":2000000,"to":2000000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers By 1900 CE polity had assumed modern Iranian borders i.e. about 1,600,000 km2. I'd estimate using an area calculator that the polity had lost about 137,979 km2 on its north western border and 201,813 km2 on its north eastern border since 1800 CE."},{"from":1600000,"to":1600000,"year_from":1900,"year_to":1900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers By 1900 CE polity had assumed modern Iranian borders i.e. about 1,600,000 km2. I'd estimate using an area calculator that the polity had lost about 137,979 km2 on its north western border and 201,813 km2 on its north eastern border since 1800 CE."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":70000,"to":110000,"year_from":1850,"year_to":1850,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Tehran in 1796 CE probably had a population under 15,000, and included 3,000 soldiers - so probably not the largest city at this time. By 1808 CE Tehran's wintertime population reached 50,000. In 1861 CE Tehran's population was 80,000 in summer and 120,000 in winter. Tehran: \"A recent study has supplied more reliable numbers: 106,482 in 1883; 160,000 in 1891; 210,000 in 1922; and 310,000 in 1932.\""},{"from":160000,"to":210000,"year_from":1900,"year_to":1900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Tehran in 1796 CE probably had a population under 15,000, and included 3,000 soldiers - so probably not the largest city at this time. By 1808 CE Tehran's wintertime population reached 50,000. In 1861 CE Tehran's population was 80,000 in summer and 120,000 in winter. Tehran: \"A recent study has supplied more reliable numbers: 106,482 in 1883; 160,000 in 1891; 210,000 in 1922; and 310,000 in 1932.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2. Other large cities3. Towns4. Villages5."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Shah _Central government_ 2. First Minister _Town/City government_ 2. Kalantar (mayor)3. Darugha (police official)4. 3. Headman of city quarter 2. Provincial Governor \"In a country where communications were weak, and bureaucracy minimal, power was also devolved, and the shah depended on the cooperation of many tribal, ethnic, religious, local, bureaucratic and commercial figures and groups. In particular, power was devolved to the provincial governors, appointed from outside the province but usually with some local connections and knowledge. More often than not, as the century progressed, the governors were also members of the Qajar ruling family. Like the shah their preoccupation was with law and order, in addition to which they raised taxes, both for the centre and for local needs. ... Another attribute of the local governors was that they had their own militia, with which they were supposed to crush opposition and lawlessness in the provinces. ... the shah had only a small military force, as little as a few thousand ... this force was also irregularly clothed, paid and armed.\" \"the Shahs of Iran were able to get away with arbitrary power over life and death because there was no well-defined aristocracy in Iran comparable in composition and function to that of Europe. This lack of hereditary aristocracy allowed for no other power bases, vesting totally unrestrained power in the Shah. The land-owning elite often changed when the king changed. The property of no-one was secure and could be taken away at the Shah's pleasure. Ministers and government officials were the personal servants of the Shah, the populace his serfs.\" The government had a First Minister. \"By 1903 there was a full-grown movement asking for political reform. What had started in Europe with the French Revolution ... had finally come to the East. In 1905 the Czar had been forced to grant sweeping concessions and a Consultative Assembly had been established. .... By late 1904 the demand for a House of Justice had grown to a demand for a proper parliament modeled on the British House of Commons. In 1906 there were mass demonstrations. The Shah, who up to then had resorted to repressive measures, had to give in. On his birthday, 5 August 1906, he granted a form of constitution and permitted the convention of a constituent assembly which promptly met to draft an electoral law. In October 1906 the assembly had drafted and passed a constitution which was ratified by the Shah. The supplement, i.e. an Iranian version of a Bill of Rights, was enacted later in October 1907.\" Gendamerie created in 1911 CE. Organized by Swedish government. 200 officers and 7000 men by 1914 CE. \"Each town or city had a mayor (kalantar) who was a local man of standing selected by the state in a process of consultation with leading members of the community, whose acquiescence was vital if he was to succeed in his duties.\" The city/town mayor (kalantar) \"also supervised the management of the city quarters under local headmen (kadkhudas) whom he appointed. One of this principal duties was the allocation of taxes amongst city quarters\". The city/town mayor (kalantar) was responsible for law enforcement through his police official (darugha)."}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Shah 2.3. 2. Local governor 3.4. \"Iran had not had a national military force since the days of Naser al Din Shah. In 1878, on his second trip abroad, Naser al Din Shah had seen a parade by Cossack soldiers in Russia. Greatly impressed, he asked the Czar whether a similar force could be established in Iran. in 1879 under a 40-year agreement the Russians established a Cossack Brigaded manned by Iranians and commanded by Russian officiers. The brigade thereafter was always a tool of Russian imperialist designs and Persian autocracy, serving primarily as a bodyguard for the Shah.\" Another attribute of the local governors was that they had their own militia, with which they were supposed to crush opposition and lawlessness in the provinces. ... the shah had only a small military force, as little as a few thousand ... this force was also irregularly clothed, paid and armed.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The government had a First Minister. \"Amir Kabir was probably the ablest Iranian public servant of the nineteenth century.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Aqa Mohammad Khan was assassinated by one of his military commanders in 1797\"."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Present."}]}},"Q62389":{"seshat":["Icelandic Commonwealth"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":5000,"to":20000,"year_from":930,"year_to":930,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Hard demographic data are extremely difficult to find. Most scholars estimate the population around 930 CE between 5.000 and 20.000, with 10.000 as the consensus figure. The population in 1262 CE is estimated to be between 50.000 and 60.000. Population estimates are usually based on data on tax paying farmers. These data allow us to establish a minimum population. Around 1100 CE there were approximately 4500 tax-paying farmers and this number is usually multiplied by seven (the number of persons per household) to arrive at the estimate for the overall population.' Estimates given in the literature vary: 'Historical sources set the beginning of Norse settlement in Iceland at approximately 870 A.D., a date that is generally collaborated by the archaeological evidence. There was no prior inhabitation with the exception of a few Irish monks who may have periodically visited the island beginning in the eighth century. The relative proportion of Norse (primarily Norwegian) and Celtic (from the northern British Isles) contributions to the original Icelandic population has been debated. Recent DNA analyses of the modern population indicate that the relative contributions are dramatically skewed by gender with the majority of females deriving from Celtic origins whereas the males appear to have been predominately Norse. Estimates of total population based on a survey of independent farmers conducted around the year 1100 indicate roughly 60,000 - 70,000 individuals.' 'According to the Statistical Abstract of Iceland (1984:64-69), in 1900, before land reclamation began, there were 98,398 hectares of pasture land (homefields, not common pasture lands) in Iceland. Tomasson (1980:60) cites evidence that the area of vegetation in Iceland has decreased by half since the period of settlement. The point is that there may have been as much as about a hundred thousand hectares of land suitable for homefield pastures, [Page 253] sufficient to support a hundred thousand individuals as members of independent households, according to Commonwealth criteria. Whatever their bases for calculation, only one population estimate exceeds 100,000 and most are much lower for the entire period (Tomasson 1980:58). There must have been sufficient land for the population. Any shortage of land was due to social, not ecological factors. In addition to animal husbandry, the rich resources of fish, marine mammals, and birds have been of economic importance from the time of settlement to the present.' But generally, low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns are assumed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).'"},{"from":30000,"to":30000,"year_from":1100,"year_to":1100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Hard demographic data are extremely difficult to find. Most scholars estimate the population around 930 CE between 5.000 and 20.000, with 10.000 as the consensus figure. The population in 1262 CE is estimated to be between 50.000 and 60.000. Population estimates are usually based on data on tax paying farmers. These data allow us to establish a minimum population. Around 1100 CE there were approximately 4500 tax-paying farmers and this number is usually multiplied by seven (the number of persons per household) to arrive at the estimate for the overall population.' Estimates given in the literature vary: 'Historical sources set the beginning of Norse settlement in Iceland at approximately 870 A.D., a date that is generally collaborated by the archaeological evidence. There was no prior inhabitation with the exception of a few Irish monks who may have periodically visited the island beginning in the eighth century. The relative proportion of Norse (primarily Norwegian) and Celtic (from the northern British Isles) contributions to the original Icelandic population has been debated. Recent DNA analyses of the modern population indicate that the relative contributions are dramatically skewed by gender with the majority of females deriving from Celtic origins whereas the males appear to have been predominately Norse. Estimates of total population based on a survey of independent farmers conducted around the year 1100 indicate roughly 60,000 - 70,000 individuals.' 'According to the Statistical Abstract of Iceland (1984:64-69), in 1900, before land reclamation began, there were 98,398 hectares of pasture land (homefields, not common pasture lands) in Iceland. Tomasson (1980:60) cites evidence that the area of vegetation in Iceland has decreased by half since the period of settlement. The point is that there may have been as much as about a hundred thousand hectares of land suitable for homefield pastures, [Page 253] sufficient to support a hundred thousand individuals as members of independent households, according to Commonwealth criteria. Whatever their bases for calculation, only one population estimate exceeds 100,000 and most are much lower for the entire period (Tomasson 1980:58). There must have been sufficient land for the population. Any shortage of land was due to social, not ecological factors. In addition to animal husbandry, the rich resources of fish, marine mammals, and birds have been of economic importance from the time of settlement to the present.' But generally, low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns are assumed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).'"},{"from":30000,"to":50000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Hard demographic data are extremely difficult to find. Most scholars estimate the population around 930 CE between 5.000 and 20.000, with 10.000 as the consensus figure. The population in 1262 CE is estimated to be between 50.000 and 60.000. Population estimates are usually based on data on tax paying farmers. These data allow us to establish a minimum population. Around 1100 CE there were approximately 4500 tax-paying farmers and this number is usually multiplied by seven (the number of persons per household) to arrive at the estimate for the overall population.' Estimates given in the literature vary: 'Historical sources set the beginning of Norse settlement in Iceland at approximately 870 A.D., a date that is generally collaborated by the archaeological evidence. There was no prior inhabitation with the exception of a few Irish monks who may have periodically visited the island beginning in the eighth century. The relative proportion of Norse (primarily Norwegian) and Celtic (from the northern British Isles) contributions to the original Icelandic population has been debated. Recent DNA analyses of the modern population indicate that the relative contributions are dramatically skewed by gender with the majority of females deriving from Celtic origins whereas the males appear to have been predominately Norse. Estimates of total population based on a survey of independent farmers conducted around the year 1100 indicate roughly 60,000 - 70,000 individuals.' 'According to the Statistical Abstract of Iceland (1984:64-69), in 1900, before land reclamation began, there were 98,398 hectares of pasture land (homefields, not common pasture lands) in Iceland. Tomasson (1980:60) cites evidence that the area of vegetation in Iceland has decreased by half since the period of settlement. The point is that there may have been as much as about a hundred thousand hectares of land suitable for homefield pastures, [Page 253] sufficient to support a hundred thousand individuals as members of independent households, according to Commonwealth criteria. Whatever their bases for calculation, only one population estimate exceeds 100,000 and most are much lower for the entire period (Tomasson 1980:58). There must have been sufficient land for the population. Any shortage of land was due to social, not ecological factors. In addition to animal husbandry, the rich resources of fish, marine mammals, and birds have been of economic importance from the time of settlement to the present.' But generally, low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns are assumed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).'"},{"from":50000,"to":60000,"year_from":1262,"year_to":1262,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Hard demographic data are extremely difficult to find. Most scholars estimate the population around 930 CE between 5.000 and 20.000, with 10.000 as the consensus figure. The population in 1262 CE is estimated to be between 50.000 and 60.000. Population estimates are usually based on data on tax paying farmers. These data allow us to establish a minimum population. Around 1100 CE there were approximately 4500 tax-paying farmers and this number is usually multiplied by seven (the number of persons per household) to arrive at the estimate for the overall population.' Estimates given in the literature vary: 'Historical sources set the beginning of Norse settlement in Iceland at approximately 870 A.D., a date that is generally collaborated by the archaeological evidence. There was no prior inhabitation with the exception of a few Irish monks who may have periodically visited the island beginning in the eighth century. The relative proportion of Norse (primarily Norwegian) and Celtic (from the northern British Isles) contributions to the original Icelandic population has been debated. Recent DNA analyses of the modern population indicate that the relative contributions are dramatically skewed by gender with the majority of females deriving from Celtic origins whereas the males appear to have been predominately Norse. Estimates of total population based on a survey of independent farmers conducted around the year 1100 indicate roughly 60,000 - 70,000 individuals.' 'According to the Statistical Abstract of Iceland (1984:64-69), in 1900, before land reclamation began, there were 98,398 hectares of pasture land (homefields, not common pasture lands) in Iceland. Tomasson (1980:60) cites evidence that the area of vegetation in Iceland has decreased by half since the period of settlement. The point is that there may have been as much as about a hundred thousand hectares of land suitable for homefield pastures, [Page 253] sufficient to support a hundred thousand individuals as members of independent households, according to Commonwealth criteria. Whatever their bases for calculation, only one population estimate exceeds 100,000 and most are much lower for the entire period (Tomasson 1980:58). There must have been sufficient land for the population. Any shortage of land was due to social, not ecological factors. In addition to animal husbandry, the rich resources of fish, marine mammals, and birds have been of economic importance from the time of settlement to the present.' But generally, low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns are assumed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).'"}],"territory":[{"from":103000,"to":103000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 'Iceland is an island situated just to the south of the Polar Circle in the mid-North Atlantic Ocean. With a surface of 103,000 square kilometers (39,000 square miles), Iceland is similar in size to the state of Kentucky. It was formed around 20 million years ago through underwater volcanic eruptions at the place where the Midatlantic Ridge and a ridge extending from Scotland to Greenland cross. Compared to other parts of Europe, Iceland has a short geological history, and its formative process is still far from over. The eastern and western halves of the country are slowly drifting apart, with volcanic eruptions filling the fissures with fresh lava. Fire is not the only element that characterizes the Icelandic environment because, as the name of the country indicates, ice also is a dominant factor. There are four major glaciers in the country, including the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajökull, which is around 8,300 square kilometers (3,200 square miles) in size.' Given Iceland's status as a Commonwealth at the time, we have chosen to treat the natural boundaries of the island as coextensive with its political borders."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":200,"to":300,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'As there were no cities, this number is extremely low. An educated guess places the population of the villages where the two cathedrals were based between 200 and 300.' Most Icelanders lived in dispersed homesteads rather than settlements: 'Early Icelandic settlement was completely non-urban and almost entirely restricted to dispersed farmsteads, which occupied the coastal plains and more hospitable inland valleys. The earliest farmhouses were of the long-house type: a single large oblong building sometimes with a few side additions and some out structures. The long-houses were designed around a central isle with raised platforms running along the sides for domestic activities and sleeping. Interior space was divided by wood partitions. The houses were constructed of sod around a timber frame.' 'Initial land claims in Iceland were extensive and short-lived. Subsequent settlers and new generations rapidly divided the land into farmstead based properties. Control of a farmstead, through direct ownership or tenancy, was the basis of full membership within the society and was restricted to a small minority of individuals. Property was passed preferentially to male descendents. Once established, farmstead properties were extremely stable. Farms occupied at the time of settlement are still in use today and some survived periods of household abandonment to be reoccupied. Upland pastures were held in common by local communities (HREPPUR), which jointly managed their access and use. Farms also laid claim to special resources even when they were not on farmstead lands such as forests, turf and peat cutting areas, and drift rights on beaches.' Generally, low population densities and dispersed settlement patterns are assumed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).'"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":930,"year_to":1050,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels (3) Bishoprics and Elite Residences; (2) Manor Farms; (1) Homesteads of Farming Families 'There was no capital. The only distinction was between average sized farms on the one hand and big farms or manors in which the local elites resided. These manors were approximately four to five times the size of a normal farm. Three levels is probably correct for the late Commonwealth: 1) private homesteads, 2) aristocratic manor-farms, 3) Bishoprics and perhaps the residencies of the greatest territorial lords. However, this only holds true for the late Commonwealth (ca. 1175/1200-1262). Before that there were only two levels and in the early period (until ca. 1050) there may have been just one as manor-farms (höfuðból) probably only started to emerge in the 11th century. Approximate population of each level: 1) 5-10, 2) 20-40, 3) 100-300.' Most Icelanders lived in dispersed homesteads as agro-pastoralists: 'Early Icelandic settlement was completely non-urban and almost entirely restricted to dispersed farmsteads, which occupied the coastal plains and more hospitable inland valleys. The earliest farmhouses were of the long-house type: a single large oblong building sometimes with a few side additions and some out structures. The long-houses were designed around a central isle with raised platforms running along the sides for domestic activities and sleeping. Interior space was divided by wood partitions. The houses were constructed of sod around a timber frame.' 'Initial land claims in Iceland were extensive and short-lived. Subsequent settlers and new generations rapidly divided the land into farmstead based properties. Control of a farmstead, through direct ownership or tenancy, was the basis of full membership within the society and was restricted to a small minority of individuals. Property was passed preferentially to male descendents. Once established, farmstead properties were extremely stable. Farms occupied at the time of settlement are still in use today and some survived periods of household abandonment to be reoccupied. Upland pastures were held in common by local communities (HREPPUR), which jointly managed their access and use. Farms also laid claim to special resources even when they were not on farmstead lands such as forests, turf and peat cutting areas, and drift rights on beaches.' The farming household was the primary social and economic unit of Commonwealth-Era Iceland: 'The principal unit of social organization was the household. Those with rights to property, the farmer and his (or her) family, headed households. Large households incorporated a range of dependent labor: wage laborers, servants, and slaves. As an institution, slavery declined in the twelfth century and had probably disappeared sometime in the thirteenth century; however, social distinctions were maintained between self-sufficient farmers (either land-owners or renters) and the majority of the population who served as household labor. The main cooperative unit outside of the household was the commune (HREPPUR). The commune was a territorial unit including many households (20 or more). The commune's main functions were management of summer grazing lands, the cooperative round up of animals in the fall, and care for paupers who had no other household support. They also provided some insurance to households against fire or the loss of livestock.' The settlement pattern was dispersed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).' Homesteads belonged to assembly districts: 'About 960 this system was changed. The country was divided into four quarters, Each quarter, except the Northern, had three assembly-districts, each with three chieftains. The Northern quarter had four assembly districts. Now people had to select a chieftain from within their own quarter, and an assembly site was named for each district. Cases had to be heard in the disputants' assembly, or if they were from different assembly-districts, in the quarter court at the meeting of the Alþing. Unanimity was required for judgements. Cases that could not be resolved in quarter courts were referred to a fifth-court (established about 1004) where a simple majority of judges could decide a case. By 1117, when the laws were written in Grágás, not all local assemblies were functioning. Some had been consolidated into others (Jóhannesson 1974:238).' Chieftains and other leaders relied on additional household labour, leading to substantially larger homesteads among elites: 'Although I would prefer to flout the conventional wisdom that slavery had all but died out by the eleventh century (Karras 1988a), the household laborers that replaced them in the Commonwealth period were numerous. When Þórðr kakali returns to Iceland Kolbeinn ungi immediately sends out thirty húsmenn to look for him in Eyjafjörðr. Þorsteinn Cod-biter had sixty free men in his household (Eyrbyggja saga, ÍF 4, ch. 11); Guðmundr the Mighty had one hundred (Brennu-Njáls saga, ÍF 12, ch. 113); Sörla þáttr (Ljósvetninga saga), ÍF 10, ch. 1:109); Bishop Páll's household at Skálholt (ca 1200) had seventy to eighty residents, and a household with eighty has been discussed above. It is probably not unfair to say that by the Commonwealth period the majority of the wealth of great bœndur and goðar was the product of teams of house-men and women.'"},{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":1051,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels (3) Bishoprics and Elite Residences; (2) Manor Farms; (1) Homesteads of Farming Families 'There was no capital. The only distinction was between average sized farms on the one hand and big farms or manors in which the local elites resided. These manors were approximately four to five times the size of a normal farm. Three levels is probably correct for the late Commonwealth: 1) private homesteads, 2) aristocratic manor-farms, 3) Bishoprics and perhaps the residencies of the greatest territorial lords. However, this only holds true for the late Commonwealth (ca. 1175/1200-1262). Before that there were only two levels and in the early period (until ca. 1050) there may have been just one as manor-farms (höfuðból) probably only started to emerge in the 11th century. Approximate population of each level: 1) 5-10, 2) 20-40, 3) 100-300.' Most Icelanders lived in dispersed homesteads as agro-pastoralists: 'Early Icelandic settlement was completely non-urban and almost entirely restricted to dispersed farmsteads, which occupied the coastal plains and more hospitable inland valleys. The earliest farmhouses were of the long-house type: a single large oblong building sometimes with a few side additions and some out structures. The long-houses were designed around a central isle with raised platforms running along the sides for domestic activities and sleeping. Interior space was divided by wood partitions. The houses were constructed of sod around a timber frame.' 'Initial land claims in Iceland were extensive and short-lived. Subsequent settlers and new generations rapidly divided the land into farmstead based properties. Control of a farmstead, through direct ownership or tenancy, was the basis of full membership within the society and was restricted to a small minority of individuals. Property was passed preferentially to male descendents. Once established, farmstead properties were extremely stable. Farms occupied at the time of settlement are still in use today and some survived periods of household abandonment to be reoccupied. Upland pastures were held in common by local communities (HREPPUR), which jointly managed their access and use. Farms also laid claim to special resources even when they were not on farmstead lands such as forests, turf and peat cutting areas, and drift rights on beaches.' The farming household was the primary social and economic unit of Commonwealth-Era Iceland: 'The principal unit of social organization was the household. Those with rights to property, the farmer and his (or her) family, headed households. Large households incorporated a range of dependent labor: wage laborers, servants, and slaves. As an institution, slavery declined in the twelfth century and had probably disappeared sometime in the thirteenth century; however, social distinctions were maintained between self-sufficient farmers (either land-owners or renters) and the majority of the population who served as household labor. The main cooperative unit outside of the household was the commune (HREPPUR). The commune was a territorial unit including many households (20 or more). The commune's main functions were management of summer grazing lands, the cooperative round up of animals in the fall, and care for paupers who had no other household support. They also provided some insurance to households against fire or the loss of livestock.' The settlement pattern was dispersed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).' Homesteads belonged to assembly districts: 'About 960 this system was changed. The country was divided into four quarters, Each quarter, except the Northern, had three assembly-districts, each with three chieftains. The Northern quarter had four assembly districts. Now people had to select a chieftain from within their own quarter, and an assembly site was named for each district. Cases had to be heard in the disputants' assembly, or if they were from different assembly-districts, in the quarter court at the meeting of the Alþing. Unanimity was required for judgements. Cases that could not be resolved in quarter courts were referred to a fifth-court (established about 1004) where a simple majority of judges could decide a case. By 1117, when the laws were written in Grágás, not all local assemblies were functioning. Some had been consolidated into others (Jóhannesson 1974:238).' Chieftains and other leaders relied on additional household labour, leading to substantially larger homesteads among elites: 'Although I would prefer to flout the conventional wisdom that slavery had all but died out by the eleventh century (Karras 1988a), the household laborers that replaced them in the Commonwealth period were numerous. When Þórðr kakali returns to Iceland Kolbeinn ungi immediately sends out thirty húsmenn to look for him in Eyjafjörðr. Þorsteinn Cod-biter had sixty free men in his household (Eyrbyggja saga, ÍF 4, ch. 11); Guðmundr the Mighty had one hundred (Brennu-Njáls saga, ÍF 12, ch. 113); Sörla þáttr (Ljósvetninga saga), ÍF 10, ch. 1:109); Bishop Páll's household at Skálholt (ca 1200) had seventy to eighty residents, and a household with eighty has been discussed above. It is probably not unfair to say that by the Commonwealth period the majority of the wealth of great bœndur and goðar was the product of teams of house-men and women.'"},{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":1201,"year_to":1262,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels (3) Bishoprics and Elite Residences; (2) Manor Farms; (1) Homesteads of Farming Families 'There was no capital. The only distinction was between average sized farms on the one hand and big farms or manors in which the local elites resided. These manors were approximately four to five times the size of a normal farm. Three levels is probably correct for the late Commonwealth: 1) private homesteads, 2) aristocratic manor-farms, 3) Bishoprics and perhaps the residencies of the greatest territorial lords. However, this only holds true for the late Commonwealth (ca. 1175/1200-1262). Before that there were only two levels and in the early period (until ca. 1050) there may have been just one as manor-farms (höfuðból) probably only started to emerge in the 11th century. Approximate population of each level: 1) 5-10, 2) 20-40, 3) 100-300.' Most Icelanders lived in dispersed homesteads as agro-pastoralists: 'Early Icelandic settlement was completely non-urban and almost entirely restricted to dispersed farmsteads, which occupied the coastal plains and more hospitable inland valleys. The earliest farmhouses were of the long-house type: a single large oblong building sometimes with a few side additions and some out structures. The long-houses were designed around a central isle with raised platforms running along the sides for domestic activities and sleeping. Interior space was divided by wood partitions. The houses were constructed of sod around a timber frame.' 'Initial land claims in Iceland were extensive and short-lived. Subsequent settlers and new generations rapidly divided the land into farmstead based properties. Control of a farmstead, through direct ownership or tenancy, was the basis of full membership within the society and was restricted to a small minority of individuals. Property was passed preferentially to male descendents. Once established, farmstead properties were extremely stable. Farms occupied at the time of settlement are still in use today and some survived periods of household abandonment to be reoccupied. Upland pastures were held in common by local communities (HREPPUR), which jointly managed their access and use. Farms also laid claim to special resources even when they were not on farmstead lands such as forests, turf and peat cutting areas, and drift rights on beaches.' The farming household was the primary social and economic unit of Commonwealth-Era Iceland: 'The principal unit of social organization was the household. Those with rights to property, the farmer and his (or her) family, headed households. Large households incorporated a range of dependent labor: wage laborers, servants, and slaves. As an institution, slavery declined in the twelfth century and had probably disappeared sometime in the thirteenth century; however, social distinctions were maintained between self-sufficient farmers (either land-owners or renters) and the majority of the population who served as household labor. The main cooperative unit outside of the household was the commune (HREPPUR). The commune was a territorial unit including many households (20 or more). The commune's main functions were management of summer grazing lands, the cooperative round up of animals in the fall, and care for paupers who had no other household support. They also provided some insurance to households against fire or the loss of livestock.' The settlement pattern was dispersed: 'Because agriculture was the chief economic activity, the population of Iceland was evenly distributed throughout the inhabitable parts of the country until the end of the 19th century.' 'The requirements of livestock herding insured that Icelandic land-use was characterized by low population densities, a dispersed settlement pattern, and large farmsteads. Within such farmsteads land was divided into spatial units reflecting different levels of management associated with homefields, hay-producing areas, and outer pastures. Outbuildings associated with the seasonal components of Icelandic transhumant pastoralism were scattered throughout these various land-use areas and in the upland heaths surrounding zones of intensive occupation (Bredahl-Petersen 1967; Hastrup 1985).' Homesteads belonged to assembly districts: 'About 960 this system was changed. The country was divided into four quarters, Each quarter, except the Northern, had three assembly-districts, each with three chieftains. The Northern quarter had four assembly districts. Now people had to select a chieftain from within their own quarter, and an assembly site was named for each district. Cases had to be heard in the disputants' assembly, or if they were from different assembly-districts, in the quarter court at the meeting of the Alþing. Unanimity was required for judgements. Cases that could not be resolved in quarter courts were referred to a fifth-court (established about 1004) where a simple majority of judges could decide a case. By 1117, when the laws were written in Grágás, not all local assemblies were functioning. Some had been consolidated into others (Jóhannesson 1974:238).' Chieftains and other leaders relied on additional household labour, leading to substantially larger homesteads among elites: 'Although I would prefer to flout the conventional wisdom that slavery had all but died out by the eleventh century (Karras 1988a), the household laborers that replaced them in the Commonwealth period were numerous. When Þórðr kakali returns to Iceland Kolbeinn ungi immediately sends out thirty húsmenn to look for him in Eyjafjörðr. Þorsteinn Cod-biter had sixty free men in his household (Eyrbyggja saga, ÍF 4, ch. 11); Guðmundr the Mighty had one hundred (Brennu-Njáls saga, ÍF 12, ch. 113); Sörla þáttr (Ljósvetninga saga), ÍF 10, ch. 1:109); Bishop Páll's household at Skálholt (ca 1200) had seventy to eighty residents, and a household with eighty has been discussed above. It is probably not unfair to say that by the Commonwealth period the majority of the wealth of great bœndur and goðar was the product of teams of house-men and women.'"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (4) Commonwealth Assembly (Alþingi); (3) Local Assemblies (Þings) or Territorial Lordships; (2) Chieftains (Goðar) or Hreppar; (1) Free Farmers/Heads of Households 'As there was no state as such, it is difficult to identify proper administrative levels. The existence of parallel hierarchies complicates matters. The communes (hreppar) existed independently from the godords and, unlike them, were territorial units. Typically there would be one or two members of the gentry living on their manor-farms in each commune and they would often, even usually, have a sphere of influence albeit an informal one and not necessarily concurrent with the commune. However, there is a broad four-tier hierarchy which incorporates both formal and informal elements, although the levels were not the same throughout. We can summarize it like this: 930-1200: 1) Free Farmers 2) Goðar 3) Local assemblies 4) Alþingi. Note: The local assemblies may not have been formalized until around 960 but probably functioned in some sense even before that. 950/1050-1200 (concurrently with above): 1) Free Farmers 2) Hreppar 3) Local Assemblies 4) Alþingi. Note: We don’t know when the hreppar were established but it must have been in the 10th or 11th centuries. 1200-1262 1) Free Farmers 2) Hreppar 3) Territorial lordships 4) Alþingi. Note: The local assemblies were usually abolished with the emergence of territorial lordships that often covered approximately the same area.' The general assembly of chieftains was the highest political institution of the Commonwealth: 'At the time of Iceland’s settlement, Norse people worshiped gods whom they called æsir (singular áss), and this religion left behind an extensive mythology in Icelandic literature. Thor seems to have been the most popular of the pagan gods in Iceland, although Odin is thought to have been the highest in rank. It appears that heathen worship was organized around a distinct class of chieftains called godar (singular godi), of which there were about 40. In the absence of royal power in Iceland, the godar were to form the ruling class in the country. By the end of the settlement period, a general Icelandic assembly, called the Althing, had been established and was held at midsummer on a site that came to be called Thingvellir. This assembly consisted of a law council (lögrétta), in which the godar made and amended the laws, and a system of courts of justice, in which householders, nominated by the godar, acted on the panels of judges. At the local level, three godar usually held a joint assembly in late spring at which a local court operated, again with judges nominated by the godar. All farmers were legally obliged to belong to a chieftaincy (godord) but theoretically were free to change their allegiance from one godi to another; the godar were allotted a corresponding right to expel a follower. Some scholars have seen in this arrangement a resemblance to the franchise in modern societies. On the other hand, there was no central authority to ensure that the farmers would be able to exercise their right in a democratic way. No one was vested with executive power over the country as a whole. In any case, no trace of democratic practice reached farther down the social scale than to the heads of farming households; women and workers (free or enslaved) had no role in the political system.' The country was divided into quarters served by local assemblies: 'One of the peculiarities of early Iceland was the lack of formal state institutions. The legislature, extensive law code, and judicial system of local and higher courts left prosecution and the enforcement of settlements in the hands of individuals. From an early date, the country was divided into Quarters. Each quarter constituted a broad community with three assemblies (ÞINGS), with the exception of the Northern Quarter that had four, and a system of local courts. Once a year the General Assembly (ALÞINGI) met in the southwest of Iceland. Judicial cases that could not be resolved in local quarters were heard and the parliament (LÖGRÉTTA) convened. The parliament was the principal legislative institution and was responsible for the introduction and maintanence of law. It consisted of chieftains (GOÐAR) from the local quarters. After the conversion to Christianity, the two Icelandic bishops were each given a seat in the parliament. The institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was the main locus of political leadership in the country. Originally there were 36 but this number was later expanded. Chieftaincies themselves were a form of property and could be alienated and even divided among multiple individuals. In some cases, individuals asserted power beyond the scope of the political system and controlled multiple chieftaincies. All independent farmers had to be affiliated with a chieftain, although they could choose among any of the chieftains in their quarter and could switch allegiances if they did not feel that their needs were being met. Other than a seat on the parliament, chieftains had few rights beyond those of other independent farmers and few institutional means of dominating others. Chieftains derived much of their authority from their ability to broker support as advocates for their constituents in legal disputes or feuds.' Chieftains relied on the support of farmers and armed followers: 'Following the establishment of the Althing in 930, executive power at the regional level was vested in the goðar, whose possession of goðorð and common participation in the judicial and legislative branches of the general assembly defined them as chieftains. However, the chieftains were not linked hierarchically. After A.D. 965 Iceland was divided into thirteen assembly districts, each with three chieftainships and a district assembly site. The assembly districts were in turn grouped into four quarters. While goðar were tethered to particular districts by law, the political office of chieftainship, the goðorð, did not imply control over a defined territorial unit. It was instead a shifting nexus of personal, negotiated alliances between a chieftain and those bœndur who became his supporters or pingmenn through public oaths of allegiance.' Conflicts between rival chieftains were a major source of internal strife before the onset of Norwegian rule. During the Sturlung period, the godords became concentrated in the hands of a few powerful magnates: 'It may be tempting to regard the Icelandic Commonwealth as a permanent structure, for, after all, it seems to be sealed in the poorly-dated or undated ‘ethnographic present’ of the sagas. But any social system is necessarily a product of history, representing a particular moment in time. We know for sure that the Commonwealth underwent important changes before it eventually ‘collapsed.’ Not only was there important ecological and demographic change and, as a result, mounting pressure on land (Gelsinger 1981; McGovern et al. 1988), access to resources was increasingly determined by the political manoeuvres and battles of competing goðar. According to the near contemporary Sturlunga saga, the battles between contesting leaders involved an ever larger number of men-no less than two thousand fought in the biggest one, at Örlygsstaðir in year 1238. To increase the number of followers, each goði had to maximize his fund of power at the cost of competitors. Feasts and gifts, a measure of the generosity of the goði, and the display of imported luxury goods, must have been an additional burden to the household, at a time of economic decline. One saga describes a large wedding feast extending through a whole week (SS 3, ch. 17:22). The only way to meet the costs involved was to collect taxes, hire additional labor, and seek further support from followers. With the Tithe Law, the tax law enacted in 1096, the ownership of churches became an important source of wealth and power. Furthermore, slavery seems to have disappeared early (see Karras, ch. 17), probably because recruiting freemen who had insufficient land was less costly than maintaining slaves. This meant that soon there was a reserve of labor; on one occasion, in 1208, a group of more than 300 unemployed people, many of whom were strong and healthy, followed a travelling bishop in the hope of some sustenance (see G. Karlsson 1975:27).' 'From the twelfth century onwards, especially during the Sturlung Period, a few families managed to control all the goðorð in Iceland. [Page 17] Increasingly the goðorð became territorial units; the most powerful chiefs sought to consolidate their position, appropriating land and property on a large scale. Sigurðsson (ch. 12) discusses the evolution of ríki (‘small states’, new political units with rather clear territorial boundaries), beginning in some parts of Iceland in the eleventh century and culminating almost everywhere by the middle of the thirteenth century. Sigurðsson estimates that by year 1220 perhaps only five chieftains ruled the whole country, whereas during the tenth century the number of chieftains would normally have been no less than fifty. He explores the changing place and dilemmas of friendship, a voluntary relationship based on trust, in the context of increasing concentration of power. Clearly, the bond between chieftain and followers became less personal than before. Due to increased confrontations between the major chieftains and the relative absence of potential mediators, ‘friends of both’ as they were called, there was a rapid escalation in violence, brutality, and warfare. Because of internal conflicts and the expansive policy of the Norwegian state, the Commonwealth finally came to an end. After fierce battles the chieftains agreed in 1262 to cede their authority to the king of Norway. Eyrbyggja saga seems to compare and personify the political systems of the early and late Commonwealth period; the struggle between the two main goðar in the story, Arnkell and Snorri, reflects the changing times (see Olason 1989, 1971:19-20; Turner 1985:112-17; Pálsson 1991b). Arnkell signifies the reality of the early Commonwealth, he is a heroic big man who mobilizes support by personal charms and his obituary is full of praise; he was “a great loss to everybody … good tempered, brave and determined” (ÍF 4, ch. 37). Snorri, on the other hand, represents the reality of the chiefs during the thirteenth century; he is a clever politician who controls his army but does not fight himself. Durrenberger suggests (1990:77), citing Fried (1967), that these saga accounts of the political development of the Commonwealth add to the general credibility of the sagas; they indicate precisely the kind of history one would expect from the ethnography and dynamics of stratified societies without states.' The household headed by a property-holding farmer was the primary unit of local social and economic organization: 'The principal unit of social organization was the household. Those with rights to property, the farmer and his (or her) family, headed households. Large households incorporated a range of dependent labor: wage laborers, servants, and slaves. As an institution, slavery declined in the twelfth century and had probably disappeared sometime in the thirteenth century; however, social distinctions were maintained between self-sufficient farmers (either land-owners or renters) and the majority of the population who served as household labor. The main cooperative unit outside of the household was the commune (HREPPUR). The commune was a territorial unit including many households (20 or more). The commune's main functions were management of summer grazing lands, the cooperative round up of animals in the fall, and care for paupers who had no other household support. They also provided some insurance to households against fire or the loss of livestock.'"}],"military_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":930,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (3) Chieftains; (2) Lieutenants; (1) Freemen and Armed Followers of Chiefs 'As there was no central government there was also no central army during the Icelandic Commonwealth. The chieftains (and sometimes the greater farmers) called up the free population on an ad hoc basis. Three levels are attested for the late Commonwealth. We have clear evidence of 13th century warlords commissioning lieutenants that commanded groups of retainers or units of conscripted warrior-farmers.' Some Icelanders joined foreign armies abroad: 'Isolated in the North Atlantic, Iceland had few external conflicts. Individual Icelanders were occasionally involved in conflict when outside the country and also sometimes served in foreign militaries. During the late tenth century, the Norwegian king was a champion of the Christian movement in Iceland and often attempted to assert his influence, although this was largely limited to Icelanders in Norway. Likewise, the ultimately successful attempts to incorporate Iceland under the Norwegian monarchy were mostly played out through alliances with individual Icelanders.' Chieftains relied on an entourage of armed followers: 'Those who had access to sufficient resources to support a household were the tax paying farmers. Each of them had to be a follower of a chieftain from his own quarter, and only the tax paying farmers could make the decision as to which he would follow. All of his dependents - tenants and renters - went with him. However they got it, chieftains were dependent on farmers for support - to feed their increasingly large personal followings or armies, to support them at assemblies, and to accompany them on raids on other chieftains or their followers. As we have seen, without such support, without the ability to mass force, claims to ownership of land, which defined the class system as well as the forms of appropriation, had no force. Farmers had to rely on some chieftain to be able to defend their claims to property, though, as we have seen, this might often lead to the loss of the property. Chieftains had to rely on farmers to enforce their followers' claims and their own, as well as to expand their territories into others'.' Armed supporters were required to enforce legal and political claims: 'Claims of inheritance were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This follows from the fact that claims to ownership, property, were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This meant that to assert any claim to ownership, whether by inheritance or any other means, one had to back the claim with armed force. Chieftains were focal points for concentrating force to protect and to forward claims to property.' 'In Commonwealth Iceland there was a system of extraction based on claims to ownership of property, on concepts of the unproblematic [Page 161] differential access to resources in favour of a chieftainly class. The chieftains were unwilling to subordinate themselves to state institutions to protect their privileged positions. The consequence was stratification without a state, the contradiction of an economic system based on property relationships without a congruent institutional system to enforce them. Ownership was as sound as the force one could muster to defend it. There was a complex system of law, but it was all just so much labyrinthine rhetoric in the face of the stark reality that power decided. As slavery diminished, claimants to land enlarged their holdings by using wage labour and tenancy arrangements to work them. To support their claims, they had to increase their power by enlarging their entourages.' Chieftains also relied on farmers willing to support them economically and militarily: 'Relations between chieftains and farmers were not, however, smooth. Chieftains had their “own” estates to support their establishments, and some maintained followings of armed men, but this was a difficult proposition, since it added consumers to the household without adding production. The chieftains had to rely on their following of farmers to support them with both arms and supplies. This was one component of any farmer's household fund, his “rent” so to speak, his expenditures for travel and support for his chieftain, without which his chieftain or another would take his land and livestock. In addition, expeditions took labor from the farm and put the farmer's life at risk. Even so, a farmer's claims to land were not secure, since his chieftain might abandon him, another more powerful chieftain might claim his land, or simply take it, or a farmer might lose his land in a re-alignment of alliances among chieftains, which were frequent.' The interests of chieftains and farmers were often in conflict: 'There was a basic conflict between chieftains' increasing demands for demonstrations of force in support of claims to ownership and the subsistence demands, the economic roles, of farmers. Chieftains were not beyond using coercion to insure support as the following incident relates. [...] In spite of this contradiction, farmers had to rely on some chieftain in order to maintain their claims to land. While the inheritance customs codified in Grágás seem quite orderly in Hastrup's (1985) analysis, inheritance of land is often hotly disputed in the Saga of the Icelanders. One who wanted another's land could often find a third party with some inheritance claim, and acquire the claim on which to base a legitimation for taking the land.' Competition between chieftains was a major source of internal strife before the onset of the Norwegian period: 'It may be tempting to regard the Icelandic Commonwealth as a permanent structure, for, after all, it seems to be sealed in the poorly-dated or undated ‘ethnographic present’ of the sagas. But any social system is necessarily a product of history, representing a particular moment in time. We know for sure that the Commonwealth underwent important changes before it eventually ‘collapsed.’ Not only was there important ecological and demographic change and, as a result, mounting pressure on land (Gelsinger 1981; McGovern et al. 1988), access to resources was increasingly determined by the political manoeuvres and battles of competing goðar. According to the near contemporary Sturlunga saga, the battles between contesting leaders involved an ever larger number of men-no less than two thousand fought in the biggest one, at Örlygsstaðir in year 1238. To increase the number of followers, each goði had to maximize his fund of power at the cost of competitors. Feasts and gifts, a measure of the generosity of the goði, and the display of imported luxury goods, must have been an additional burden to the household, at a time of economic decline. One saga describes a large wedding feast extending through a whole week (SS 3, ch. 17:22). The only way to meet the costs involved was to collect taxes, hire additional labor, and seek further support from followers. With the Tithe Law, the tax law enacted in 1096, the ownership of churches became an important source of wealth and power. Furthermore, slavery seems to have disappeared early (see Karras, ch. 17), probably because recruiting freemen who had insufficient land was less costly than maintaining slaves. This meant that soon there was a reserve of labor; on one occasion, in 1208, a group of more than 300 unemployed people, many of whom were strong and healthy, followed a travelling bishop in the hope of some sustenance (see G. Karlsson 1975:27).'"},{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":1201,"year_to":1262,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (3) Chieftains; (2) Lieutenants; (1) Freemen and Armed Followers of Chiefs 'As there was no central government there was also no central army during the Icelandic Commonwealth. The chieftains (and sometimes the greater farmers) called up the free population on an ad hoc basis. Three levels are attested for the late Commonwealth. We have clear evidence of 13th century warlords commissioning lieutenants that commanded groups of retainers or units of conscripted warrior-farmers.' Some Icelanders joined foreign armies abroad: 'Isolated in the North Atlantic, Iceland had few external conflicts. Individual Icelanders were occasionally involved in conflict when outside the country and also sometimes served in foreign militaries. During the late tenth century, the Norwegian king was a champion of the Christian movement in Iceland and often attempted to assert his influence, although this was largely limited to Icelanders in Norway. Likewise, the ultimately successful attempts to incorporate Iceland under the Norwegian monarchy were mostly played out through alliances with individual Icelanders.' Chieftains relied on an entourage of armed followers: 'Those who had access to sufficient resources to support a household were the tax paying farmers. Each of them had to be a follower of a chieftain from his own quarter, and only the tax paying farmers could make the decision as to which he would follow. All of his dependents - tenants and renters - went with him. However they got it, chieftains were dependent on farmers for support - to feed their increasingly large personal followings or armies, to support them at assemblies, and to accompany them on raids on other chieftains or their followers. As we have seen, without such support, without the ability to mass force, claims to ownership of land, which defined the class system as well as the forms of appropriation, had no force. Farmers had to rely on some chieftain to be able to defend their claims to property, though, as we have seen, this might often lead to the loss of the property. Chieftains had to rely on farmers to enforce their followers' claims and their own, as well as to expand their territories into others'.' Armed supporters were required to enforce legal and political claims: 'Claims of inheritance were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This follows from the fact that claims to ownership, property, were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This meant that to assert any claim to ownership, whether by inheritance or any other means, one had to back the claim with armed force. Chieftains were focal points for concentrating force to protect and to forward claims to property.' 'In Commonwealth Iceland there was a system of extraction based on claims to ownership of property, on concepts of the unproblematic [Page 161] differential access to resources in favour of a chieftainly class. The chieftains were unwilling to subordinate themselves to state institutions to protect their privileged positions. The consequence was stratification without a state, the contradiction of an economic system based on property relationships without a congruent institutional system to enforce them. Ownership was as sound as the force one could muster to defend it. There was a complex system of law, but it was all just so much labyrinthine rhetoric in the face of the stark reality that power decided. As slavery diminished, claimants to land enlarged their holdings by using wage labour and tenancy arrangements to work them. To support their claims, they had to increase their power by enlarging their entourages.' Chieftains also relied on farmers willing to support them economically and militarily: 'Relations between chieftains and farmers were not, however, smooth. Chieftains had their “own” estates to support their establishments, and some maintained followings of armed men, but this was a difficult proposition, since it added consumers to the household without adding production. The chieftains had to rely on their following of farmers to support them with both arms and supplies. This was one component of any farmer's household fund, his “rent” so to speak, his expenditures for travel and support for his chieftain, without which his chieftain or another would take his land and livestock. In addition, expeditions took labor from the farm and put the farmer's life at risk. Even so, a farmer's claims to land were not secure, since his chieftain might abandon him, another more powerful chieftain might claim his land, or simply take it, or a farmer might lose his land in a re-alignment of alliances among chieftains, which were frequent.' The interests of chieftains and farmers were often in conflict: 'There was a basic conflict between chieftains' increasing demands for demonstrations of force in support of claims to ownership and the subsistence demands, the economic roles, of farmers. Chieftains were not beyond using coercion to insure support as the following incident relates. [...] In spite of this contradiction, farmers had to rely on some chieftain in order to maintain their claims to land. While the inheritance customs codified in Grágás seem quite orderly in Hastrup's (1985) analysis, inheritance of land is often hotly disputed in the Saga of the Icelanders. One who wanted another's land could often find a third party with some inheritance claim, and acquire the claim on which to base a legitimation for taking the land.' Competition between chieftains was a major source of internal strife before the onset of the Norwegian period: 'It may be tempting to regard the Icelandic Commonwealth as a permanent structure, for, after all, it seems to be sealed in the poorly-dated or undated ‘ethnographic present’ of the sagas. But any social system is necessarily a product of history, representing a particular moment in time. We know for sure that the Commonwealth underwent important changes before it eventually ‘collapsed.’ Not only was there important ecological and demographic change and, as a result, mounting pressure on land (Gelsinger 1981; McGovern et al. 1988), access to resources was increasingly determined by the political manoeuvres and battles of competing goðar. According to the near contemporary Sturlunga saga, the battles between contesting leaders involved an ever larger number of men-no less than two thousand fought in the biggest one, at Örlygsstaðir in year 1238. To increase the number of followers, each goði had to maximize his fund of power at the cost of competitors. Feasts and gifts, a measure of the generosity of the goði, and the display of imported luxury goods, must have been an additional burden to the household, at a time of economic decline. One saga describes a large wedding feast extending through a whole week (SS 3, ch. 17:22). The only way to meet the costs involved was to collect taxes, hire additional labor, and seek further support from followers. With the Tithe Law, the tax law enacted in 1096, the ownership of churches became an important source of wealth and power. Furthermore, slavery seems to have disappeared early (see Karras, ch. 17), probably because recruiting freemen who had insufficient land was less costly than maintaining slaves. This meant that soon there was a reserve of labor; on one occasion, in 1208, a group of more than 300 unemployed people, many of whom were strong and healthy, followed a travelling bishop in the hope of some sustenance (see G. Karlsson 1975:27).'"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":930,"year_to":1055,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (2) Bishops; (1) Priests 'At the start of the Icelandic Commonwealth the dominant religious tradition was Nordic paganism. There is no data on the number of religious levels for Nordic paganism. Christianity (in the form of Catholicism) was introduced around 1000 CE. In 1056 CE Christianity was officially accepted as the official religion. The conversion was largely the result of a top-down decision. There is no data available on a popular Christian movement in the years before 1056 CE. The Church followed the standardized Catholic hierarchy consisting of a bishop, (deacons), and priests. Before 1056 the code should probably be 1 as we have no indications of religious hierarchy in either pagan or early Christian times.' Christianity was introduced around 1000ce: 'Iceland was settled before any significant impact of Christianity in Scandinavia and the early Icelanders were pagans. Many of the Celtic people incorporated in the foundational population were probably Christian but this appears to have had little impact in the society in general. Pre-Christian religious practices are known largely by poetic and literary sources, all recorded during the Christian era, and some traces of material culture. These sources depict a rich cosmology including the Norse pantheon of gods and giants. Thor held a place of special significance based on his frequent inclusion in person and place names. The Icelanders inhabited an environment rich in supernatural entities including trolls, elves, and ghosts. Prescience and magical abilities were often attributed to individuals. In 1000 A.D., responding to a combination of internal and foreign pressure exerted by the Norwegian king, the Icelanders meeting at the General Assembly decided to adopt Christianity as the common religion. Hencefor th Iceland was officially Christian although many of the traditional beliefs remained.' 'By the end of the 10th century, the Norwegians were forced by their king, Olaf I Tryggvason, to accept Christianity. The king also sent missionaries to Iceland who, according to 12th-century sources, were highly successful in converting the Icelanders. In 999 or 1000 the Althing made a peaceful decision that all Icelanders should become Christians. In spite of this decision, the godar retained their political role, and many of them probably built their own churches. Some were ordained, and as a group they seem to have closely controlled the organization of the new religion. Two bishoprics were established, one at Skálholt in 1056 and the other at Hólar in 1106. Literate Christian culture also transformed lay life. Codification of the law was begun in 1117-18. Later the Icelanders began to write sagas, which were to reach their pinnacle of literary achievement in the next century.' During the pagan period, chiefs frequently fulfilled religious functions: 'Pagan ceremonies were varied, and the details handed down by later Christian texts are not clear. Sacrificial rites performed by household heads or chieftains played a part in the ritual. Certain rituals seeking the intercession of spirits for divination or assistance (SEIÐR) were largely performed by women. Special cultic sites or buildings (HOFS) existed but religious ceremonies were not limited to these settings. Sacrificial activities were banned shortly after the conversion and Christian ceremonies such as baptism and communion were introduced.' The offices of priest and bishop were introduced after the formal adoption of Christianity, but chiefs and farmers remained primary actors in the performance of rituals: 'The political institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was rooted in religious function, a priestly office of intermediary between the community and supernatural forces. It is unclear the degree to which the role of chieftains had been secularized by the occupation of Iceland, but it is likely chiefs played a continued role in local religious activities by performing rites and sacrifices. Religious activities were not exclusive to chieftains. Individuals played a variety of intermediary between the mundane and supernatural roles including private devotions, divination, and sorcery. The conversion to Christianity brought with it the institutions of priest and bishop to Iceland. Throughout much of the early period, the institutional power of the church was weak. Churches were located on privately owned farmlands and were built and maintained by the local farmers who maintained a priest or served as priest himself. The early farm churches were small and probably served little more than the household and immediate neighbors.' The few Icelandic bishops of the Commonwealth period resembled chiefs in their reliance on additional household labour: 'Although I would prefer to flout the conventional wisdom that slavery had all but died out by the eleventh century (Karras 1988a), the household laborers that replaced them in the Commonwealth period were numerous. When Þórðr kakali returns to Iceland Kolbeinn ungi immediately sends out thirty húsmenn to look for him in Eyjafjörðr. Þorsteinn Cod-biter had sixty free men in his household (Eyrbyggja saga, ÍF 4, ch. 11); Guðmundr the Mighty had one hundred (Brennu-Njáls saga, ÍF 12, ch. 113); Sörla þáttr (Ljósvetninga saga), ÍF 10, ch. 1:109); Bishop Páll's household at Skálholt (ca 1200) had seventy to eighty residents, and a household with eighty has been discussed above. It is probably not unfair to say that by the Commonwealth period the majority of the wealth of great bœndur and goðar was the product of teams of house-men and women.' The interests of the church and the 'secular' elites were in conflict during the phase of intensified internal strife that preceded the Norwegian period: 'As I have mentioned earlier, the era of the Sturlungs was a period bordering on civil war, in which the Sturlunga family was central. What kinds of sentiments would the author of the Eyrbyggja saga, who must have been close to the Sturlungs, be likely to express? Although some of the Sturlung family's most prominent members in Norway had solemnly obliged themselves to further the king's cause, they nevertheless tended to forget the vow when they returned to Iceland. As also was the case with other chieftains, they preferred to act independently of the king. Some of the Sturlungs clearly harbored dreams of being Icelandic kings; others preferred a society governed by an oligarchy of Icelandic [Page 144] chieftains. In both cases sentiments would have been against the Norwegian king's growing influence in Iceland. The Sturlungs were therefore likely to express anti-royal feelings, even though they might admire the king's person. As the aristocracy was competing with the Church, we may also assume that the Sturlungs were against the ascending dominance of the Church in juridical, economic, and moral matters (Hastrup 1985, ch. 7). Two of the Sturlungs had in fact been instrumental in removing bishop Ari Guðmundsson from his bishopric in northern Iceland in 1222 (ST 1:287-298). As representatives of the dominant class, the Sturlungs were also likely to express contempt towards the lower classes. We find all these structurally determined resentments in Eyrbyggja saga.' The bishops received seats in the parliament of the general assembly: 'One of the peculiarities of early Iceland was the lack of formal state institutions. The legislature, extensive law code, and judicial system of local and higher courts left prosecution and the enforcement of settlements in the hands of individuals. From an early date, the country was divided into Quarters. Each quarter constituted a broad community with three assemblies (ÞINGS), with the exception of the Northern Quarter that had four, and a system of local courts. Once a year the General Assembly (ALÞINGI) met in the southwest of Iceland. Judicial cases that could not be resolved in local quarters were heard and the parliament (LÖGRÉTTA) convened. The parliament was the principal legislative institution and was responsible for the introduction and maintanence of law. It consisted of chieftains (GOÐAR) from the local quarters. After the conversion to Christianity, the two Icelandic bishops were each given a seat in the parliament. The institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was the main locus of political leadership in the country. Originally there were 36 but this number was later expanded. Chieftaincies themselves were a form of property and could be alienated and even divided among multiple individuals. In some cases, individuals asserted power beyond the scope of the political system and controlled multiple chieftaincies. All independent farmers had to be affiliated with a chieftain, although they could choose among any of the chieftains in their quarter and could switch allegiances if they did not feel that their needs were being met. Other than a seat on the parliament, chieftains had few rights beyond those of other independent farmers and few institutional means of dominating others. Chieftains derived much of their authority from their ability to broker support as advocates for their constituents in legal disputes or feuds.'"},{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":1056,"year_to":1262,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (2) Bishops; (1) Priests 'At the start of the Icelandic Commonwealth the dominant religious tradition was Nordic paganism. There is no data on the number of religious levels for Nordic paganism. Christianity (in the form of Catholicism) was introduced around 1000 CE. In 1056 CE Christianity was officially accepted as the official religion. The conversion was largely the result of a top-down decision. There is no data available on a popular Christian movement in the years before 1056 CE. The Church followed the standardized Catholic hierarchy consisting of a bishop, (deacons), and priests. Before 1056 the code should probably be 1 as we have no indications of religious hierarchy in either pagan or early Christian times.' Christianity was introduced around 1000ce: 'Iceland was settled before any significant impact of Christianity in Scandinavia and the early Icelanders were pagans. Many of the Celtic people incorporated in the foundational population were probably Christian but this appears to have had little impact in the society in general. Pre-Christian religious practices are known largely by poetic and literary sources, all recorded during the Christian era, and some traces of material culture. These sources depict a rich cosmology including the Norse pantheon of gods and giants. Thor held a place of special significance based on his frequent inclusion in person and place names. The Icelanders inhabited an environment rich in supernatural entities including trolls, elves, and ghosts. Prescience and magical abilities were often attributed to individuals. In 1000 A.D., responding to a combination of internal and foreign pressure exerted by the Norwegian king, the Icelanders meeting at the General Assembly decided to adopt Christianity as the common religion. Hencefor th Iceland was officially Christian although many of the traditional beliefs remained.' 'By the end of the 10th century, the Norwegians were forced by their king, Olaf I Tryggvason, to accept Christianity. The king also sent missionaries to Iceland who, according to 12th-century sources, were highly successful in converting the Icelanders. In 999 or 1000 the Althing made a peaceful decision that all Icelanders should become Christians. In spite of this decision, the godar retained their political role, and many of them probably built their own churches. Some were ordained, and as a group they seem to have closely controlled the organization of the new religion. Two bishoprics were established, one at Skálholt in 1056 and the other at Hólar in 1106. Literate Christian culture also transformed lay life. Codification of the law was begun in 1117-18. Later the Icelanders began to write sagas, which were to reach their pinnacle of literary achievement in the next century.' During the pagan period, chiefs frequently fulfilled religious functions: 'Pagan ceremonies were varied, and the details handed down by later Christian texts are not clear. Sacrificial rites performed by household heads or chieftains played a part in the ritual. Certain rituals seeking the intercession of spirits for divination or assistance (SEIÐR) were largely performed by women. Special cultic sites or buildings (HOFS) existed but religious ceremonies were not limited to these settings. Sacrificial activities were banned shortly after the conversion and Christian ceremonies such as baptism and communion were introduced.' The offices of priest and bishop were introduced after the formal adoption of Christianity, but chiefs and farmers remained primary actors in the performance of rituals: 'The political institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was rooted in religious function, a priestly office of intermediary between the community and supernatural forces. It is unclear the degree to which the role of chieftains had been secularized by the occupation of Iceland, but it is likely chiefs played a continued role in local religious activities by performing rites and sacrifices. Religious activities were not exclusive to chieftains. Individuals played a variety of intermediary between the mundane and supernatural roles including private devotions, divination, and sorcery. The conversion to Christianity brought with it the institutions of priest and bishop to Iceland. Throughout much of the early period, the institutional power of the church was weak. Churches were located on privately owned farmlands and were built and maintained by the local farmers who maintained a priest or served as priest himself. The early farm churches were small and probably served little more than the household and immediate neighbors.' The few Icelandic bishops of the Commonwealth period resembled chiefs in their reliance on additional household labour: 'Although I would prefer to flout the conventional wisdom that slavery had all but died out by the eleventh century (Karras 1988a), the household laborers that replaced them in the Commonwealth period were numerous. When Þórðr kakali returns to Iceland Kolbeinn ungi immediately sends out thirty húsmenn to look for him in Eyjafjörðr. Þorsteinn Cod-biter had sixty free men in his household (Eyrbyggja saga, ÍF 4, ch. 11); Guðmundr the Mighty had one hundred (Brennu-Njáls saga, ÍF 12, ch. 113); Sörla þáttr (Ljósvetninga saga), ÍF 10, ch. 1:109); Bishop Páll's household at Skálholt (ca 1200) had seventy to eighty residents, and a household with eighty has been discussed above. It is probably not unfair to say that by the Commonwealth period the majority of the wealth of great bœndur and goðar was the product of teams of house-men and women.' The interests of the church and the 'secular' elites were in conflict during the phase of intensified internal strife that preceded the Norwegian period: 'As I have mentioned earlier, the era of the Sturlungs was a period bordering on civil war, in which the Sturlunga family was central. What kinds of sentiments would the author of the Eyrbyggja saga, who must have been close to the Sturlungs, be likely to express? Although some of the Sturlung family's most prominent members in Norway had solemnly obliged themselves to further the king's cause, they nevertheless tended to forget the vow when they returned to Iceland. As also was the case with other chieftains, they preferred to act independently of the king. Some of the Sturlungs clearly harbored dreams of being Icelandic kings; others preferred a society governed by an oligarchy of Icelandic [Page 144] chieftains. In both cases sentiments would have been against the Norwegian king's growing influence in Iceland. The Sturlungs were therefore likely to express anti-royal feelings, even though they might admire the king's person. As the aristocracy was competing with the Church, we may also assume that the Sturlungs were against the ascending dominance of the Church in juridical, economic, and moral matters (Hastrup 1985, ch. 7). Two of the Sturlungs had in fact been instrumental in removing bishop Ari Guðmundsson from his bishopric in northern Iceland in 1222 (ST 1:287-298). As representatives of the dominant class, the Sturlungs were also likely to express contempt towards the lower classes. We find all these structurally determined resentments in Eyrbyggja saga.' The bishops received seats in the parliament of the general assembly: 'One of the peculiarities of early Iceland was the lack of formal state institutions. The legislature, extensive law code, and judicial system of local and higher courts left prosecution and the enforcement of settlements in the hands of individuals. From an early date, the country was divided into Quarters. Each quarter constituted a broad community with three assemblies (ÞINGS), with the exception of the Northern Quarter that had four, and a system of local courts. Once a year the General Assembly (ALÞINGI) met in the southwest of Iceland. Judicial cases that could not be resolved in local quarters were heard and the parliament (LÖGRÉTTA) convened. The parliament was the principal legislative institution and was responsible for the introduction and maintanence of law. It consisted of chieftains (GOÐAR) from the local quarters. After the conversion to Christianity, the two Icelandic bishops were each given a seat in the parliament. The institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was the main locus of political leadership in the country. Originally there were 36 but this number was later expanded. Chieftaincies themselves were a form of property and could be alienated and even divided among multiple individuals. In some cases, individuals asserted power beyond the scope of the political system and controlled multiple chieftaincies. All independent farmers had to be affiliated with a chieftain, although they could choose among any of the chieftains in their quarter and could switch allegiances if they did not feel that their needs were being met. Other than a seat on the parliament, chieftains had few rights beyond those of other independent farmers and few institutional means of dominating others. Chieftains derived much of their authority from their ability to broker support as advocates for their constituents in legal disputes or feuds.'"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'As there was no state, there were no professional state bureaucrats. The chieftains performed most of the duties later assumed by state bureaucrats. However, professional bureaucrats were used for the running of the church and of large manors.' There were no formal state institutions in Commonwealth-Era Iceland: 'One of the peculiarities of early Iceland was the lack of formal state institutions. The legislature, extensive law code, and judicial system of local and higher courts left prosecution and the enforcement of settlements in the hands of individuals. From an early date, the country was divided into Quarters. Each quarter constituted a broad community with three assemblies (ÞINGS), with the exception of the Northern Quarter that had four, and a system of local courts. Once a year the General Assembly (ALÞINGI) met in the southwest of Iceland. Judicial cases that could not be resolved in local quarters were heard and the parliament (LÖGRÉTTA) convened. The parliament was the principal legislative institution and was responsible for the introduction and maintanence of law. It consisted of chieftains (GOÐAR) from the local quarters. After the conversion to Christianity, the two Icelandic bishops were each given a seat in the parliament. The institution of chieftaincy (GOÐORÐ) was the main locus of political leadership in the country. Originally there were 36 but this number was later expanded. Chieftaincies themselves were a form of property and could be alienated and even divided among multiple individuals. In some cases, individuals asserted power beyond the scope of the political system and controlled multiple chieftaincies. All independent farmers had to be affiliated with a chieftain, although they could choose among any of the chieftains in their quarter and could switch allegiances if they did not feel that their needs were being met. Other than a seat on the parliament, chieftains had few rights beyond those of other independent farmers and few institutional means of dominating others. Chieftains derived much of their authority from their ability to broker support as advocates for their constituents in legal disputes or feuds.' Chieftains and assemblies fulfilled political leadership roles, but these institutions were not bureaucratic in nature: 'Following the establishment of the Althing in 930, executive power at the regional level was vested in the goðar, whose possession of goðorð and common participation in the judicial and legislative branches of the general assembly defined them as chieftains. However, the chieftains were not linked hierarchically. After A.D. 965 Iceland was divided into thirteen assembly districts, each with three chieftainships and a district assembly site. The assembly districts were in turn grouped into four quarters. While goðar were tethered to particular districts by law, the political office of chieftainship, the goðorð, did not imply control over a defined territorial unit. It was instead a shifting nexus of personal, negotiated alliances between a chieftain and those bœndur who became his supporters or pingmenn through public oaths of allegiance.' There was no centralized institution for the purpose of law enforcement: 'Iceland had established systems of laws, assemblies, and judicial institutions to serve in resolving conflict but no centralized power to enforce order or verdicts. Everyone was legally required to belong to a farming household and individual farmers had authority over and responsibility for their households. Disputes, including injuries and killings, were settled through arbitration. The offending party paid compensation to the offended party. In more extreme cases the offending individual was outlawed, either for three years or permanently, and was official cast out of society and any right to compensation. Prosecution and collection of settlements was up to private individuals. Conflicts often overstepped institutional boundaries into blood feuds. Feuds could escalate well beyond the immediate individuals or households until the involved whole social networks. With the rise of chiefly power and territoriality in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries regional conflicts developed that eventually encompassed t he entire island. The decades of civil strife ended in 1262 A.D. when Iceland came under the authority of the Norwegian crown.' We decided in the end not to include church and manor bureaucrats."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":930,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Some Icelanders joined foreign armies abroad: 'Isolated in the North Atlantic, Iceland had few external conflicts. Individual Icelanders were occasionally involved in conflict when outside the country and also sometimes served in foreign militaries. During the late tenth century, the Norwegian king was a champion of the Christian movement in Iceland and often attempted to assert his influence, although this was largely limited to Icelanders in Norway. Likewise, the ultimately successful attempts to incorporate Iceland under the Norwegian monarchy were mostly played out through alliances with individual Icelanders.' Chieftains relied on an entourage of armed followers: 'Those who had access to sufficient resources to support a household were the tax paying farmers. Each of them had to be a follower of a chieftain from his own quarter, and only the tax paying farmers could make the decision as to which he would follow. All of his dependents - tenants and renters-went with him. However they got it, chieftains were dependent on farmers for support - to feed their increasingly large personal followings or armies, to support them at assemblies, and to accompany them on raids on other chieftains or their followers. As we have seen, without such support, without the ability to mass force, claims to ownership of land, which defined the class system as well as the forms of appropriation, had no force. Farmers had to rely on some chieftain to be able to defend their claims to property, though, as we have seen, this might often lead to the loss of the property. Chieftains had to rely on farmers to enforce their followers' claims and their own, as well as to expand their territories into others'.' Armed supporters were required to enforce legal and political claims: 'Claims of inheritance were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This follows from the fact that claims to ownership, property, were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This meant that to assert any claim to ownership, whether by inheritance or any other means, one had to back the claim with armed force. Chieftains were focal points for concentrating force to protect and to forward claims to property.' Chieftains also relied on farmers willing to support them economically and militarily: 'Relations between chieftains and farmers were not, however, smooth. Chieftains had their “own” estates to support their establishments, and some maintained followings of armed men, but this was a difficult proposition, since it added consumers to the household without adding production. The chieftains had to rely on their following of farmers to support them with both arms and supplies. This was one component of any farmer's household fund, his “rent” so to speak, his expenditures for travel and support for his chieftain, without which his chieftain or another would take his land and livestock. In addition, expeditions took labor from the farm and put the farmer's life at risk. Even so, a farmer's claims to land were not secure, since his chieftain might abandon him, another more powerful chieftain might claim his land, or simply take it, or a farmer might lose his land in a re-alignment of alliances among chieftains, which were frequent.' The interests of chieftains and farmers were often in conflict: 'There was a basic conflict between chieftains' increasing demands for demonstrations of force in support of claims to ownership and the subsistence demands, the economic roles, of farmers. Chieftains were not beyond using coercion to insure support as the following incident relates. [...] In spite of this contradiction, farmers had to rely on some chieftain in order to maintain their claims to land. While the inheritance customs codified in Grágás seem quite orderly in Hastrup's (1985) analysis, inheritance of land is often hotly disputed in the Saga of the Icelanders. One who wanted another's land could often find a third party with some inheritance claim, and acquire the claim on which to base a legitimation for taking the land.' However, professional officers or lieutenants emerged in the late Commonwealth period: 'In the late Commonwealth there were professional military officers in service of the warlords (in the territorial lordships). These commanded groups of retainers or conscripted warrior-farmers. An example would be Ásbjörn Guðmundarson, an officer of the warlord Þórður kakali (see Þórðar saga kakala). Lieutenants could thus be considered 'officers'.'"},{"value":"present","year_from":1201,"year_to":1262,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Some Icelanders joined foreign armies abroad: 'Isolated in the North Atlantic, Iceland had few external conflicts. Individual Icelanders were occasionally involved in conflict when outside the country and also sometimes served in foreign militaries. During the late tenth century, the Norwegian king was a champion of the Christian movement in Iceland and often attempted to assert his influence, although this was largely limited to Icelanders in Norway. Likewise, the ultimately successful attempts to incorporate Iceland under the Norwegian monarchy were mostly played out through alliances with individual Icelanders.' Chieftains relied on an entourage of armed followers: 'Those who had access to sufficient resources to support a household were the tax paying farmers. Each of them had to be a follower of a chieftain from his own quarter, and only the tax paying farmers could make the decision as to which he would follow. All of his dependents - tenants and renters-went with him. However they got it, chieftains were dependent on farmers for support - to feed their increasingly large personal followings or armies, to support them at assemblies, and to accompany them on raids on other chieftains or their followers. As we have seen, without such support, without the ability to mass force, claims to ownership of land, which defined the class system as well as the forms of appropriation, had no force. Farmers had to rely on some chieftain to be able to defend their claims to property, though, as we have seen, this might often lead to the loss of the property. Chieftains had to rely on farmers to enforce their followers' claims and their own, as well as to expand their territories into others'.' Armed supporters were required to enforce legal and political claims: 'Claims of inheritance were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This follows from the fact that claims to ownership, property, were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This meant that to assert any claim to ownership, whether by inheritance or any other means, one had to back the claim with armed force. Chieftains were focal points for concentrating force to protect and to forward claims to property.' Chieftains also relied on farmers willing to support them economically and militarily: 'Relations between chieftains and farmers were not, however, smooth. Chieftains had their “own” estates to support their establishments, and some maintained followings of armed men, but this was a difficult proposition, since it added consumers to the household without adding production. The chieftains had to rely on their following of farmers to support them with both arms and supplies. This was one component of any farmer's household fund, his “rent” so to speak, his expenditures for travel and support for his chieftain, without which his chieftain or another would take his land and livestock. In addition, expeditions took labor from the farm and put the farmer's life at risk. Even so, a farmer's claims to land were not secure, since his chieftain might abandon him, another more powerful chieftain might claim his land, or simply take it, or a farmer might lose his land in a re-alignment of alliances among chieftains, which were frequent.' The interests of chieftains and farmers were often in conflict: 'There was a basic conflict between chieftains' increasing demands for demonstrations of force in support of claims to ownership and the subsistence demands, the economic roles, of farmers. Chieftains were not beyond using coercion to insure support as the following incident relates. [...] In spite of this contradiction, farmers had to rely on some chieftain in order to maintain their claims to land. While the inheritance customs codified in Grágás seem quite orderly in Hastrup's (1985) analysis, inheritance of land is often hotly disputed in the Saga of the Icelanders. One who wanted another's land could often find a third party with some inheritance claim, and acquire the claim on which to base a legitimation for taking the land.' However, professional officers or lieutenants emerged in the late Commonwealth period: 'In the late Commonwealth there were professional military officers in service of the warlords (in the territorial lordships). These commanded groups of retainers or conscripted warrior-farmers. An example would be Ásbjörn Guðmundarson, an officer of the warlord Þórður kakali (see Þórðar saga kakala). Lieutenants could thus be considered 'officers'.'"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'A range of coins were in circulation including Arabic and English coins.'"}]}},"Q583038":{"seshat":["Ostrogothic Kingdom"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":5500000,"to":5500000,"year_from":500,"year_to":500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Estimated from McEvedy and Jones , c500 CE from Italy (4) and Yugoslavia (1.5) Ostrogothic Italy saw \"demographic decline\". Ostrogoth people at time of the invasion of Italy 488 CE: \"As in the Macedonian campaign, so now, he was accompanied by all the members of his nation, old men and children, mothers and maidens, and doubtless by a long train of waggons. We have no accurate information whatever as to the number of his army, but various indications, both in earlier and later history, seem to justify us in assuming that the soldiers must have numbered fully 40,000; and if this was the case, the whole nation cannot have been less than 200,000. The difficulty of finding food for so great a multitude in the often desolated plains of Pannonia and Noricum must have been enormous, and was no doubt the reason of the slowness of Theodoric's progress.\" Unknown source says the kingdom has a population of 225,000 . This number must refer to the number of Ostrogoths rather than the total number of individuals within the territory of the Ostrogoth Kingdom in Italy. \"Cities along the route either closed their gates or could not provide a market capable of sustaining perhaps 40,000 hungry people.\""}],"territory":[{"from":635000,"to":635000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"635,016 km². From 511-549 CE Visigothic Spain was effectively an autonomous sub-kingdom of the Ostrogothic realm and Ravenna received annual tribute. Amalaric was the last of the Visigothic royal line descended from Alaric I (who sacked Rome). \"The new king, Teudis (531-548), was that Ostrogothic general appointed to command the military of the peninsular by Theodoric and the former guardian of Amalaric. The former's accession was probably accompanied by some distribution of royal fisc lands to both the Visigothic nobility and the Ostrogothic warriors who had bolstered the Iberian garrisons during the latter's minority. Teudis also had previously taken a wife from the family of the Hispano-Roman nobility and that faction of the kingdom too likely shared in the distribution of fisc lands. If the royal authority suffered from all of this, at the same time it advanced the cohesion and mutual interest of the political classes of the new realm.\" Teudis had been the bodyguard of Amalaric and was effectively leader during Amalaric during his regency. Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great was Amalaric's grandfather. 511 CE onwards Ostrogothic military helped Visigoths counterattack against the Frankish invasion. Theudis was effectively completely independent in Spain and even ignored an invitation to Theodoric in Ravenna (must have been pre-531, before Theodoric's death) but he kept paying the annual tributum. Amalaric's assassination by his own men in 531 CE was \"perhaps urged on by Theudis\"."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Rome. Mid-sixth century Rome: \"Despite centuries of gradual erosion of her monuments and a declining population, Rome still held more people than her environs could hope to support. Since the granaries in North Africa had long ago opened their doors to others, first Vandals and more recently Belisarius, Ostrogothic Rome depended upon Sicily for food and shippers to transport it to Portus. Gradual silting had closed Ostia to traffic.\" Peak settlement of Rome generally thought to be c150 CE. By 300 CE about 800,000 which had decreased to roughly 500,000 by 400 CE, and 200,000 by 500 CE. 100,000 Demographic decline of Rome. c500,000 in 400 CE, less than 50,000 after the Gothic war (535-554 CE). Rome’s population \"might have been down to 300,000 in the late 4th century and down to 100,000 by 500, but it was still by far the largest city in Italy.\" Under Theoderic the population of Ravenna \"perhaps as large as 10,000. Naples, too, may have had a population as large as 10,000 at this time.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital, Ravenna. 2. Provincial capitals\"The principal city in Dalmatia was Salona, where the comes and Gothic garrison resided.\" 3. Municipia4. Tributary communities, not necessarily urbanized5. Village/vici6. pagi (rural settlements). The Gothic language \"reveals a world of kindreds, villages (weihs), and small regions (garvi). Towns (baurg) were probably the remains of Roman cities and fortlets. ... Garvi was the equivalent of the Latin pagus and within it ties between neighbors (garazna) and kin-organized life.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Where do these fit? \"there were three Praetorian Prefects, one for the Gauls, one for Italy, and one for the City of Rome\" a gothic scribe was called a bokareis \"In terms of administrative strategy, the Amal court seems to have preferred a style of governance in which an administrative nucleus (referred to in the Variae as comitatus noster and officium nostrum), including the staffs of such senior officials as the praetorian prefect, attended the itinerant ambit of the Gothic ruler.\" 1. King \"Because of his inevitable insecurity, Theodoric, like Alaric and a host of other kings of his era, searched for greater authority over his own people by invoking the conceptual hierarchy of Christian Rome with its titular elevations and ranks delineated in dress and court ceremonial. He was quick to perceive the potential for dynastic continuity in associating himself with Roman tradition and the special role of the monarchy in Christendom. In part that explains Theodoric's desire for such Roman denotations of power as the praenomen Flavius, the title Patrician, the consulship, the rank of magister militum praesentalis, and his efforts to have his regal position in Italy recognized in Constantinople.\" \"It is quite clear that Theodoric never claimed to be Emperor of the West, the successor of Honorius and Augustulus. But there are grave reasons for doubting whether he called himself, as has been often stated, \"King of Italy\". In the fifth century territorial titles of this kind were, if not absolutely unknown, at least very uncommon. The various Teutonic rulers generally took their titles from the nations whom they led to battle, Gaiseric being \"King of the Vandals and Alans\", Gundobad, \"King of the Burgundians\", Clovis, \"King of the Franks\", and so forth. Upon the whole, it seems most probable that Theodoric's full title was \"King of the Goths and Romans in Italy\" ...\" Title of first ruler: Flavius Theodericus rex . Under the constitution Theodoric was the only Ostrogoth Roman citizen. . 2. quaestor\"present as secretary to the monarch under the Ostrogoths.\" \"the official whose business it was to put the thoughts of the sovereign into fitting and eloquent words, either when he was replying to the ambassadors of foreign powers, or when he was issuing laws and proclamations to his own subjects. As his duties and qualifications were of a more personal kind than those of his two brother-ministers already described, he had not like them a large official staff waiting upon his orders.\" 2. saiones\"The institution, if the saiones can be so classified, existed as early as 508, when Theorodric instructed saio Nandus to assemble troops for the invasion of Gaul. Saiones or similar royal servants existed among many Germanic peoples throughout the Middle Ages and seem to have emerged out of the royal band in response to basic needs for personal and trusted contact with the royalty. None of the Ostrogothic saiones ever achieved comital or ducal status, which suggests that they were of lowly origin.\" _Central government_ 2. Princeps cardinalis of the comitatus (aka Cabinet of Illustre, or council of the ministers of state) \"Nearly every one of these great ministers of state had under him a large, ambitious, and often highly-paid staff of subordinates, who were called his Officium.\" The comitatus \"was the heart of the government of Italy. Under Theodoric, as under the emperors, the comitatus represented all aspects of government and was attached to the ruler. ... The head of the comitiaci at court was the princeps cardinalis, and there was a vicarate at Rome with its own staff. In its civilian aspects, the comitatus remained intact. The formal household, sacrum cubiculum with its praepositus and eunuch chamberlains (cubicularii), stood watch over the palace ... The two great heads of the bureaucracy were present as ever: the praetorian prefect and the magister offiorum. ... The comes sacrarum largitionun was responsible for mines and mints (gold and probably silder) and certain taxes and payments, including donatives. ... The comes rei privatae was a member of the comitatus and managed the estates of the imperial fisc, then in Theodoric's hands. The consistory was another important imperial legacy present in the comitatus. By this time, membership in the consistory was restricted to counts of the first order of the three ranks of counts. The comes primi ordinis, and, in fact, under Theodoric only those actually serving in the provinces, and the counselors of the praetorian prefect were automatically members. ... The various Roman offices represented in the comitatus were themselves complex bureaus with numerous subalterns and clerks. The consistory had an independent staff of secretaries. ... Theodoric maintained a personal treasury, the patrimonium, under the comes patrimonii. ...\" The comitatus \"was essentially a court of final jurisdiction in cases involving the nobilities.\" praetorian prefect was the \"highest-ranking minister attendant in the comitatus\" 2. Praetorian Prefect, the vicegerent of the sovereign\"a man who held towards Emperor or King nearly the same position which a Grand Vizier holds towards a Turkish Sultan. Like his sovereign he wore a purple robe (which reached however only to his knees, not to his feet), and he drove through the streets in a lofty official chariot. It was for him to promulgate the Imperial laws, sometimes to put forth edicts of his own. He proclaimed what taxes were to be imposed each year, and their produce came into his \"Praetorian chest\". He suggested to his sovereign the names of the governors of the provinces, paid them their salaries, and exercised a general superintendence over them, having even power to depose them from their offices. And lastly, he was the highest Judge of Appeal in the land, even the Emperor himself having generally no power to reverse his sentences.\" \"Cassiodorus accorded the office of praefectus praetorio a dignity above all other offices.\" \"Having authority over both legal and financial personnel of the administration, the prefect commanded the most numerous branches of the bureaucracy (exceptores and scrinarii).\" Praetorian prefect responsible for \"collection of taxes in all provinces, the local officials involved in its collection, the distribution of taxes as payment to military and administrative personnel, the maintenance of the public food supply, oversight in local finances, and rendering final judgement in legal disputes\". 3. vices agenti (deputy assistant)In Cassiodorus' \"Variae 11.5, the prefect directs his deputy assistant (vices agenti) to administer the annona in Rome, without mention of the authority that the praefectus annonae would have had in the matter.\" 3. canonicariusagent the praetorian prefect could use \"to requisition provisions for the Gothic court\" without having to go through the comes patrimonii. 3. ? exceptores (branch of the bureaucracy) 4.\"The various Roman offices represented in the comitatus were themselves complex bureaus with numerous subalterns and clerks.\" 5.\"A large number of singularii, rationalii, clavicularii, and the like (whom we should call policemen, subordinate clerks, and gaolers) formed the \"Unlettered Staff\" (Militia Illiterata), who stood on the lowest stage of the bureaucratic pyramid.\" 3. ? scrinarii (branch of the bureaucracy) 4.\"The various Roman offices represented in the comitatus were themselves complex bureaus with numerous subalterns and clerks.\" 5.\"A large number of singularii, rationalii, clavicularii, and the like (whom we should call policemen, subordinate clerks, and gaolers) formed the \"Unlettered Staff\" (Militia Illiterata), who stood on the lowest stage of the bureaucratic pyramid.\" 2. comes siliquatariorum (minister) 2. comes patrimonii nostri (minister) \"authority extended to the management and collection of rents from properties owned by the Amal family (and the supply of the court with provisions from those properties)\" Note 1. This official often given many other roles on ad hoc basis including those of the praetorian prefect e.g. tax collection from a province. 3. 2. comes privatarum (minister) official responsible for \"laws pertaining to slaves, sexual morality, the protection of the dead, intestate land, and the discovery of abandoned treasure.\" Note 1. This official often given many other roles on ad hoc basis including those \"more regularly undertaken by the praetorian prefect.\" Note 2. many of this own official duties could be delegated to other ministers on ad hoc basis. 3. 2. comes sacrarum largitionum (minister) In 4th and 5th centuries had \"authority over the mint (and thereby over the distribution of donatives to the military and benefactions of the ruler to civilians), mines (linked to coin production at mints), the production of royal vestments, and customs and taxes from foreign trade.\" Note: many of these duties could be delegated to other ministers on ad hoc basis such as comes siliquatariorum, comes patrimonii nostri, comes privatarum or the praefectus praetorio. 3. Manager of a mint works 4. 3. Manager of a mine works 4. 3. Manager of a royal vestments works 4. 3. Foreign trade official 4. 2. magister officorum\"formally held authority over the cursus publicus, regularly found that role assumed by the praetorian prefect and saiones.\" 3. 4. 2. praefectus annonae\"The praefectus annonae was in charge of having the grain from the annona baked into bread by the bakers (and was also in charge of the pork-butchers).\" 3. 4. 2. comes archiatrorum\"an official known as the comes archiatrorum who oversaw doctors\" 3. 4. _Provincial government_ 2. Provincial governor (praeses)There were also provincial governors and prefectures \"In Dalmatia, the comes was superior to the principes and the Roman governor (praeses), who was increasingly a fiscal officer having some responsibility for tax collection. The principes of Dalmatia maintained the Roman legal structure alongside the Gothic command embodied in the comes.\" 2. Provincial comesProvence. Possibly: Istria, Noricum Mediterranean, Switzerland. \"Perhaps the rank of comes secundi ordinis was accorded to the urban comites, whereas the provincial became comes primi.\" 3. priores\"At least in some areas, lesser officials called priores assited the provincial comites\" 2. praefectus praetorio GalliarumGaul same as before. 3. Civitas - prefect\"Prefect of the City\": \"A nobleman of the very highest rank, Consul, Patrician, and Prefect of the City, Cæcina Maurus Basilius Decius, successfully accomplished this work under the orders of his sovereign...\" 4. Member of curialecuriales in towns 5.Scribes? 3. defensor civitatis\"In Italy the Ostrogoths continued the office as a local \"protector.\" Defensors were supposed to protect the community from oppression, just as Valentinian had planned, but their protection included the seasonal fixing of prices and often the forced requisition of military supplies. In small towns, the defensors and the curia were the government: the defensor represented the central government; the curia, of course, was drawn from the locality.\" 3. Urban comes\"A princeps may have been assigned to each major city, since the office of princeps was held by several men at one time. They were under the comes. The provincial governor (praeses) retained some civil authority and shared some responsibility for tax collection.\" \"The Goths established garrisons in important cities throughout their rule. Such special cities as Naples Pavia, and Syracuse had their own comes, as did Massilia, Arelate, the Insulae Curicta, and Celsina. These comites Gothorum were legal officers, as were the provincial comites, and they also commanded whatever garrisons were stationed there.\" 4. Vicivillage 5. Pagirural settlements _Gothic lands_ 2. Gothic lord (Saio?)\"At least in the north, probably around Pavia in particular, where the Po Valley allowed more effective use of the land in small units, the Goths apparently subdivided their shares into family farming units called condamae.\" 2. comes Gothorum\"The cases of appeal from the general settlement areas in which there were large numbers of Gothic communities required the regionalized comes Gothorum, i.e., one of provincial scope, comites provinciarum. \" 3. Condamae\"The φνλαί as described by Eunapius were basic organizations among the Goths. The Greek term φνλαί usually referred to a group united by blood and living in the same area. Each φνλαή had its own cult objects and holy men to care for and carry them. The φνλαί formed temporary confederations for specific purposes. Their leaders conducted affairs in councils, but the exact makeup of these varied. In some assemblies, the optimates, probably consisting of the dux and principal members of the nobility, made the decisions and enforced them. In other areas, the council of elders decided action and dominated the younger men. The apparent distinction between optimates and elders was in reality blurred, since many nobles were themselves elders of important families. Nonetheless, the great ducal families, it would seem, were not everywhere able to control the φνλαί in their area. In such cases the elders probably represented the various villages within the φνλαή. The φνλαί were not territorially but religiously defined. Their political unity became more cohesive during the fourth century. The Gothic word garvi does not seem to have described areas as large as those inhabited by the φνλαί but rather was a term used to denote the Latin pagus, the rural area around towns and villages. Even in a φνλαή where one family clearly controlled the actions of optimates and villages alike, there ere ways to manifest the traditional independence of the village as a unit within the regional federation.\" According to the Greeks, head of a Gothic φνλαή was a άρχων or ήγεμών; in Latin regulus, ducator, or dux; in Gothic texts reiks. The leaders of φνλαί were independent until an outside threat brought them together. \"There is no question that the continued as the basic political and military units long after their settlements in the empire. The same can be said for similar groups among the Ostrogoths...\" The fara of the Lombards \"was structurally and functionally the same as the φνλαή among the Goths. There are three, perhaps four, Ostrogothic farae known from various sources. ... The Ostrogothic farae and their heads may well have played a role similar to that of their Burgundian and Lombard counterparts.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The population of Italy was divided into two societies with distinct public functions: the Goths served the state as its soldiers; the Romans, as taxpayers. In essence, in Theodoric's Italy the Roman regular army had been completely replaced by a Gothic federate force. The Goths, moreover, was not 'professional' soldiers in the sense that Roman legionaries had been. Most Goths were farmers who fought when called upon to do so.\" \"The strengths and weaknesses of barbarian armies were well known already to Tacitus and had become common fare in Byzantine military manuals by A.D. 600. In essence, the barbarians were seen to lack cohesive command, technological elements such as effective siege craft, and the patience required for utilizing a tactical reserve. The German \"plan of attack\" usually consisted of a human-wave assault with much yelling and throwing of stones, spears, and arrows. ... After all, since manliness was synonymous with military prowess as proven on the battlefield, who wanted to wait in reserve and perhaps miss priceless opportunities? Obviously, no one. Nor did any leader have the power so to order another free man, even in his warband. Thus it is hardly surprising that Germanic tactics varied so little regardless of the particular tribe or location.\" \"The Ostrogothic military achieved a reputation of strength against other barbarians primarily though building upon their own traditions, but they also accepted certain Roman organizational and support systems. The Gothic offices of comes and dux were tied more closely to the central authority, which at least under Theodoric appointed them, and evolved in conjunction with the surviving aspects of Roman government.\" 1. King \"Theoderic, like earlier generalissimos (e.g. Aetius or Ricimer), independently controlled his army, comprised mainly of non-Roman troops personally loyal to him, and delegated significant non-military administrative posts to local Roman elites.\" 2. DucesGothic Generals \"The duces were the highest military leaders in Ostrogothic society, and their very presence in a frontier zone attested to the gravity of the situation. Their functions were primarily but not exclusively military.\" \"The duces' power over their men was virtually unchallengeable and the subject of abuse.\" 2. comes Gothorum\"The cases of appeal from the general settlement areas in which there were large numbers of Gothic communities required the regionalized comes Gothorum, i.e., one of provincial scope, comites provinciarum. Along the frontiers and outlying provinces they also commanded the Gothic troops. The government at Ravenna extended this structure to include the frontier areas as well. Everywhere the provincial comites were the supreme governmental officials whenever present. In the frontier areas, the comes had legal jurisdiction and probably held overall command unless, as was sometimes the case, a dux was present specifically as commander.\" 3. Count of the GothsGoths of each province had a military chief \"Count of the Goths\" \"Gothic nobility with their loyal bands of warriors\" 4.\"Garrisons were probably comprised largely of warrior groups personally tied to their commanders.\" 5. Gothic soldierNo soldiers except Goths - native Italians not allowed into army."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Theodoric was an Arian Christian but the people remained Roman Catholic. Bishop Epiphanius moderated Theodoric's view of Romans The Arian church had \"bishops, priests, even a few scholars commenting on the scriptures\" However, Burns argues, due to retention of pagan belief system among nobility and commoners, \"it is necessary to understand their Arianism as a tribal religion and not as some lingering form of Alexandrian heresy.\" _Catholic Church_ 1. Emperor in Constantinople \"The first seven \"ecumenical\" ... councils were gathered by the Roman (or, later, Byzantine) emperors.\" 1. Bishop of a patriarchate \"The churches organized themselves along the lines laid down by the geography and political order of the empire. A city (civitas), along with its surrounding rural perimeter, the foundation of imperial organization, also formed the basic unit of ecclesiastical structure. Virtually every Roman city, many of them quite small, had its own bishop. He exercised his authority over a \"diocese\" that ordinarily coincided with the boundaries of the civitas. These dioceses were then grouped into provinces, over which a metropolitan, the bishop of a province's principal city, held sway. Eventually, provinces themselves were organized into large \"patriarchates,\" each lead by one of the five preeminent bishops of the church: those in Rome, Constantinople (called \"New Rome,\" second in prestige to the Old), Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem.\" 2. Metropolitan, with authority over a province 3. Bishop in civitas, with authority over a diocese 4. Presbyters or priests (elders)\"Evidence from the second century suggests that a wide variety of models for local clergy existed throughout the Roman Empire. Yet the one to prevail was a three-tiered, hierarchical. In this model, the bishop served as leader of the local community and was assisted by presbyters or priests (elders) and deacons. Again, this model was established in the Antioch of Ignatius, as he underscores emphatically the necessity of gathering for learning, ritual, and teaching around a single bishop. By the end of the century this three-tiered form of ministry had spread to most early Catholic communities throughout the empire, and it would soon become the sole authoritative manner of organizing local ecclesial communities.\" 5. Deacons"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"For the eastern empire of the 6th century Procopius reports that the court at Constantinople employed 5500 scholares, in addition to the domestici and protectores. And Procopius does not mention the exceptores and srinarii that filled the officium of the praetorian prefect in Constantinople. Several considerations, however, mitigate against assuming such robust figures for Ostrogothic administrative centres. ... That a downsizing of state personnel followed Theoderic's arrival in Italy can be inferred from Procopius, who notes that Theoderic allowed the previous corps of silentiarii, domestici, and scholares present at Rome to retain a subsistence-level stipend for the sake of tradition, implying that they had ceased to hold anything beyond an honorary function.\" the Gothic court's annual income of 45,000 solidi may have supported 3000-5000 administrators."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Noblemen. How was the Gothic army paid? \"the limited evidence that we have ... suggests a combination of tax-based salaries and the redistribution of land, both of which would have resulted in a process of administrative decentralization. This matter is of obvious importance for how we imagine the distribution of power and wealth between the Roman landowners and the Gothic military elite.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"the Ostrogothic kings, like Odovacar before them, never questioned the basic structure of the Roman monetary system. ... They took for granted the imperial perogative to control the striking of gold, for which Goth and Roman alike secured and guaranteed the psychological acceptance of the entire coinage. Silver and bronze coins were subspecies used for regular exchange, and their symbolism varied substantially, especially on the Ostrogothic bronze issues, without ever affecting the monetary structure as a whole.\" Theodoric also introduced \"several new series in bronze\" and fixed the rate of exchange between the metals."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q17167":{"seshat":["Early Roman Republic","Late Roman Republic"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE same area as 600 BCE 400 BCE same area as 600 BCE 300 BCE polity territory of 25,000-30,000 at this time. Rome had a reported census population of perhaps 250,000. The new territory conquered did not have a city as large as Rome and may not have been especially densely population - for example, no large river basin/delta etc. Would a reasonable estimate would be a range [500,000-1,000,000]? Population of 3,750,000 around 220 BCE when Rome had most of Italy and some overseas possessions so it unlikely will be more than 1,000,000 based on these estimates. Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE"},{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE same area as 600 BCE 400 BCE same area as 600 BCE 300 BCE polity territory of 25,000-30,000 at this time. Rome had a reported census population of perhaps 250,000. The new territory conquered did not have a city as large as Rome and may not have been especially densely population - for example, no large river basin/delta etc. Would a reasonable estimate would be a range [500,000-1,000,000]? Population of 3,750,000 around 220 BCE when Rome had most of Italy and some overseas possessions so it unlikely will be more than 1,000,000 based on these estimates. Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE"},{"from":500000,"to":1000000,"year_from":-300,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE same area as 600 BCE 400 BCE same area as 600 BCE 300 BCE polity territory of 25,000-30,000 at this time. Rome had a reported census population of perhaps 250,000. The new territory conquered did not have a city as large as Rome and may not have been especially densely population - for example, no large river basin/delta etc. Would a reasonable estimate would be a range [500,000-1,000,000]? Population of 3,750,000 around 220 BCE when Rome had most of Italy and some overseas possessions so it unlikely will be more than 1,000,000 based on these estimates. Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE"},{"from":25000000,"to":35000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[25,000,000-35,000,000]: 31 BCE Using a population distribution map from 200 CE, and the above map, from 31 BC, would give an approximate figure of about 32 million. 7 million within Italy by 1 CE ."}],"territory":[{"from":1300,"to":1300,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"At the beginning of the Republic, Roman territory comprised about 500 square miles, and by 338 BCE the territory controlled was 2000 square miles of Latium, expanding north and south."},{"from":1300,"to":1300,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"At the beginning of the Republic, Roman territory comprised about 500 square miles, and by 338 BCE the territory controlled was 2000 square miles of Latium, expanding north and south."},{"from":5000,"to":30000,"year_from":-300,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"At the beginning of the Republic, Roman territory comprised about 500 square miles, and by 338 BCE the territory controlled was 2000 square miles of Latium, expanding north and south."},{"from":1950000,"to":3500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. in 49 BCE."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":30000,"to":30000,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE = same as polity population same area as 600 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 400 BCE = same as polity population Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 300 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) DH: NB - these censuses refer to polity pop, not pop of the city (and are highly problematic!). Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE \"The pressure on space encouraged the development of multi-storey housing blocks in Rome as early as the third century BC; high prices for building plots also resulted in tall buildings being constructed in relatively narrow spaces and additional floors being added to already existing buildings.\" ;"},{"from":30000,"to":30000,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE = same as polity population same area as 600 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 400 BCE = same as polity population Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 300 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) DH: NB - these censuses refer to polity pop, not pop of the city (and are highly problematic!). Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE \"The pressure on space encouraged the development of multi-storey housing blocks in Rome as early as the third century BC; high prices for building plots also resulted in tall buildings being constructed in relatively narrow spaces and additional floors being added to already existing buildings.\" ;"},{"from":50000,"to":60000,"year_from":-300,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 500 BCE = same as polity population same area as 600 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 400 BCE = same as polity population Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE 300 BCE Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE Rome 100: 500 BCE 150: 400 BCE 250: 300 BCE Rome (reported census tallies) DH: NB - these censuses refer to polity pop, not pop of the city (and are highly problematic!). Cornell has a population of ca 30,000 for Rome in 4th c, then at most 60,000 in 300 BCE c250,000: 300 BCE c210,000: 200 BCE c400,000: 100 BCE \"The pressure on space encouraged the development of multi-storey housing blocks in Rome as early as the third century BC; high prices for building plots also resulted in tall buildings being constructed in relatively narrow spaces and additional floors being added to already existing buildings.\" ;"},{"from":400000,"to":400000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rome. Rome (reported census tallies) c400,000: 100 BCE"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":-500,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"much of central Italy remained without cities down to the age of Cicero. Here the pattern was of scattered villages and farmsteads, often within reach of a fortified hill-top, where it was possible to take refuge in time of war, but which was never built up or lived in, indeed which did not even fulfil the political or religious functions of a city.\" Detailed descriptions of different types of communities in the Peninsula and their relations 1. Rome 2. Satellite village 1. Capital 'Rome' By 300 BC had expanded to include all of southern Italy. 2.municipia3.coloniae4. Village/vici5. Pagirural settlements colonies 338 BC Roman maritime colony at Antium. 334 BC Latin colony at Cales. 329 BC Roman maritime colony at Terracina. 328 BC Latin colony at Fregellae (just in Samnite territory)."},{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"much of central Italy remained without cities down to the age of Cicero. Here the pattern was of scattered villages and farmsteads, often within reach of a fortified hill-top, where it was possible to take refuge in time of war, but which was never built up or lived in, indeed which did not even fulfil the political or religious functions of a city.\" Detailed descriptions of different types of communities in the Peninsula and their relations 1. Rome 2. Satellite village 1. Capital 'Rome' By 300 BC had expanded to include all of southern Italy. 2.municipia3.coloniae4. Village/vici5. Pagirural settlements colonies 338 BC Roman maritime colony at Antium. 334 BC Latin colony at Cales. 329 BC Roman maritime colony at Terracina. 328 BC Latin colony at Fregellae (just in Samnite territory)."},{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":-300,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"much of central Italy remained without cities down to the age of Cicero. Here the pattern was of scattered villages and farmsteads, often within reach of a fortified hill-top, where it was possible to take refuge in time of war, but which was never built up or lived in, indeed which did not even fulfil the political or religious functions of a city.\" Detailed descriptions of different types of communities in the Peninsula and their relations 1. Rome 2. Satellite village 1. Capital 'Rome' By 300 BC had expanded to include all of southern Italy. 2.municipia3.coloniae4. Village/vici5. Pagirural settlements colonies 338 BC Roman maritime colony at Antium. 334 BC Latin colony at Cales. 329 BC Roman maritime colony at Terracina. 328 BC Latin colony at Fregellae (just in Samnite territory)."},{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. The capital (Rome) 2. Provincial capitals3. Client States/Kingdoms (e.g. Cappadocia, Egypt, Numidia)4. Colonies/coloniae and Municipia5. Tributary communities, not necessarily urbanized6. Village/vici and7. Pagi (rural settlements).In lower population density regions there could be no difference between vici and pagi. There could also be some overlap between provincial capitals and coloniae/municipia. As a result, the code '6 levels' corresponds to more populous regions, whilst in sparser populated regions the code '4 levels' should be used."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. During the Roman Principate there were salaried officials who worked in the Imperial Bureaux (scrinia) but before this time any bureaucrats are thought to have been unpaid aristocrats. 1. Consuls (two) presided over the Senate (minimum 42 years old) both also commanders. Elected by comitia centuriata, an aristocratic assembly. Until 363 CE consuls may have been called praetors . Two consuls, appointed for one year terms. _Governing institutions_ 1. Senators in the Senate Three hundred senators (no minimum age) elected for life, and ten tribunes to represent plebians (created 471 BCE). In this period 600 then 900. 2. Quaestors in the State treasuryTreasury called aerarium or aerarium Saturni (treasury of Saturn). This was used for \"depositing cash and archives of the Roman state and was situated in the temple of Saturn below the Capitol. It was controlled by the quaestors under the general supervision of the Senate.\" This treasury still existed during the empire period when revenues \"were increasingly diverted into the fiscus (imperial treasury). The aerarium eventually became the treasury of the city of Rome.\" elected position. \"financial and administrative officials who maintained public records, administered the treasury (aerarium), acted as paymasters accompanying generals on campaigns and were financial secretaries to governors.\" In 2nd century BCE the quaestorship (a provincial appointment?) \"was an entry-level office; it had limited powers, and in this period was usually held around age 30.\" 3. Assistants or scribes? 3. Equites managerial class who hold public contractsThe equites, the plebeian \"middle class\", \"were also able to take on public contracts, such as road building and supplying equipment to the army.\" 4. Workers for Equites 1. Censors (two) elected position. Two magistrates \"that involved some especially important sacral and civic duties\". The office of the censor (censorship) from 443 BCE but not always present were two officials who enrolled citizens into military service. 1. Aediles (two) elected by comitia tributa. \"Two plebeian magistrates administered temple of Ceres, function later \"extended to public buildings and archives (of the plebiscita and senatus consulta). From 367 BC two curule aediles were elected from the patricians. The plebeian and curule aediles had similar functions at Rome; they were in charge of the maintenance and repair of public buildings (such as temples, roads and aqueducts), of markets (especially weights and measures), of the annona (to the time of Julius Caesar), and of public games and festivals (to the time of Augustus, when games were transferred to praetors).\" 1. Praetors (six?) elected by comitia centuriata. \"In 366 BC the praetor urbanus (city praetor) was introduced, who was almost exclusively concerned with the administration of law at Rome. The praetor ... was the supreme civil judge. By the middle republic the praetors' powers were restricted to law and justice... By 241 BC a second praetor ... was established to deal with legal cases in which one or both parties were foreigners. ... there were eight by 80 BC. Praetors issued annual edicts that were an important source of Roman law.\" \"A third magistracy, the praetorship, was also established in 367.\" The first plebeian praetor was in 336 BCE. _ Provincial administration _ 2. Provincial governors3. quaestors 2. Municipal government3. Decurions in the townships4. Scribes? 2. Client rulers and Colonies Colonies of citizens - 8 coastal by 264 BCE. Latin colonies established by military. They had a devolved government modelled on the system at Rome."},{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. 1. Consuls (two) presided over the Senate (minimum 42 years old) both also commanders. Elected by comitia centuriata, an aristocratic assembly. Until 363 CE consuls may have been called praetors . Two consuls, appointed for one year terms. _Governing institutions_ 1. Senators in the Senate Three hundred senators (no minimum age) elected for life, and ten tribunes to represent plebians (created 471 BCE). 2. Quaestors in the State treasuryTreasury called aerarium or aerarium Saturni (treasury of Saturn). This was used for \"depositing cash and archives of the Roman state and was situated in the temple of Saturn below the Capitol. It was controlled by the quaestors under the general supervision of the Senate.\" This treasury still existed during the empire period when revenues \"were increasingly diverted into the fiscus (imperial treasury). The aerarium eventually became the treasury of the city of Rome.\" elected position. \"financial and administrative officials who maintained public records, administered the treasury (aerarium), acted as paymasters accompanying generals on campaigns and were financial secretaries to governors.\" In 2nd century BCE the quaestorship (a provincial appointment?) \"was an entry-level office; it had limited powers, and in this period was usually held around age 30.\" 3. Assistants or scribes? 3. Equites managerial class who hold public contractsThe equites, the plebeian \"middle class\", \"were also able to take on public contracts, such as road building and supplying equipment to the army.\" 4. Workers for Equites 1. Censors (two) elected position. Two magistrates \"that involved some especially important sacral and civic duties\". The office of the censor (censorship) from 443 BCE but not always present were two officials who enrolled citizens into military service. 1. Aediles (two) elected by comitia tributa. \"Two plebeian magistrates administered temple of Ceres, function later \"extended to public buildings and archives (of the plebiscita and senatus consulta). From 367 BC two curule aediles were elected from the patricians. The plebeian and curule aediles had similar functions at Rome; they were in charge of the maintenance and repair of public buildings (such as temples, roads and aqueducts), of markets (especially weights and measures), of the annona (to the time of Julius Caesar), and of public games and festivals (to the time of Augustus, when games were transferred to praetors).\" 1. Praetors (six?) elected by comitia centuriata. \"In 366 BC the praetor urbanus (city praetor) was introduced, who was almost exclusively concerned with the administration of law at Rome. The praetor ... was the supreme civil judge. By the middle republic the praetors' powers were restricted to law and justice... By 241 BC a second praetor ... was established to deal with legal cases in which one or both parties were foreigners. ... there were eight by 80 BC. Praetors issued annual edicts that were an important source of Roman law.\" \"A third magistracy, the praetorship, was also established in 367.\" The first plebeian praetor was in 336 BCE. _ Provincial administration _ 2. Municipia/praefecturaeCapua and Cumae had an internal government subject to Roman supervision 2. ColoniaeFirst Latin coloniae after 338, Cales founded 334 BCE. Latin status not Roman citizenship. Other areas, such as Capua and Arpinum, immediately acquired Roman citizenship Colonies of citizens - 8 coastal by 264, Latin colonies established by military (devolved government modelled on Rome). Civitates foederate, socii (allies, contributed troops to Rome). 2. Autonomous governmentsOld Latin states (Tibur and Praeneste) autonomous government in treaty of 338 (could become Roman citizens and were obliged to provide soldiers)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. General (Imperator) 2. comites praetoris and cohortes praetorioWithin the army structure there were comites praetoris (young aristocrats) and cohortes praetorio (to guard the general's tent, the praetorium; these later formed the basis of the later Imperial-era Praetorian Guard). This unit was first created by Scipio Aemilianus. 2. QuaestorsLogistical and administrative support 2. Legion commander (Legate)There were ten cohorts (400-500 men each) within a legion which makes the legion 4000-5000 men. 3. Cohort/Task group leader (Tribunes)Six. Floating role, for detached cohorts and task groups. Under Marius the cohort became the main tactical unit in the Roman army while the maniple endured as an administrative element within it. There were ten cohorts (400-500 men each) within a legion. At some time in the first century BCE the first cohort was doubled in size (800 men). \"The maniples of 120 or 60 men that formed the primary tactical subunits of the manipular legion were subsequently replaced by larger subunits called cohorts. In the imperial period, these cohorts each had a nominal strength of 480 men, divided into six centuries of 80, and this is likely to have been true of late Republican cohorts too. There were ten cohorts in each legion, so a full-strength late Republican legion had 5,000 or so men, all equipped as heavy infantry. We do not know exactly when the cohort became the principal subdivision of the legion, except that it was normal by the time of Caesar's Gallic wars. From this time onwards the maniples only appeared in the titles of the centurions within each legion.\" 4. Senior Centurion (Primus Pilus)\"In the imperial period, these cohorts each had a nominal strength of 480 men, divided into six centuries of 80, and this is likely to have been true of late Republican cohorts too. There were ten cohorts in each legion, so a full-strength late Republican legion had 5,000 or so men, all equipped as heavy infantry.\" 5. Centurion\"While the distinction between hastati, principes and triarii was preserved in centurions' titles, by Marius' day it ceased to have any significance in how legionaries were equipped and fought. ... Henceforth Roman legions were composed entirely of heavy infantry.\" 6. Optio (?) There were 32 troopers (turma) under a decurion (sergeant). Twelve turma formed an ala (squadron), which was commanded by officer of tribune rank 7. Individual soldier"},{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King\"The earliest contemporary description of a Roman legion was written by the Greek writer Polybius in c.150-120 BC. He describes a military organization that is distinctively Roman, and specifically refers to it as a 'legion'. It consisted of 4,200 infantry (5,000 in times of emergency), subdivided into units of 120 or 60 men called maniples ('handfuls'), and so modern scholars often refer to it as the 'manipular' legion, to distinguish it from later legions organized in larger subunits called cohorts.\" \"It perhaps emerged in the 4th century BC (as Livy suggests), due to problems the Romans encountered fighting against enemies who fought in looser formations than the phalanx and in rougher terrain, to which the phalanx was unsuited.\" 1. Two Consuls, field commanders. 2. Quaestors, senior officers. \"446 BC Creation of office of quaestor (two annually elected).\" In 421 BCE quaestors increased to four. 3. Legion (4,200 men) lead by six Tribunes\"Polybius (6.22-23; 25) describes how the legion in this period was divided into four types of infantry. There were three different groups of heavy infantry: 1,200 hastati ('spearmen'), 1,200 principes ('leading men') and 600 triarii ('third line men').\" 362 BCE \"Henceforth Romans annually elect six military tribunes to serve under consuls.\" Legion \"headed by six officers called tribunes, who had to have completed a minimum of five or ten years' military service before appointment.\" 4. Maniple (120 or 60 men) commanded by two Centurions\"The hastati and principes were divided into ten maniples of 120 men, the triarii into ten of 60 men. The velites were also organized into ten subunits, and assigned to the heavy infantry. \"The officers who commanded the maniples, two for each, were centurions, elected by the soldiers themselves.\" 5. Two OptioPage 16 Pollard and Berry (2012): an \"optio\" is present in graphic but not described in text. 6. Individual soldiers"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Pontifex maximus 2. Colleges (flamines, augurs, pontifices, vestals)Three colleges of religious officials. 1. augurs 2. decemviri sacris faciundis 3. pontifices 3. high priests of imperial cult in provinces4. priests for a deity (running a specific temple or sanctuary) \"Freelance\" religious officials (soothsayers, oracles, seers, etc). This hierarchy refers to the state religion only. Six Vestals, appointd by pontifex maximus. Girls 6-10 with two living parents served 30 years during which time had to remain chaste. After 30 released and free to marry. Duties included: tend sacred fire and sacred objects \"on which the survival of Rome depended (such as the 'palladium')\"; making salt cakes used at sacrifices; various rituals and ceremonial appearances. Vestals had unique \"old-fashioned and heavy\" costumes and impressive hairstyles \"which other women only wore on their wedding\". \"Because a vestal's person was sacrosanct, she could not be executed. Instead, she was entombed in an underground chamber with a bed, a lamp, and some food and water, and left to die. Male accomplices were publicly flogged to death.\" \"The vestal virgins were responsible for maintaining the temple of Vesta and performing the rites of the goddess. They ensured that her holy flame, said to have been brought from Troy, was not extingished.\" The vestal virgins had many privileges: \"Wills and treaties were in their keeping, and they themselves could make a will. They could conduct business in their own name. They could give evidence in court without taking an oath. ... If they accidentally met a criminal on his way to execution, he was spared.\" ; \"any injury to them was punishable by death; they could own and administer their own property ...; when they went out they were preceded by a lictor and had complete right of way on the streets; they could even drive in carriages within the city limits (otherwise only permitted to empresses).\" ; given prominent seats at games."},{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Pontifex maximus 2. Colleges (flamines, augurs, pontifices, vestals)Three colleges of religious officials. 1. augurs 2. decemviri sacris faciundis 3. pontifices 3. high priests of imperial cult in provinces4. priests for a deity (running a specific temple or sanctuary) \"Freelance\" religious officials (soothsayers, oracles, seers, etc). This hierarchy refers to the state religion only. Six Vestals, appointd by pontifex maximus. Girls 6-10 with two living parents served 30 years during which time had to remain chaste. After 30 released and free to marry. Duties included: tend sacred fire and sacred objects \"on which the survival of Rome depended (such as the 'palladium')\"; making salt cakes used at sacrifices; various rituals and ceremonial appearances. Vestals had unique \"old-fashioned and heavy\" costumes and impressive hairstyles \"which other women only wore on their wedding\". \"Because a vestal's person was sacrosanct, she could not be executed. Instead, she was entombed in an underground chamber with a bed, a lamp, and some food and water, and left to die. Male accomplices were publicly flogged to death.\" \"The vestal virgins were responsible for maintaining the temple of Vesta and performing the rites of the goddess. They ensured that her holy flame, said to have been brought from Troy, was not extingished.\" The vestal virgins had many privileges: \"Wills and treaties were in their keeping, and they themselves could make a will. They could conduct business in their own name. They could give evidence in court without taking an oath. ... If they accidentally met a criminal on his way to execution, he was spared.\" ; \"any injury to them was punishable by death; they could own and administer their own property ...; when they went out they were preceded by a lictor and had complete right of way on the streets; they could even drive in carriages within the city limits (otherwise only permitted to empresses).\" ; given prominent seats at games."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. During the Roman Principate there were salaried officials who worked in the Imperial Bureaux (scrinia) but before this time any bureaucrats are thought to have been unpaid aristocrats within a complex administrative structure of five census classes each with its own fiscal and military duties."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. During the Roman Principate there were salaried officials who worked in the Imperial Bureaux (scrinia) but before this time any bureaucrats are thought to have been unpaid aristocrats."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The highest officers in the Roman military system were usually senators not professionals. There were, however, professional junior officers at least from the Roman Principate. \"Typically the men who commanded armies and legions were senators. There were no military specialists in Roman government and no imperial high command. All senators alternated brief periods of military command with administrative posts, participation in domestic politics and careers as legal advocates. As military commanders they were, to a great extent, amateurs, even though most did a brief spell as a junior officer (tribune) in a legion. They would have depended on the professional junior officers (tribunes and centurions) as well as the training and discipline of the legionaries themselves to win battles.\"\" \"Tribunes, like the legionary legate (commander), were drawn from Rome's social and political elite, the senatorial and equestrian orders, and were not professional soldiers. They alternated military service with political, judicial and administrative duties.\""},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"The highest officers in the Roman military system were usually senators not professionals. There were, however, professional junior officers at least from the Roman Principate. \"Typically the men who commanded armies and legions were senators. There were no military specialists in Roman government and no imperial high command. All senators alternated brief periods of military command with administrative posts, participation in domestic politics and careers as legal advocates. As military commanders they were, to a great extent, amateurs, even though most did a brief spell as a junior officer (tribune) in a legion. They would have depended on the professional junior officers (tribunes and centurions) as well as the training and discipline of the legionaries themselves to win battles.\"\" \"Tribunes, like the legionary legate (commander), were drawn from Rome's social and political elite, the senatorial and equestrian orders, and were not professional soldiers. They alternated military service with political, judicial and administrative duties.\""},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"The highest officers in the Roman military system were usually senators not professionals. There were, however, professional junior officers at least from the Roman Principate. \"Typically the men who commanded armies and legions were senators. There were no military specialists in Roman government and no imperial high command. All senators alternated brief periods of military command with administrative posts, participation in domestic politics and careers as legal advocates. As military commanders they were, to a great extent, amateurs, even though most did a brief spell as a junior officer (tribune) in a legion. They would have depended on the professional junior officers (tribunes and centurions) as well as the training and discipline of the legionaries themselves to win battles.\"\" \"Tribunes, like the legionary legate (commander), were drawn from Rome's social and political elite, the senatorial and equestrian orders, and were not professional soldiers. They alternated military service with political, judicial and administrative duties.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Late fourth century adopted coinage on Greek model. \"Around 272 Aurelian attempted a currency reform. In place of the defunct sestertius, he issued a XXI billon (very debased silver) coinage as small change (a reformed antoninianus). ... They were made of copper washed in silver and contained about 5 percent silver.\" Rome produced its first coin about 281 BCE, a Greek-style silver didrachma, minted in Neapolis (and twelve years later coins were minted in Rome.) Prior to end of Second Punic War (end 201 BCE) many coins were produced by communities other than Rome. Monetary and economic unity from Rome was achieved by the early 1st century BCE."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rome produced its first coin about 281 BCE, a Greek-style silver didrachma, minted in Neapolis (and twelve years later coins were minted in Rome.) Prior to end of Second Punic War (end 201 BCE) many coins were produced by communities other than Rome. Monetary and economic unity from Rome was achieved by the early 1st century BCE. Roman coins included the silver denarius, silver Sestertius and gold aureus. Further reading: \"Money in the Late Roman Republic.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rawson states \"Rome did not ... impose a common coinage over her sphere of influence, unlike Athens.\""},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rawson states \"Rome did not ... impose a common coinage over her sphere of influence, unlike Athens.\""}]}},"Q201038":{"seshat":["Roman Kingdom"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":20000,"to":50000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"20,000-25,000 (Beloch). 40,000-50,000 (De Martino). 35,000 at most (Ampolo). 25,000-40,000 (Cornell). Previous estimate: {[20,000-30,000]; [40,000-50,000]} \"as a consequence of Rome's urban development during the sixth century, which involved increased economic activity, a rise in population from growth and incorporation of foreigners as new citizens, and the increase in the territorial extent of the Roman state, a new military organization was introduced to take advantage of these economic, demographic, and geographical changes, and the result was a hoplite phalanx recruited from new territorial districts called tribes.\""}],"territory":[{"from":1000,"to":1000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"By end of the Regal Period, Rome held about one third, or more, of the area of Latium Vetas. \"as a consequence of Rome's urban development during the sixth century, which involved increased economic activity, a rise in population from growth and incorporation of foreigners as new citizens, and the increase in the territorial extent of the Roman state, a new military organization was introduced to take advantage of these economic, demographic, and geographical changes, and the result was a hoplite phalanx recruited from new territorial districts called tribes.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":4000,"to":16000,"year_from":-700,"year_to":-700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[4,000-16,000]: 700 BCE; [14,250-57,000]: 650 BCE 100,000: 509 BCE In this period city was growing from a low baseline. Can reasonably infer population was less than 100,000 in 600 BCE. In the 150 years between c700 BCE and 550 BCE Rome acquired c200ha. On the basis of urban area, and a roughly proportional decrease based on Modelksi's 509 BCE estimate (we should remember that as cities acquire more area they generally acquire greater population density), we could infer a population in the region of 15,000-25,000 for 700 BCE. The highest officers in the Roman military system were not professionals. Not until 406 BCE did \"Romans introduce pay for military service.\" This is the earliest possible start date for professional soldiers. Urban area of Rome early 8th Century BCE: 50 ha. 2500-10,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. late 8th Century BCE: 80 ha. 4000-16,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. Previous estimate: 15,000-20,000. mid 6th Century: 285 ha. 14,250-57,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. Previous estimates: [4,000-16,000]: 700 BCE; [60,000-90,000]: 600 BCE"},{"from":14250,"to":57000,"year_from":-600,"year_to":-600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[4,000-16,000]: 700 BCE; [14,250-57,000]: 650 BCE 100,000: 509 BCE In this period city was growing from a low baseline. Can reasonably infer population was less than 100,000 in 600 BCE. In the 150 years between c700 BCE and 550 BCE Rome acquired c200ha. On the basis of urban area, and a roughly proportional decrease based on Modelksi's 509 BCE estimate (we should remember that as cities acquire more area they generally acquire greater population density), we could infer a population in the region of 15,000-25,000 for 700 BCE. The highest officers in the Roman military system were not professionals. Not until 406 BCE did \"Romans introduce pay for military service.\" This is the earliest possible start date for professional soldiers. Urban area of Rome early 8th Century BCE: 50 ha. 2500-10,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. late 8th Century BCE: 80 ha. 4000-16,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. Previous estimate: 15,000-20,000. mid 6th Century: 285 ha. 14,250-57,000 using an estimate of 50-200 people per hectare. Previous estimates: [4,000-16,000]: 700 BCE; [60,000-90,000]: 600 BCE"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Rome. 2. Satellite town.3. Villages (need to be checked)."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. Work on this temple is only thought to have been begun by the last king of the Regal Period, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. During the Roman Kingdom, therefore, the treasury must have been held somewhere else; one might speculate within the court of the monarch. King Servius Tullius (578-535 BCE) - presumably with the resources of his court - may have used this to administer the first census of Rome. 1. King \"while the urban community at Rome may have begun to develop a distinct, community-based identity from the eighth century onwards, the gentilicial elite of Rome, even as late as the early sixth century, would probably be best characterized as simply 'Latin,' or possibily even 'central Italian'. The presence of this pan-central Italian gentilicial aristocracy would have had a dramatic impact on how Rome interracted with other Latin settlements as it may have blurred man of the assumed settlement-based divisions, particularly with regard to military matters, which seem to have been almost entirely under the purview of the more mobile gentilicial elite.\" \"After Romulus, the position of king was held by men of Sabine, Latin and Etruscan extraction. The kingship was not hereditary.\" _Central government_ 2. Senate and an assembly. from tradition we can \"infer an early elective monarchy, the king being elective by vote of the heads of all the Roman families; (i.e., voting under the form of suffrage known as the comitia curiata), and having as merely advisory council, the Senate.\" 2. Senior magistrates of the Assembly (comitia curiata) Rome was similar to a Greek polis. 3. Scribes (inferred - working for senior magistrates) _Clan system (gens)_ 2. Tribal leaderTribes were the basis of political and military organization in middle 7th century BCE. The gens became established in Latium before c600 BCE. The gens system was reformed under Servius Tullius (578-534 BCE). New tribes were created to replace the old three tribes with the division based on wealth."}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"the military organization of the thirty curiae and three archaic tribes can perhaps best be dated to the period of Rome's early unification, during the second half of the seventh century B.C\". \"while the urban community at Rome may have begun to develop a distinct, community-based identity from the eighth century onwards, the gentilicial elite of Rome, even as late as the early sixth century, would probably be best characterized as simply 'Latin,' or possibily even 'central Italian'. The presence of this pan-central Italian gentilicial aristocracy would have had a dramatic impact on how Rome interracted with other Latin settlements as it may have blurred man of the assumed settlement-based divisions, particularly with regard to military matters, which seem to have been almost entirely under the purview of the more mobile gentilicial elite.\" \"The reforms of Servius Tullius, as presented in the literary sources, represented a seismic shift in the organization of Roman society, changing not only how the early Roman army was recruited and equipped, but also the social, politicial, and possibly religious divisions of early Roman society.\" 1. King 2. Leaders of the three tribesThree tribes: Tities, Ramnes, Luceres, each subdivided into 10 curiae, formed the basis of military organization. 3. Leaders of a curiaeThree tribes: Tities, Ramnes, Luceres, each subdivided into 10 curiae, formed the basis of military organization. 4. Individual soldier 1. King 2. Leaders of a centuryThe Centuriate organisation of Servius Tullius (578-534 BCE) had five categories based on wealth. Century was the basic unit. Each curia had 100 men. 3. Leaders of a curiae 4. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Lavinium was an important religious centre and place of pilgrimage. The Penates, the cult of the ancestral gods was located here. Cult of Vesta and Capitoline Jupiter attested from middle 7th Century. \"The reforms of Servius Tullius, as presented in the literary sources, represented a seismic shift in the organization of Roman society, changing not only how the early Roman army was recruited and equipped, but also the social, politicial, and possibly religious divisions of early Roman society.\" 1.King (ritual specialist along with other functions; e.g. Numa noted as founding many Roman ritual practices during Regnal period) public auspices rituals \"formed the basis of regal and then, in the Republic, magisterial power\" 2. Priest in temple"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Before the Roman Principate there was no formal bureaucracy. The old Roman treasury - the aerarium Saturni - was housed in the basement of the Temple of Saturn The state treasury of the Roman Republic was kept in the custody of the priesthood inside the temple of Saturn, and was managed by elected aristocratic officials called quaestors. Work on this temple is only thought to have been begun by the last king of the Regal Period, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus. During the Roman Kingdom, therefore, the treasury must have been held somewhere else; one might speculate within the court of the monarch. King Servius Tullius (578-535 BCE) - presumably with the resources of his court - may have used this to administer the first census of Rome."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The highest officers in the Roman military system were not professionals."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rome produced its first coin about 281 BCE, a Greek-style silver didrachma, minted in Neapolis (and twelve years later coins were minted in Rome.)"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Greek coinage was present in Rome and the first Roman coin was based on the Greek style. Coin production spread from Asia minor, where it originated in the late 7th BCE, \"to Greek colonies in southern Italy by 500 BC. These coins came to be made of pure silver formed between obverse and reverse dies. Bronze coins were first minted in the Greek areas of southern Italy.\" However this was after this polity's temporal span, currency not present in this period."}]}},"Q1154406":{"seshat":["Ashikaga Shogunate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":12500000,"to":12500000,"year_from":1400,"year_to":1400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"a number of different estimates exist for this time period. I have coded 9,750,000: 1300CE; 12,500,000: 1400CE;17,000,000: 1500CE; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones as it provides estimates throughout the period. 9,600,000-10,500,000: 1450CE population estimate by Farris"}],"territory":[{"from":295000,"to":295000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 295,000: 1336 CE. At the beginning of the Muromachi period the shogunate’s authority encompassed the whole country therefore I have provided the gross land figure for Japan’s three main islands Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 'By the time of the last shogun, the scope of the bakufu's control had been reduced almost solely to the city of Kyoto and its close environs. Control of Kyoto, in and of itself, was an important achievement, and the fact that Kyoto became subject to bakufu administration was of major significance for the Ashikaga house's staying ability.' These trends reached a peak during the so-called sengoku or ‘warring states’ period (1467-1568) when the Japanese state itself began to fragment, causing the old borders to lose their original meaning as they were supplemented and replaced by a new system of ‘internal’ borders. 'regional powers became more and more independent after the Onin War of the mid fifteenth century. During the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries these warlords, known as sengoku daimyo¯, consolidated their rule over domains that were essentially sovereign ‘mini-states’. Admittedly, they were not necessarily conceived as such at the time: the idea of ‘Japan’ as a single country remained fairly strong in the sengoku period, as is clear from the writings of the various Europeans who visited Japan during the sixteenth century."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":1400,"year_to":1450,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Kyoto"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"6. Cities (palace, monumental structures, market, central government buildings, military fortifications, transport hubs, shrines, temples) Population:??? ‘Between 1550 and 1700 Kyoto was the first city to surpass a population of 100,000 people.' 5. Castle Town /Market Town (market, regional government buildings, military fortifications) Population: 'Castle towns trace their origin to the Muromachi period and the construction of wooden defenses typically located on hills for reasons of protection and surveillance. These fortifications were the precursors to the castles and castle-building styles that grew more elaborate during the Warring States period. As the military and political significance of castles grew, they also became the focal point for economic activity within their local region. With the rise of commerce around castles, merchants, artisans, and peasants joined the warrior class in taking up residence within a castle’s sphere of influence. Castles became castle towns as a result.' ‘During the 16th century, castle towns (joka machi) began their transformation into town and city complexes. This occurred in part because castle towns served as government administration centres. Many daimyo and almost all samurai lived within the castle town complexes. Merchants, traders, artisans, craftspeople, and others were eventually incorporated into these towns and cities to provide the labor and market activity needed to support the work conducted there and to further build and maintain the infrastructure. As a result of this dynamic, castle and market towns came to occupy the same location.’ 4. Port Towns (accommodation, trade, transport hubs) Population:??? 'Port towns grew up around sea ports that developed flourishing trading centers in the medieval and early modern periods' 3. Temple/Shrine Towns (shrines, temples, accommodation) Population:??? ‘Temple and shrine towns (monzen machi) originated in the vicinity of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, usually along the roads leading to these religious sites. These towns served the needs of pilgrims visiting the temples and shrines. Establishments that developed along these routes provided food and lodging to pilgrims, and sold amulets and other religious items. As religious sites grew in size, so did the permanent infrastructure needed to support this activity.’ 2. Post-Station Towns (accommodation, shops, entertainment, transport hubs) Population:??? ‘Post-station towns (shukuba machi or shukueki) grew up along the medieval and early modern road systems that connected cities and towns to each other.’ Their presence in the Muromachi period is referenced in (Yamamura 2008:p251) 'the shugosho were frequently located in post towns and port cities, areas of strategic importance in communications.' 1. Village (residential) Population:10-100 ‘Besides farm villages, fishing villages were a feature of medieval and early modern rural life.’"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Needs more work done to illustrate chain-of-command. Coded same as Kamakura. 'For the nearly 700-year span of Japan’s medieval and early modern periods, warriors-with varying levels of effectiveness and hegemony-ruled the country. Although the fortunes of particular extended warrior families waxed and waned, only members of the warrior class could serve as shoguns, the military rulers. Their governments, known commonly as shogunates, were often challenged by the interests of other powerful warrior families in various parts of Japan and by the imperial family in Kyoto. Although the warrior bureaucracy largely controlled the affairs of the state, the emperor and the imperial court were still the formal head of government. Warrior governments typically sought out- or forced-the formal imperial decrees that gave legitimacy to the shoguns. Occasionally emperors would attempt to reassert direct imperial rule. They were, however, always suppressed in favor of warrior rule... Warrior governments functioned as a lord-vassal system of loyalty. This is reflected in the political structures of the different shogunates. Although they varied greatly in their organization, the notion of loyalty, whether earned or forced, always laid the foundation on which the warrior government was built.' 'The Ashikaga shoguns of the medieval period, for all the noble status they had acquired, were obliged to share political power with other court families, other members of the military aristocracy, and the religious orders. Theirs was a national command limited by the fragmentation of sovereignty and by the precedents and structures of the court-centered institutions of governance.' 'The Ashikaga shogunate inherited much of the administrative structure of the Kamakura government. Key offices such as the Mandokoro (Administrative Board), Samurai-dokoro (Board of Retainers), and the Monchujo (Board of Inquiry) remained. The following description of individual positions and offices only covers those not already dealt with in the section on the Kamakura administrative structure. The only exception is when a particular office or position underwent significant change in the Muromachi period. _Central Administration_ 6. Shogun 5. Shogunal Deputy (Kanrei)\"The office of kanrei was instituted by the Ashikaga shogunate. The role of the shogunal deputy was to assist the shogun in administering the warrior government. One importantbetween the shogunate and the shugo (military governors). Military governors had grown more powerful by this time and posed a threat to the governing authority of the shogunate. Three warrior families— the Shiba, the Hosokawa, and the Hatakeyama — shared this position on a rotating basis.\" \"The office of kanrei was instituted by the Ashikaga shogunate. The role of the shogunal deputy was to assist the shogun in administering the warrior government. One importantbetween the shogunate and the shugo (military governors). Military governors had grown more powerful by this time and posed a threat to the governing authority of the shogunate. Three warrior families— the Shiba, the Hosokawa, and the Hatakeyama — shared this position on a rotating basis.\" 4. Council of State (Hyojoshu)\"The Hyojoshu was established in 1225 by Hojo Yasutoki as a way to share the responsibility for governance. The council included the most important statesmen, warriors, and scholars. Matters were decided by a simple majority vote.’ The council continued under the Ashikaga shogunate.\" 3. High Court (Hikitsuke)\"The Hikitsuke was established as a judicial court by shogunal regent Hojo Tokiyori in 1249. It was intended to supplement the responsibilities of the Hyojoshu (Council of State). Among the legal issues dealt with by this body were land claims and taxation.’ The High Court continued under the Ashikaga shogunate.\" 2. 3. Administrative Board (Mandokoro)\"Established in 1191 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the Mandokoro took over the functions of the Kumonjo as the main executive and general administrative office of the Kamakura shogunate. After Hojo family regents assumed real control over the shogunate, they transformed the Mandokoro into an office whose sole responsibility was to oversee the government’s finances.\" 2. 3. Board of Retainers (Samurai-Dokoro)\"This office was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180. It functioned as a disciplinary board to regulate the activities of Yoritomo’s expanding network of warrior vassals (gokenin). Its main responsibility was overseeing the police and the land stewards (jito). In the Muromachi period, added duties included security for the capital at Kyoto, and administration of shogunal and other property.\" 2. e.g. head of police inferred 1. e.g. policeman inferred 3. Board of Inquiry (Monchujo)\"See above under 'Kamakura Shogunate.' In the Muromachi period, many of the responsibilities formerly carried out by the Monchujo were reassigned to the Mandokoro (Administrative Board), and the Board of Inquiry was reduced to record keeping.\" 2. Scribes? _Local Administration_ 4. Kamakura Governor-General (Kamakura Kubo) \"During the Muromachi period, the term kubo referred both to Ashikaga shoguns and to their governors- general. The post of Kamakura kubo was established in 1336 to monitor the interests of the shogunate in Kamakura and eastern Japan. To this end, the Kamakura kubo was responsible for governing affairs in this region. The Kamakura governorgeneral became a hereditary position within the Ashikaga family.\" 4. Kanto Deputy (Kanto Kanrei)\"The Kanto kanrei was a position initiated by the Ashikaga shogunate in 1349. Headquartered in Kyoto, the shogunate needed an overseer in the Kanto region, which included Kamakura. The Kanto deputy fulfilled this role, especially in providing assistance to Kanto area governors-general (Kamakura kubo). From the latter half of the 14th century, members of different branches of the Uesugi family held the position of Kanto kanrei.\" 4. Kyushu Deputy (Kyushu Tandai) 4. Oshu Deputy (Oshu Tandai) 4. Ushu Deputy (Ushu Tandai)As part of the Ashikaga shogunates’ effort to maintain control over political and military affairs, regional deputies (tandai) were appointed in parts of Japan that were deemed strategically important. The Muromachi-period government placed deputies in northwestern Honshu (the Oshu and Ushu tandai) and in Kyushu (Kyushu tandai). See also “Rokuhara tandai” and “Chinzei tandai” above under “Kamakura Shogunate.” 2. Military Governors (Shugo)\"The shugo rank was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo to maintain control over the provinces. The position became a formal part of the administrative structure of the Kamakura shogunate. Although Yoritomo handselected the first shugo, this title became hereditary over time. Duties of this office included general police and peacekeeping activities and administrative responsibilities such as investigating crimes and judging legal cases.\" 2. Deputy Military Governors (Shugodai)\"The position of shugodai existed during the Kamakura period. Up until the Mongol invasions in the latter half of the 13th century, shugo infrequently lived in the provinces they were assigned to govern. This responsibility fell to the shugodai. In the Muromachi period, the shugodai became a more formal part of the shogunate’s administrative structure.\" 4. Land Stewards (Jito) -- since Jito collected taxes may also be a low level in the central government chain of command e.g. treasury (if it was called that) \"Land stewards, or jito, were officials appointed by the Kamakura shogunate from among its most trusted vassals to serve as estate (shoen) supervisors. Jito were responsible for overseeing the shogunate’s tax interests on these private estates. As such, jito handled the collection of taxes and ensured correct distribution. The jito system, however, was also a means whereby the Kamakura shogunate could reward its loyal vassals (gokenin) for their service to the military government. Over time, jito became an inherited office.’ still present in the Muromachi period.\" 3. Deputy Land Stewards (Jitodai)\"Within the jito system, some shogunal vassals received appointments to oversee multiple estates. When this occurred, deputy land stewards were used to govern these additional regions. This position was significant enough to become a formal part of the Ashikaga shogunate’s administrative structure.\" Village level leadership/government?"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"6. Emperor 5. Council of state4. Shogunate? 3. Shugo? 2. Gokenin? 1. Individual soldier below are two alternate and concurrent command chains --Chains of command in the late Kamakura military 1 — 5. Council of State 4. Shogunate 3. Shugo 2. Gokenin 1. Provincial warriors --Chains of command in the late Kamakura military 2— 4. Council of State 3. Provincial government 2. non-gokenin warrior leaders 1. Provincial warriors ‘Thus the organizational structure under which late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century warriors served looked something like the system depicted in Figure 2.3. The command structures of the Kemmu regime and the Muromachi shogunate (during the Nambokuchō era) remained essentially the same, at least in theory. ‘Warrior allegiances were further circumscribed by the multi-tiered, hierarchical structure of the military networks to which they belonged. Most of the provincial warriors in the organizations of prominent bushi had vassals of their own, and many of the members of these, in turn, had followers.’"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inferred continuity with preceding polity. 1. Master 2. Disciple"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'By contrast, Tadayoshi was in charge of what Sato called the more \"bureaucratic,\" or administrative and judicial, functions of government. Under Tadayoshi was organized the deliberative council, consisting of selected professional bureaucrats, and a number of offices that kept land records, adjudicated lawsuits, and handled relations between the bakufu and the imperial court and the religious orders.' 'Throughout the Muromachi period there were more than fifty families of professional administrators available for service, many of whom had served the imperial court and the Kamakura bakufu. Such families were now brought into Ashikaga service because of their special administrative skills. In time they formed the Corps of Administrators, the bugyonin-shu. At any one time, between fifteen and sixty members might be assigned to the finance, justice, and administrative organs of the bakufu'"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘by the middle of the medieval era in the 14th century, armies grew increasingly privatized and professionalized, in part due to this effective system of reciprocal values.’"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Money had not been minted in Japan since the twelve imperial coins (kocho junisen) of Nara times, and from late Heian, Sung [Chinese dynasty 960-1280CE] coins circulated unchecked by legislative action.' ' a situation that remained largely unchanged until 1588CE when Hideyoshi commissioned the Goto family to mint oban gold coins.'"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘for several centuries [before 1600], Japan’s monetary circulation depended mainly on the import of Chinese bronze coins, making Japan a peripheral zone in a China-centered monetary sphere that extended across East and Southeast Asia.’ 'The importance of trade with Ming China to the political, cultural, and economic life of Muromachi Japan has been dealt with extensively elsewhere. It has been suggested that in addition to the \"enormous profits\" derived from it, the trade gave to the bakufu monopoly control over the Chinese coins imported into Japan and thereby a status equivalent to that of a central mint.'"}]}},"Q736839":{"seshat":["Kamakura Shogunate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":5500000,"to":6300000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[5,500,000-6,300,000]: 1150 CE; [5,700,000-6,200,000]: 1280 CE There are a number of different population estimates for this period I have coded 5,500,000-6,300,000: 1150CE; 5,700,000-6,200,000: 1280CE population estimate by Farris as it is the most recent 5,750,000: 1100CE; 7,500,000: 1200CE; 9,750,00: 1300CE Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones."},{"from":5700000,"to":6200000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"[5,500,000-6,300,000]: 1150 CE; [5,700,000-6,200,000]: 1280 CE There are a number of different population estimates for this period I have coded 5,500,000-6,300,000: 1150CE; 5,700,000-6,200,000: 1280CE population estimate by Farris as it is the most recent 5,750,000: 1100CE; 7,500,000: 1200CE; 9,750,00: 1300CE Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones."}],"territory":[{"from":295000,"to":295000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2 I have provided the gross land figure for Japan’s three main islands Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 'The western and southern borders remained more or less constant, while in the north there may have been some limited expansion into southern Hokkaido. Beyond this is it difficult to be specific. The problem is that in the medieval period we no longer have any convenient yardstick for measuring the extent of Japanese ‘territory’. The old provinces and districts continued to exist, at least in name, but the state ceased to play an active role in defining or maintaining territorial units of local administration. On a smaller scale, the government was involved in defining the boundaries of private landholdings, both by conducting land-surveys such as the ōtabumi of the Kamakura period, and by resolving land disputes through the judicial system. However these activities had merely local significance and did not result in any clarification of Japan’s borders as a whole. As a consequence it is very difficult to say where the frontiers of the medieval Japanese state lay; we know the locations of individual landholdings, and we know the general spheres of activity of the various public officials, but we do not know the outer limits of the system itself—precisely because no attempt was made to define these limits at the time."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":175000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Kamakura. Estimate by Chandler although probably too high. -- have made high end of a range."},{"from":100000,"to":200000,"year_from":1250,"year_to":1250,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Kamakura. Estimate by Chandler although probably too high. -- have made high end of a range."},{"from":100000,"to":200000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Kamakura. Estimate by Chandler although probably too high. -- have made high end of a range."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"5. Cities (palace, monumental structures, market, central government buildings, military fortifications, transport hubs, shrines, temples) Population: 'cities such as Kyoto and Kamakura that developed into flourishing cities due to their position as either imperial or shogunal capitals.' 4. Market Town (market) Population: 'Market towns (ichiba machi) originated in the Kamakura period as areas the government authorized to sell produce and other goods on certain days of the month. 3. Port Towns (accommodation, trade, transport hubs) Population:??? Port towns grew up around sea ports that developed flourishing trading centers in the medieval and early modern periods. 2. Temple/Shrine Towns (shrines, temples, accommodation) Population:??? ‘Temple and shrine towns (monzen machi) originated in the vicinity of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, usually along the roads leading to these religious sites. These towns served the needs of pilgrims visiting the temples and shrines. Establishments that developed along these routes provided food and lodging to pilgrims, and sold amulets and other religious items. As religious sites grew in size, so did the permanent infrastructure needed to support this activity.’ 1. Village (residential) Population:10-100 ‘Besides farm villages, fishing villages were a feature of medieval and early modern rural life.’"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'For the nearly 700-year span of Japan’s medieval and early modern periods, warriors - with varying levels of effectiveness and hegemony—ruled the country. Although the fortunes of particular extended warrior families waxed and waned, only members of the warrior class could serve as shoguns, the military rulers. Their governments, known commonly as shogunates, were often challenged by the interests of other powerful warrior families in various parts of Japan and by the imperial family in Kyoto. Although the warrior bureaucracy largely controlled the affairs of the state, the emperor and the imperial court were still the formal head of government. Warrior governments typically sought out- or forced-the formal imperial decrees that gave legitimacy to the shoguns. Occasionally emperors would attempt to reassert direct imperial rule. They were, however, always suppressed in favor of warrior rule. During the first part of the Kamakura period, the shogunate and the court more or less shared governmental authority.Warrior governments functioned as a lord-vassal system of loyalty. This is reflected in the political structures of the different shogunates. Although they varied greatly in their organization, the notion of loyalty, whether earned or forced, always laid the foundation on which the warrior government was built. 'The shogunal regent (shikken) system put into effect by the Hojo family further transformed the relationship between court and shogunate. At court, the imperial government was run, in fact, not by the emperor but by an imperial regent from the aristocratic Fujiwara family. The Hojo family was now in control of the shogunate via the shogunal regency. Both forms of authority were thus controlled by regents, with the Hojo regent regulating most aspects of government. The Hojo regents also increasingly involved themselves in matters of imperial succession, thereby lending additional complications to the already divisive process of choosing emperors.' 1. Hojo regents _Central Administration_ 6. Shogun 5. Shogunal regent (shikken)\"The office of shogunal regent was held by members of the Hojo family between 1203, when Hojo Tokimasa assumed the title, until the end of the Kamakura period in 1333. Lacking the necessary social rank to hold the title of shogun, it was through the office of shikken that the Hojo family was able to run the government behind the scene. As shogunal regents, the Hojo family not only controlled the affairs of state, they eventually came to decide who would be appointed shogun in the first place.\" 5. Cosigner (rensho)\"The office of rensho was established by the shogunal regent Hojo Yasutoki in 1225 as a way to share power and government administration with competing branches of the Hojo family. This position created, in effect, an associate regent. Official documents required the signatures of both the regent and the cosigner.\" 4. Members of the Council of State (Hyojoshu)\"The Hyojoshu was established in 1225 by Hojo Yasutoki as a way to share the responsibility for governance. The council included the most important statesmen, warriors, and scholars. Matters were decided by a simple majority vote. It was the highest decision-making body in the Kamakura government.\" 3. Public Documents Office (Kumonjo)\"The Kumonjo was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1184 as the main executive and general administrative office of his government. After the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, this office was renamed the Mandokoro.\" 3. Administrative Board (Mandokoro)\"Established in 1191 by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the Mandokoro took over the functions of the Kumonjo as the main executive and general administrative office of the Kamakura shogunate. After Hojo family regents assumed real control over the shogunate, they transformed the Mandokoro into an office whose sole responsibility was to oversee the government’s finances.\" 3. Board of Inquiry (Monchujo)\"In 1184 Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Monchujo to be responsible for legal matters, especially dealing with lawsuits and appeals. Most cases concerned disputed land rights, but over time they included such things as business matters and loans.\" 3. Board of Retainers (Samurai-dokoro)\"This office was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180. It functioned as a disciplinary board to regulate the activities of Yoritomo’s expanding network of warrior vassals (gokenin). Its main responsibility was overseeing the police and the land stewards (jito). In the Muromachi period, added duties included security for the capital at Kyoto, and administration of shogunal and other property.\" 3. High Court (Hikitsukeshu)\"The Hikitsuke was established as a judicial court by shogunal regent Hojo Tokiyori in 1249. It was intended to supplement the responsibilities of the Hyojoshu (Council of State). Among the legal issues dealt with by this body were land claims and taxation.\" 2. Department head, e.g. head of department dealing with tax law1. Department staff e.g. worker in department dealing with taxa law _Local Administration_ 3. Kyoto Military Governor (Kyoto Shugo) -- who did the governor directly report to? who appointed him? \"The position of Kyoto military governor was established at the beginning of the Kamakura shogunate. The governor’s role was to oversee the affairs of the imperial court on behalf of the shogunate. This position was replaced by the Rokuhara tandai in 1221.\" 2. Rokuhara Deputies (Rokuhara Tandai)\"The office of Rokuhara tandai (shogunal deputies located in the Rokuhara district of Kyoto) was established in 1221 to replace the office of Kyoto shugo as supervisors of political, military, and legal matters. The Rokuhara tandai were responsible not only for overseeing Kyoto, but also affairs in the southwestern part of Japan. This position was created as the direct effect of Emperor Go-Toba’s attempt, known as the Jokyu Disturbance, to overthrow the shogunate and reestablish direct imperial rule. After Go-Toba’s defeat, the Rokuhara tandai was set up in part to ensure that such threats to shogunal power did not occur again.\" 3. Kyushu Commissioner (Chinzei Bugyo)\"This position was established by the Kamakura shogunate. The shogunate appointed two commissioners to oversee local Kyushu matters, especially the activities of Minamoto vassals.\" 3. Oshu General Commissioner (Oshu Sobugyo)\"This office was established by the Kamakura shogunate at the beginning of the medieval period in an area of northeastern Japan known as Oshu (island of Honshu). This region was the domain of a warrior branch of the Fujiwara family known as the Oshu Fujiwara who ruled the area with little intervention from the imperial court during the Heian period. In 1189, Minamoto no Yoritomo, fearing the power of this domain, attacked and conquered the Oshu Fujiwara. The position of Oshu general commissioner was founded to manage affairs in this region for the shogunate.\" 3. Military Governors (Shugo)\"The shugo rank was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo to maintain control over the provinces. The position became a formal part of the administrative structure of the Kamakura shogunate. Although Yoritomo handselected the first shugo, this title became hereditary over time. Duties of this office included general police and peacekeeping activities and administrative responsibilities such as investigating crimes and judging legal cases.\" 3. Jito (Land Stewards)\"Land stewards, or jito, were officials appointed by the Kamakura shogunate from among its most trusted vassals to serve as estate (shoen) supervisors. Jito were responsible for overseeing the shogunate’s tax interests on these private estates. As such, jito handled the collection of taxes and ensured correct distribution. The jito system, however, was also a means whereby the Kamakura shogunate could reward its loyal vassals (gokenin) for their service to the military government. Over time, jito became an inherited office.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"--Early Kamakura Military Structure-- 4. Shogun 3. Battle commanders 2. Gokenin 1. Provincial warriors See chart in Friday 2004.p.50.‘The organization of early Kamakura armies is manifest in Azuma kagami’s description of the forces deployed at the battle of Ichinotani, in the second month of 1184. Command of the main host was entrusted to Yoritomo’s brother Noriyori, whose “accompanying troops” consisted of thirty-two named vassals and “more than 56,000 horsemen under them,” while a second division,commanded by Yoshitsune, included seventeen named vassals and “more than 20,000 horsemen under them.” Three points stand out from this account. First, the text assigns no formal titles to Noriyori and Yoshitsune, describing them only as the “commanding officer for the main force” (ōte no taishōgun) and “commanding officer for the flanking force” (karamete no taishō gun). Second, the identification of only three levels of warriors - divisional commanders, named vassals and “horsemen under them” - and the ratio of officers to other warriors (the improbable overall numbers notwithstanding) testifies to the lack of articulation in the army. And third, the assignment of vassals to the divisions betrays no logical pattern, beyond grouping warriors of the same surname together. Both forces included men of Taira, Minamoto and Fujiwara descent; both included men from various provinces;and men from the same provinces were split between the divisions. below are two alternate and concurrent command chains --Chains of command in the late Kamakura military 1 — 5. Council of State 4. Shogunate 3. Shugo 2. Gokenin 1. Provincial warriors --Chains of command in the late Kamakura military 2— 4. Council of State 3. Provincial government 2. non-gokenin warrior leaders 1. Provincial warriors ‘Kamakura continued, on occasion, to make use of the older provincial government mechanisms for mustering warriors, or to mobilize important vassals directly. ... Gokenin and their followers, moreover, made up but a small percentage of the total warrior population of the time; substantial numbers of bushi remained under the jurisdiction of estate proprietors or provincial governors. Thus the organizational structure under which late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century warriors served looked something like the system depicted in Figure 2.3. The command structures of the Kemmu regime and the Muromachi shogunate (during the Nambokuchō era) remained essentially the same, at least in theory. ‘Warrior allegiances were further circumscribed by the multi-tiered, hierarchical structure of the military networks to which they belonged. Most of the provincial warriors in the organizations of prominent bushi had vassals of their own, and many of the members of these, in turn, had followers.’"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Master 2. Disciple ‘Honen and, especially, Shinran present interesting cases in the problems of institutional development in the Kamakura schools. Both of them preached a form of salvation requiring total reliance on the power of Amida Buddha and complete denial of self. Implicit in that view is the repudiation of any qualitative difference between teacher and follower and, by logical extension, the rejection of the hierarchy necessary for setting up a religious organization. This attitude is exhibited in its purest form in Shinran's assertion, preserved in the Tannisho, that he was on the same plane with other believers and that he shared with them the same faith. The resistance to formal religious organization intimated in Shinran's statement was one of Kamakura Buddhism's revolutionary characteristics. Notwithstanding these antiorganizational inclinations, religious bodies did take shape, with the Kamakura originators at their center. This process of formation is seen in the examples of Honen and Shinran alike. They themselves functioned as guides and advisers in matters of religious faith but around them revolved a great number of organizers and proselytizers.' 'Because specialized training and understanding are part of Zen, it is impossible for ordinary members of the organization to stand above the teacher or master.' The following is also worth noting: 'With the exception of Zen in the early period, particularly the Soto Zen school of Dogen, all the schools of Kamakura Buddhism actively proselytized among lay people. Hence, as the religious organizations gained greater structure, groups of believers had considerable say in the school's operation. The clerical organizers of the schools functioned primarily as leaders of ritual and religious practice, but the people who oversaw the organization's economic affairs were often lay adherents. Through their combined efforts the Kamakura schools gained a high degree of institutional stability, though the power and vitality of their teachings were sometimes diluted by institutional concerns.' 'Shinran taught that all people are equal in the sight of Amida Buddha. He was critical of the clerical ideal that existed in the established Buddhist schools, and he described himself as neither priest nor layman. Because of this outlook, the Shinshu religious organization, during its formative period at least, consisted of nothing more than individual congregations. In congregational dojo there was no great difference between dojo leaders and ordinary believers, in either intellectual capacity or economic means. But this idyllic period of Shinran's school did not last long, for a master-disciple relationship gradually evolved between the dojo head and the average adherent.' '˜Details of the early gozan network are unclear, but the surviving records indicate that the Hojo regents in Kamakura took the initiative in honoring and regulating the new Zen monasteries that they were building, by adopting the Southern Sung practice of organizing an official three-tiered hierarchy of Zen monasteries.'"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘The Kamakura Bakufu used the services of educated, professional officials or bureaucrats to regularize administrative and judicial processes. The transference of power from aristocratic to military hands was gradual and did not eliminate rational procedures and precedent from government. At both the national and local levels, control was, within obvious limits, systematic. Insofar as possible, it was also consistent. Bureacratic elements were included in the Bakufu from the Kamakura through the Tokugawa era.’"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘by the middle of the medieval era in the 14th century, armies grew increasingly privatized and professionalized, in part due to this effective system of reciprocal values.’"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'Money had not been minted in Japan since the twelve imperial coins (kocho junisen) of Nara times, and from late Heian, Sung [Chinese dynasty 960-1280CE] coins circulated unchecked by legislative action. However, with the development of various forces of production and the expansion of commerce, the demand for a circulating currency increased. The court was thus forced to recognize the great importance of the Sung coins, whose circulation had been prohibited until early Kamakura. '"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘for several centuries [before 1600], Japan’s monetary circulation depended mainly on the import of Chinese bronze coins, making Japan a peripheral zone in a China-centered monetary sphere that extended across East and Southeast Asia.’ 'From late Heian to early Kamakura times, the court had forbidden metal currency and prohibited the circulation of \"new coins,\" that is, Southern Sung coins, in order to control prices. In ...1199[CE], the year of Minamoto Yoritomo's death, the Southern Sung also prohibited the export of Sung copper coins by Japanese and Koryo merchants. At that time copper coins were not used as money in trade transactions but were exchanged for goods of equivalent value...However, with the development of various forces of production and the expansion of commerce, the demand for a circulating currency increased. The court was thus forced to recognize the great importance of the Sung coins' 'The tremendous outflow of Sung coins to Japan as well as to various parts of Asia aggravated the economic crisis throughout the Southern Sung, causing the government to adopt stringent regulations to curtail the flow of copper coins to Japan. The excessive exporting necessary to obtain the Sung coins also disrupted the Japanese economy.'"}]}},"Q205662":{"seshat":["Tokugawa Shogunate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":22000000,"to":22000000,"year_from":1603,"year_to":1603,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."},{"from":25000000,"to":25000000,"year_from":1650,"year_to":1650,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."},{"from":29000000,"to":29000000,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."},{"from":29000000,"to":29000000,"year_from":1750,"year_to":1750,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."},{"from":28000000,"to":28000000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."},{"from":32000000,"to":32000000,"year_from":1850,"year_to":1850,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"During this period population census were carried out ‘However, the accuracy of such statistics varies greatly, as the surveys often neglected different demographics like members of the samurai household, children, and others’. A number of scholars have used various methods based on the census and other data to provide estimates that more accurately reflect the actual population. 22,000,000: 1600CE; 25,000,000: 1650CE; 29,000,000: 1700CE; 29,000,000: 1750CE; 28,000,000: 1800CE; 32,000,000: 1850; Population estimate by McEvedy and Jones based on census data chosen to code as it provides figures for the duration of the polity. 26,065,425: 1721CE; 26,921,816: 1732CE; 26,153,450: 1744CE; 26,061,830: 1756CE; 26,010,600: 1780CE; 24,891,441: 1792CE; 25,517,729: 1804CE; 27,201,400: 1828CE; 27,063,907: 1834; 26,907,625: 1846; Based on census data summarized by (Totman 1993). 15,000,000-17,000,000: 1600CE population estimate by Farris ."}],"territory":[{"from":295000,"to":295000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2 gross land area. ‘during the early modern period, Japan consisted essentially of the three major islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku.’"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":570361,"to":570361,"year_from":1678,"year_to":1678,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Edo (Tokyo) transformed from a small village when Tokugawa Ieyasu situated his military headquarters there, he himself taking up residence in 1590. Ieyasu selected it as his capital after the battle of Sekigahara ‘by the end of the eighteenth century it had a population of around a million, making it the biggest city in the world at the time.’"},{"from":1300000,"to":1300000,"year_from":1721,"year_to":1721,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Edo (Tokyo) transformed from a small village when Tokugawa Ieyasu situated his military headquarters there, he himself taking up residence in 1590. Ieyasu selected it as his capital after the battle of Sekigahara ‘by the end of the eighteenth century it had a population of around a million, making it the biggest city in the world at the time.’"},{"from":1400000,"to":1400000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Edo (Tokyo) transformed from a small village when Tokugawa Ieyasu situated his military headquarters there, he himself taking up residence in 1590. Ieyasu selected it as his capital after the battle of Sekigahara ‘by the end of the eighteenth century it had a population of around a million, making it the biggest city in the world at the time.’"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘the urban population grew from about 1.4 million (7 or 8 per cent of the total) in the early Tokugawa period to about 5 million (about 16 per cent of the total) by the end of the century.’ 6. Metropolises (palace, monumental structures, theatre, market, central government buildings, military fortifications, transport hubs, shrines, temples) Population: 200,000 -1,400,000 Edo (Tokyo), Kyoto and Osaka ‘were commonly referred to as the santo (three metropolises), and were the three main pillars of the urban system. ‘Between 1550 and 1700 Kyoto was the first city to surpass a population of 100,000 people. By 1700 the city was estimated to have approximately 350,000 individuals. Osaka had roughly 500,000 people in the mid 18th century, dropping to 375,000 in 1801 and 317,000 in 1854.’ 5. Castle Town /Market Town (market, theatre, regional government buildings, military fortifications) Population:1,000-100,000 Estimated about 200 Castle towns throughout the archipelago. ‘During the 16th century, castle towns (joka machi) began their transformation into town and city complexes. This occurred in part because castle towns served as government administration centres. Many daimyo and almost all samurai lived within the castle town complexes. Merchants, traders, artisans, craftspeople, and others were eventually incorporated into these towns and cities to provide the labor and market activity needed to support the work conducted there and to further build and maintain the infrastructure. As a result of this dynamic, castle and market towns came to occupy the same location.’ 4. Post-Station Towns (accommodation, shops, entertainment, transport hubs) Population: 500- 3,000 ‘Post-station towns (shukuba machi or shukueki) grew up along the medieval and early modern road systems that connected cities and towns to each other.’ ‘...by the later Tokugawa period there were some 250 stations spotted irregularly at intervals of about 5-10kilometers... At each town a manager’s office supervised the station’s activities, while inns furnished lodgings and shop provided entertainment, footgear, meals, medicines, and other essentials. In addition, each town was supposed to maintain a specified number of porters and packhorses to move goods and people. 3. Port Towns (accommodation, trade, transport hubs) Population:??? Port towns grew up around sea ports that developed flourishing trading centers in the medieval and early modern periods... Even after restrictions on foreign trade were enacted by the shogunate in the 16th century, ports engaged in domestic trade continued to thrive. 2. Temple/Shrine Towns (shrines, temples, accommodation) Population:??? ‘Temple and shrine towns (monzen machi) originated in the vicinity of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, usually along the roads leading to these religious sites. These towns served the needs of pilgrims visiting the temples and shrines. Establishments that developed along these routes provided food and lodging to pilgrims, and sold amulets and other religious items. As religious sites grew in size, so did the permanent infrastructure needed to support this activity.’ 1. Village (residential) Population:10-100 ‘Besides farm villages, fishing villages were a feature of medieval and early modern rural life, and mountain villages developed in the early modern period around lumber and other products that found flourishing markets in the expanding towns and cities of the Edo period.’"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'For the nearly 700-year span of Japan’s medieval and early modern periods, warriors-with varying levels of effectiveness and hegemony-ruled the country. Although the fortunes of particular extended warrior families waxed and waned, only members of the warrior class could serve as shoguns, the military rulers. Their governments, known commonly as shogunates, were often challenged by the interests of other powerful warrior families in various parts of Japan and by the imperial family in Kyoto. Although the warrior bureaucracy largely controlled the affairs of the state, the emperor and the imperial court were still the formal head of government. Warrior governments typically sought out- or forced-the formal imperial decrees that gave legitimacy to the shoguns. Occasionally emperors would attempt to reassert direct imperial rule. They were, however, always suppressed in favor of warrior rule... Warrior governments functioned as a lord-vassal system of loyalty. This is reflected in the political structures of the different shogunates. Although they varied greatly in their organization, the notion of loyalty, whether earned or forced, always laid the foundation on which the warrior government was built.' List derived from ‘Administrative Structure of the Tokugawa Shogunate’. ‘The neat table of organization charts of the Edo bakufu, which list upwards of four hundred posts in chain-of-command order, mask the problems of competition for control of policy and enforcement authority that plagued Edo bakufu politics.’ 1. Shogun \"The Shogun was a hereditary military leader, in this period a member of the Tokugawa family. ‘the shogunate maintained control over the court and aristocrats by enacting legal regulations that set strict limits on their activities. As in the medieval period, the emperor was largely a figurehead whose main function was to perform public rituals.\" 2. Samurai retainers (Hatamoto)\"Edo city commissioners were selected from among those of hatamoto (“bannerman”: direct samurai retainers of the shogunate) rank.\" 2. Envoys to the Court (Kinrizuki)\"Imperial palace inspectors.\" 2. Masters Of Shogunal Ceremony (soshaban)\"protocol officials who reported directly to the shogun. The 20-some soshaban were responsible for such tasks as keeping the shogun’s schedule and organizing shogunal ceremonies.\" 2. Grand Chamberlain (sobayonin)\"responsible for transmitting messages between the Tokugawa shogun and the roju, the shogun’s senior councillors. This position was created in 1681.\" _Central government_ 2. Great Elder (Tairo)\"Although the position of tairo ranked just below shogun in the Edo period’s administrative structure, it was in fact an office rarely filled.\" 2. Senior Councillors (Roju)‘Roju were senior officials of the Tokugawa shogunate who watched over the entire government structure and the functioning of its many offices. In short, they administered the affairs of state, both domestic and foreign, for the shogunate. Senior councillors—usually four or five in number—were appointed from among the fudai (hereditary vassals) daimyo.’ 3. Junior Councillors (wakadoshiyori)\"Junior councillors, or “young elders” assisted the roju and surveyed the hatamoto and gokenin. Additionally, they supervised artisans, artists, physicians, palace guards, and construction work. In case of a war, the wakadoshiyori led the hatamoto into battle. The position was created in 1633 and chosen from the fudai daimyo.\" 4. Captains of the Bodyguard, Inner Guard, And New Guard (shoimban-gashira koshogumiban-gashiraThe various bodyguards operated under the command of the junior councillors during war. 3. Chamberlains (sobashu)\"The office of sobashu was established in 1653 by the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Chamberlains were in direct service to the shoguns and, bureaucratically, reported to the roju.\" 3. Commissioners Of Finance (Kanjo bugyo)\"officials accountable for financial matters. Kanjo bugyo reported directly to the senior councillors (roju). These commissioners—usually only four in number but overseeing a large number of assistants—were appointed from those of hatamoto rank.\" 3. Intendants (daikan)\"These local government officials supervised and managed the shogunate’s personal landholdings (tenryo).\" 3. Comptrollers (Kanjo gimmiyaku)\"This office, created in 1682, was charged with investigating, and otherwise overseeing, the operations of the kanjo bugyo (commissioners of finance). Although comptrollers were structurally lower than the commissioners of finance, they functioned as a control over the higher office’s activities. Kanjo gimmiyaku reported to the senior councillors (roju).\" 3. Inspectors General (ometsuke)\"This office originated in 1632 when the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, appointed four people of hatamoto (bannerman) rank to oversee activities and places of potential trouble to the shogunate. Those who served as ometsuke were often senior officials with extensive government service scrutinized by the ometsuke were the road system, daimyo activities, and groups troublesome to the shogunate such as Christian missionaries and their Japanese followers. Inspectors general reported to the senior councillors (roju).\" 4. official involved in road system inferred 5. manager of road maintenance works inferred 6. worker on road maintenance inferred 3. Masters of Court Ceremony (koke) -- how are these related to the Masters Of Shogunal Ceremony (soshaban)? \"Literally, “elevated families,” koke were hereditary government officials responsible for carrying out official ceremonies and rituals for the shogunate. In addition, masters of court ceremony were used as shogunal representatives at court, temple, and shrine functions.\" 3. Commissioners of Temples and Shrines (jisha bugyo)\"usually four in number, supervised temple and shrine affairs, including matters involving religious hierarchies and the landholdings of these institutions. Among other responsibilities, they also held subsidiary duties involving legal matters in regions outside of the Edo area.\" _Provincial government_ 2. Edo City Commissioners (Edo muchi bugyo)\"charged with overseeing matters of city life concerning the chonin (townspeople and merchants). Edo city commissioners were selected from among those of hatamoto (“bannerman”: direct samurai retainers of the shogunate) rank.\" 2. Commissioners of Distant Provinces (ongoku bugyo)\"The post of ongoku bugyo was similar in duty to the Edo machi bugyo ... except that these commissioners served in localities other than Edo, including Kyoto and Osaka. Like the Edo machi bugyo, they were selected from among families of hatamoto (bannerman) rank.\" 2. Kyoto Deputy (Kyoto shoshidai)\"The post of Kyoto deputy was first established by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, to oversee the affairs of Kyoto, especially the activities of the imperial court and nearby territories. This office became formalized within the administrative structure of the Tokugawa shogunate.’ 2. Keeper of Osaka Castle (Osaka jodai)\"the senior military officer in central Japan. As the primary administrator in the region, the Osaka jodai maintained the military strength of Osaka Castle. During the Edo period, jodai, including the Osaka jodai, served as the proxy of the Tokugawa shogun in commanding the respective castle. This rank was reserved for middle ranking daimyo, and holders of this rank were frequently promoted to posts of Kyoto deputy (Kyoto shoshidai) and senior councillor (roju).\" Posts not yet positioned: - Chiefs of the Pages and Attendants (kosho todori/ konando todori) - Inspectors (metsuke) \"performed police and enforcement duties at numerous levels. Not only did they serve as high-level spies for their military rulers, but they also evaluated other shogunal officials and staff as well.\" - Magistrates, Accountants, Tax Collectors, Policemen"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Shogun 2. Captains of the Great Guard (Obangashira)\"responsible for security at the three castles—at Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka—associated with the shogunate.\" 2. Keepers of Edo Castle\"supervised and when necessary, defended Edo Castle.\" 2. Marshal (sotaisho)3. Officers (usually mounted)- divided into spear group magistrate (yari bugyo) and army magistrate (gun bugyo) 4. Lower ranking officers (usually not mounted) e.g. Division commander (monogashir)- e.g. division commander (monogashir) and group commander (kumigashira). 5. Group commander (kumigashira) 6. Foot soldiers (ashigaru)- archers (yumigumi), spearmen (yarigumi) and harquebusiers (teppogumi). \"by 1623, Ieyasu’s force consisted of 12 companies. The companies were headed by a single captain, four lieutenants, and 50 guards. There was extensive variation in the ways troops were structured for battle and the hierarchy of command that directed the troops.\" 1. Shogun 2. Captain3. Lieutenant4. Guards5. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels levels. In Buddhism. Inferred continuity with previous polities. 1. Master 2. Disciple and/or 1. Abbot 2. Monk"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"'most warriors served the Tokugawa shogunate as administrators or bureaucrats, not as military retainers.'"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"‘in the Tokugawa period (1600-1867), a nationally independent monetary system was created, as the shogunal government (Bakufu) issued its own bronze, silver, and gold coinages. Up to the 1770s, the Tokugawa coinage system functioned as a triple monetary standard. Each of the metallic coinages had its own system of denominations, despite Bakufu efforts to fix rates between them, the gold, silver, and copper coinages in effect floated against each other in the exchange markets.’"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"previously Chinese coinage had been used but with the introduction of a new indigenous coinage this was no longer needed, although it is possible that some coinage remained in circulation."}]}},"Q184536":{"seshat":["Mali Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":4000000,"to":5000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 40-50 million -- check (is reference correct? was it 4-5 million?). Reference checked, it was stated. However, it might be a typographical error. Population of Mali in 1960 was 5 million. No references in literature to massive population crash or genocide in the region between middle ages and 1960. McEvedy and Jones have the region of \"The Sahel States\" (Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad) at 2 million in 1000 CE, rising slowly to 3 million in 1500 CE. Sahel states = Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad 2m by AD 1000 \"Before the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry the population of the area of the present-day Sahel states is unlikely to have exceeded 50,000: once pastoralism and agriculture had become well-established the population can hardly have been less than half a million. The chronology of the transition is as yet totally obscure, but there is no reason to postulate anything above the 50,000 line before 3000 BC or place the achievement of the half million later than 1000 BC. From this latter point a low rate of increase is all that is needed to bring the total to 1m by AD 1 and 2m by AD 1000.\""}],"territory":[{"from":1700000,"to":1900000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 1337 CE Map with largest extent of the Mali Empire. expanded into Inland Delta, Gao, and eastern Songhai beginning 14th century. by mid-14th century mansa's effective rule limited to Mande homelands. \"The boundaries of the Empire of Mali stretched from Kaoga (Gao) all the way to the Atlantic and from the Sahara to the tropical forest.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":12000,"to":17000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Within the Mande-speaking heartland the basic building-block of government was the kafu, a community of anything from 1000 to 15,000 people living in or near a mud-walled town and ruled by a hereditary dynast called a fama.\" Walata was a commercial city within the Mali Empire Capital Niani, now lost, described in 16th century by Moroccan Leo Africanus as of 'six thousand hearths' while its inhabitants were 'the most civilised, intelligent and respected' in the Western Sudan."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Settlement hierarchy refers to the capital, important trading cities, mud-walled towns (“the basic building-block of government was the kafu, a community of anything from 1000 to 15,000 people living in or near a mud-walled town” ruled by a fama.), outlying villages who pay occasional tribute to the fama. The Mali empire was based upon a center-periphery political administration, in turn divided into three geopolitical sectors: provinces, districts, and village communities. The peripheral areas were composed of the conquered people of the tributary states and were ruled indirectly. 1. Capital town e.g. Niani 2. Commercial town e.g. Walata3. Basic mud-walled small town called a kafu4. Smaller settlements/villages"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King of kings (mansa) king had title Mansa \"As in other African empires, the supreme ruler was a king of kings.\" The ruler \"bore the military title of mansa, conqueror.\" \"The mansas adopted the Ghanaian and Sudanic concepts of kingship to institutionalize their power.\" \"The rulers surrounded themselves with a bodyguard, servants, and elaborate ceremonies.\" _Central government_ 2. Head of the imperial council or one of the officials of the imperial councilthere was an \"imperial council\" late 14th century government characterised by rule of powerful government officials and a sidelined monarch 3. Government officialsAfter his pilgrimage to Cairo and Mecca \"Mansa Musa returned to Mali with Arab and Berber adventurers to serve in his administration.\" Santigui (master of the treasury) 4. Scribes\"court circle included clerics and lawyers literate in Arabic\" 4. State farms official\"Client clans, castes of dependent craftsmen, and people allied by marriage or by past service supported the ruler. Slaves and serfs worked in agricultural settlements to provide produce for the court, the army, and the administration.\" royal slaves worked in \"settled colonies\" in the inland delta region. \"each had to produce a quota of grain for collection by boat at the appointed season.\" _Mande chiefdoms_ 2. Chief (fama) of a kafu (or kafts)\"Mande-speaking ethnic core\" \"Mande-speaking peoples lived in family and village units, the head of the family being both priest and chieftain. A group of villages in turn formed a kafts, or kafu, a community of 1,000 to 15,000 people living around a mud-walled town and ruled by a hereditary chieftain called a fama.\" \"Within the Mande-speaking heartland the basic building-block of government was the kafu, a community of anything from 1000 to 15,000 people living in or near a mud-walled town and ruled by a hereditary dynast called a fama.\" Mema was a province in the Mali Empire the paramount ruler \"bore the military title of mansa, \"conquerer\", which underlined the reality that his dominion might expand or contract according to the range of his armed forces. Where the mansa's soldiers were no longer seen, there the kafus would soon resume their independence under their traditional famas.\" Oral tradition \"Sunjata Epic\" says Mali Empire founded by Sunjata Keita. Initially there was a Mande Chiefdom in Farakoro. The chief had the title maghan. Sunjata \"organized the soldiers of all the Mande chiefdoms into a powerful army. They went to war against Susu.\" The unified Mande chiefdoms formed the basis of the Mali Empire. 3. Village headman\"Mande-speaking peoples lived in family and village units, the head of the family being both priest and chieftain. A group of villages in turn formed a kafts, or kafu, a community of 1,000 to 15,000 people living around a mud-walled town and ruled by a hereditary chieftain alled a fama.\" _Vassal kingdoms_ 2. Vassal king or chief\"Outside the Mande-speaking nucleus, the relationship with subordinate rulers was even more essentially based upon the regular or occasional payment of tribute.\" Mid-13th century: \"the Wolof and the Fulbe recognised its paramountcy\" and gave tribute ruler of Mali received tribute from lesser kings and chiefs. Mansa Musa reigned 1312-1337 CE. Ibn Kathir (c1300-c1374 CE) sad he ruled over 24 other kings. Al-Umari said Musa had \"conquered 24 cities, each with its surrounding district with villages and estates\" and that he had a palace \"In Mali, as in other African empires, the supreme ruler was essentially a paramount, a king of kings, the degree of whose authority varied greatly from one part of his dominions to another, according to the accessibility of each to the imperial armies and tax collectors.\" 3. District 4. Villages"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Later Songhay Empire: Askia Muhammad had a full time general called dyini-koy or balama. 1. King In Mali and Songhai \"the king appinted the generals was himself commander-in-chief of the army and personally directed military operations\" 2. Generals King of Mali had two generals, one responsible for the Mossi border, other northern desert border.\" 2. Imperial councilthere was an \"imperial council\" late 14th century government characterised by rule of powerful government officials and a sidelined monarch 3. Vassal kings / Mande ChiefsIbn Battuta witnessed a ceremony in which both the Mansa and the lesser king had their own personal guards of honor. Oral tradition \"Sunjata Epic\" says Mali Empire founded by Sunjata Keita. Initially there was a Mande Chiefdom in Farakoro. The chief had the title maghan. There were diviners \"whose job it was to predict the future.\" The chiefdom was conquered by Susu. Sunjata \"organized the soldiers of all the Mande chiefdoms into a powerful army. They went to war against Susu.\" The unified Mande chiefdoms formed the basis of the Mali Empire. \"In each kingdom, each nation, the army was divided into several corps assigned to the defense of different provinces, although under the command of the civil authority. Thus, each provincial governor had at his disposal a part of this army which he could assign tasks under the orders of a general whose powers were purely military.\" 4. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King The ruler was a \"quasi-divine figure\" \"After Islam became the royal cult, rulers built mosques and adopted Islamic law, and the king and the entire court took part in public prayers held on the great Islamic festivals.\" 2. Someone who helped the king become a \"quasi-divine figure\" inferred level"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"late 14th century government characterised by rules of powerful government officials and a \"puppet\" monarch. We know that under the Songhai Askias the bureaucracy became very well developed but it is possible more rudimentary aspects of the following description preexisted under the earlier Empires. During the Songhai period, each high official was directly appointed by the king , was given a \"distinctive uniform and insignia\" which were worn at royal audiences, and they sat together in a highly-formalised assembly. For the Mali Empire specifically we have references to the following officials: the hari-farma managed fishing on the Niger river. The sao-farma managed the forests. The babili-farma was minister of agriculture. The khalissi-farma was minister of finance. Reference for the later period Songhai state to prisons at Kanato, Kabara (near Timbuktu) and elsewhere where there was widespread use of \"notarized documents\" such as for an inventory of goods belonging to a prison inmate."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Manda Moussa I's pilgrimage story mentions an imperial escort of 8700 men. This is unconfirmed by historical/archaeological evidence, but hints at the existence of a professional army. Later Songhay Empire: Askia Muhammad had a full time general called dyini-koy or balama. \"commanders\" At a later time Askia Muhammed Toure (r.1493-1529 CE) \"created a professional full-time army\" before Askia Muhammad of Songhay Empire \"Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply 'calling up' their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one.\" King of Mali had two generals, one responsible for the Mossi border, other northern desert border.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"no trace of a die or mint has been found south of the desert.\" Currency \"consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage).\" Currency included blocks of salt of different sizes. Currency \"consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage).\" According to Leo Africanus cowries used as currency for trading came from the Indian Ocean, via Persia. According to al Bakri (11th century) 'The dinars they used were of pure gold and were called sola [bald] because they bore no imprints.' ... Thus these documents allow us to be sure of the use in Black Africa of imprinted gold coins, without, however, being able to know whether such imprints were effiges of local emperors or kings, or to know whether there was any generalized imperial currency minited apart from the mitkal standard.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Some coins imported from Arabic polities? Cosmopolitan commerce centers: Timbuktu, Djenne, Biru, Soo, Ndob, Pekes and some others. Currency \"consisted of salt, cowries, or gold in either dust or pieces (of foreign or local mintage).\""}]}},"Q155361":{"seshat":["Rouran Khaganate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":500000,"to":1000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Not less than 500,000. \"Undoubtedly, the Rouran khaganate was a multi-tribal confederation. Its total population (based on the approximately known size of the army) was not less than 500 thousand people.\""}],"territory":[{"from":4000000,"to":4000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. \"At its height, Jujan geographical boundaries were similar to those of the Xiongnu (Kradin 2005b, p. 155).\" \"At its height the Xiongnu empire controlled a region encompassing all of Mongolia and extending south to the Ordos region in the loop of the Yellow River in northern China (Fig. 1). In the north control extended to the boreal forests of Siberia, including Tuva and Buriatia in the Russian Federation (Kradin 2005a). Based on a variety of maps and geographical information on the location of different groups, at its height the Xiongnu empire encompassed a region on the order of 4,000,000 km2.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. c500 CE and after \"It may be assumed that by then some of the Juan-juan already lived a settled life and practised agriculture. The original sources repeatedly mention that their khagans obtained ‘seed millet’ from China (some 10,000 shi each time). This shows that the Juan-juan society and state had gradually developed from nomadic herding to a settled agricultural way of life, from yurts to the building of houses and monumental architecture, from the nomadic district to towns. They had invented their own system of writing and developed their own local culture and Buddhist learning flourished.\" \"It is also known from the sources that the number of nomadic bu could vary from one thousand tents (i.e. about 4-5 thousand people) to several tens of thousands of people (Taskin 1984, pp. 275-276, 294). Chapter 103 of the Wei shu reports that the Rouran had 10 \"nomads' camps\" in 521.\" \"From Chinese chronicles: \"They do not have towns surrounded with inner and outer walls, but herd livestock, going from place to place in search of water and grass. Their homes are felt tents, which they take to the place where they stop.\" \" \"the Hsiung-nu Huns in China were changing their society ... as attested by the discovery of a city built by them in northwestern China's Shaanxi Province in the fifth century C.E.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Decimal structure like previous and following polities. \"He radically reorganised the military-administrative structure of the Rouran society, dividing the population-army into hundreds and thousands, introduced the obligatory registration of available warriors, established strict rules of behaviour in battle and the penalties for their violation [...].\" \"It was divided into western and eastern wings, but, as we know, the dual organisation was recorded already during the pre-empire period. Initially, the ruler of the eastern wing was considered to have the higher status (WS 103: 1b-2a; Taskin 1984, p. 267) but later this, seemingly, changed (Taskin 1984, pp. 273, 278, 285).\" The administrative structure is not mentioned, but Kradin refers to the following elite hierarchy: 1. Khagan 2. Rulers of empire wings (silifa)3. Dignitaries - ruling elite, chiefs, elders 4. Tribal chiefs and clan elders (commanders of 1000 and 100 horsemen) \"The social organisation of the Rouran was slightly different from the public organisation of other nomads in Eurasia, and it was a complex hierarchical multi-level system.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"The Wei shu reports that early in the 5th century, Shelun introduced the so-called decimal system: \"For the first time, military laws were established according to which 1000 people formed a detachment (run), and at the head of a detachment a military leader was placed. 100 people formed a banner (zhuang) and a chief stood at the head of a banner\" (WS 103: 3a; Taskin 1984, p. 269). A term run can be translated as 'military head', while shawu as 'leader or commander'.\" 1. Khagan 2. Head of detachment (1000 men)3. Chief of a banner (100 men)4. Soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":300,"year_to":499,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Shamans. Buddhism was also present, probably more levels: \"The Juan-juan khagans and nobles were well acquainted with Buddhist teachings and were probably Buddhists as early as the beginning of the sixth century. It is known that in 511 they sent a Buddhist monk and preacher to China with the gift of an image of the Buddha ornamented with pearls for the emperor.\""},{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":500,"year_to":551,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Shamans. Buddhism was also present, probably more levels: \"The Juan-juan khagans and nobles were well acquainted with Buddhist teachings and were probably Buddhists as early as the beginning of the sixth century. It is known that in 511 they sent a Buddhist monk and preacher to China with the gift of an image of the Buddha ornamented with pearls for the emperor.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"However, it would be incorrect to consider these innovations as evidence of the emergence among the Rouran of a bureaucratic organisation of administration resembling the Chinese one. Most likely, it was only an outward similarity with Chinese institutions, its main aim was the preservation of steppe traditions. This is evident from the chronicler's list of posts (chamberlain, etc.) that were related to the way of life of the ruler and his court rather than to record keeping and the administration of the central or regional institutions of power. Shunyu Tan, grandiloquently called a principal clerk, judging by the context, was the only official of his department, moreover, he also held the most important post of chamberlain.\" \"There are actually no data of any specialised functionaries (professional bureaucrats), who were present in almost every early state (Claessen-Skalnik 1978, p. 580). The sole exception is the above-mentioned Shunyu Tan who was appointed principal clerk by Anagui.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Wei shu reports that early in the 5th century, Shelun introduced the so-called decimal system: \"For the first time, military laws were established according to which 1000 people formed a detachment (run), and at the head of a detachment a military leader was placed. 100 people formed a banner (zhuang) and a chief stood at the head of a banner\" (WS 103: 3a; Taskin 1984, p. 269). A term run can be translated as 'military head', while shawu as 'leader or commander'.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to personal communication with N. Kradin."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to personal communication with N. Kradin."}]}},"Q188836":{"seshat":["Late Xiongnu","Early Xiongnu"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":1000000,"to":1500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 1.5 million is the code for the Imperial Xiongnu Confederation which appears to still stand for this period, although I have changed it to a range from 1-1.5 million to reflect some loss of control. \"Before 50 B.C., the Xiongnu split into a northern and southern polity. Both remained well organized and expansionistic at first, but eventually the southern Xiongnu (estimated at 200,000 people) became a vassal state of the Han Chinese, and by A.D. 150 their political control was virtually nonexistent.\" \"Despite the fact that the population of Han China, according to a census taken during the middle of the dynasty, has been counted at about 60 million people as compared to the total population of nomads north of China, which is postulated as not reaching 1.5 million people, the Xiongnu still managed to withstand, and parlay on equal terms with, the Qin and Han dynasties.\""},{"from":50000,"to":100000,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. According to McEvedy and Jones (1978) the total population of Siberia and Mongolia at this time did not exceed 400,000, while in Russian Turkestan in 1300 BC \"we can think in terms of 100,000 people on the steppe.\" The pre-Empire Xiongnu would have been a fraction of the total figure. 5-10% of 500,000 would provide an estimate of 25,000-50,000. This might represent an average of 20-40 groups covering this whole region. Since the time period 1400-300 BCE is extremely long I use this average for the 1400-500 BCE period and double it for the last 200 years prior to the rise of the Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."},{"from":25000,"to":50000,"year_from":-1400,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. According to McEvedy and Jones (1978) the total population of Siberia and Mongolia at this time did not exceed 400,000, while in Russian Turkestan in 1300 BC \"we can think in terms of 100,000 people on the steppe.\" The pre-Empire Xiongnu would have been a fraction of the total figure. 5-10% of 500,000 would provide an estimate of 25,000-50,000. This might represent an average of 20-40 groups covering this whole region. Since the time period 1400-300 BCE is extremely long I use this average for the 1400-500 BCE period and double it for the last 200 years prior to the rise of the Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."}],"territory":[{"from":350000,"to":700000,"year_from":-1400,"year_to":-500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers According to McEvedy and Jones (1978) the total population of Siberia and Mongolia at this time did not exceed 400,000, while in Russian Turkestan in 1300 BC \"we can think in terms of 100,000 people on the steppe.\" Main part of this area covers 7,000,000 km2, which is an area of 14 per capita. This suggests a polity of 25,000-50,000 would have a territorial share of 350,000-700,000 km2. Since the time period 1400-300 BCE is extremely long I use this average for the 1400-500 BCE period and double it for the last 200 years prior to the rise of the Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."},{"from":700000,"to":1400000,"year_from":-400,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers According to McEvedy and Jones (1978) the total population of Siberia and Mongolia at this time did not exceed 400,000, while in Russian Turkestan in 1300 BC \"we can think in terms of 100,000 people on the steppe.\" Main part of this area covers 7,000,000 km2, which is an area of 14 per capita. This suggests a polity of 25,000-50,000 would have a territorial share of 350,000-700,000 km2. Since the time period 1400-300 BCE is extremely long I use this average for the 1400-500 BCE period and double it for the last 200 years prior to the rise of the Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."},{"from":3000000,"to":4200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. 4 million km2 is the code for the Imperial Xiongnu Confederation which appears to still stand for this period, although I have changed it to a range from 3-4 million km2 to reflect some loss of control. \"Before 50 B.C., the Xiongnu split into a northern and southern polity. Both remained well organized and expansionistic at first, but eventually the southern Xiongnu (estimated at 200,000 people) became a vassal state of the Han Chinese, and by A.D. 150 their political control was virtually nonexistent.\" \"At its height the Xiongnu empire controlled a region encompassing all of Mongolia and extending south to the Ordos region in the loop of the Yellow River in northern China (Fig. 1). In the north control extended to the boreal forests of Siberia, including Tuva and Buriatia in the Russian Federation (Kradin 2005a). Based on a variety of maps and geographical information on the location of different groups, at its height the Xiongnu empire encompassed a region on the order of 4,000,000 km2.\" 4.2m km2 maximum."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":3000,"to":5000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. This is the code for the earlier Imperial Xiongu Confederation."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels."},{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. This is the code for the earlier Imperial Xiongu Confederation."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Inferred from the description below: 1. Emperor 2. King (wang)3. Local tribal chiefs and elders\"The economic, judicial, cultic, fiscal, and military functions were considered to be responsibilities of chiefs and elders (Taskin 1973, 9-11).\" \"The Chinese historian Fan Ye, author of the Hou Han shu, gave the same detailed description of the Xiongnu political system in the first century AD as his eminent predecessor Sima Qian had centuries before (Lidai 1958: 680; Taskin 1973: 73). This provides a unique opportunity to observe the dynamics of the Xiongnu political institutions throughout 250 years. The most considerable differences between the power of the Mode/Maodun epoch and Xiongnu society before it collapsed are as follows:1. There has been a transition, from the triadic military-administrative division to dual tribal division into wings.2. Sima Qian wrote clearly about the development of the military- administrative structure with “chiefs of a ten thousand.” Fan Ye does not mention a decimal system; instead military rank of “chiefs of a ten thousand” are enumerated as civil titles of “king” (wang).3. According to Fan Ye, the whole first ten of “strong” “chiefs of a ten thousand” had, from the viewpoint of the Chinese chronicles, a more independent position from the shanyu headquarters.4. The order of succession to the throne had changed. While the shanyu's throne had ordinarily passed from father to son (with a few extraordinary exceptions), the order from uncle to nephew had now become predominant.5. The Xiongnu polity came to adopt a prevailing principle of joint government according to which the ruler of the nomadic empire had a co- ruler, who controlled one of the polity's wings. The capacity of become a junior co-ruler was held by birth; but a co-ruler's successors could not pretend to the shanyu's throne.These changes demonstrate a gradual weakening of the autocratic power of the center, and development of more diffused authority and federative relations, as demonstrated by, among other things, the transition from triadic administrative-territorial division to a dual one. The military-hierarchical relations were pressed back and the genealogical hierarchy between senior and junior by rank tribes was pushed into the foreground.\""},{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. During the Empire period a supreme leader ruled over \"kings\", which suggest kings preceded the Empire period. 1. Kings 2. Chiefs3. Subordinate?"}],"military_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. During the Empire period a supreme leader ruled over \"kings\", which suggest kings preceded the Empire period. 1. Kings 2. Chiefs3. Officer level?4. Individual soldier"},{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Code for earlier Xiongnu Imperial Confederation is 6. In this period the polity was split between northern and southern Xiongnu. Is there any reason to believe the basic decimal system of command would not still have been in use? 1. Ruler 2. 10 commanders of 10,000 people 'wang' - or kings3. tribal chiefs and elders - subordinate kings - commanding 1000 people4. Commander of 1005. Commander of 106. individual soldier \"The Shiji text describes a great many offices that supported rulership as well as a military-administrative decimal system of positions based on the number of horse- men a leader was responsible to mobilize, e.g., 10, 100, 1000, or 10,000, although there is some debate over the specificity of these actual counts (Kradin 2001: 208).\" \"All of the adult men were members of the military-hierarchical organization of the Xiongnu society.\" \"The most highly titled relatives of the chanyu were ten superior commanders of ten thousand warriors which were comprised of four and six horns respectively20. The first four of them were called “wang” (king) by the Chinese chroniclers. Besides the chanyu’s relatives there were other noble families (clans): Huyan, Lan, Xubu, and Qiulin were among the highest Xiongnu aristocracy (Fan Ye 1965, ch. 91, 7b; Zhong- yang 1958, 680-681).The next level in the Xiongnu hierarchy was occupied by the tribal chiefs and elders. In the annals, they are mentioned, as a rule, as ‘subordinate kings’, ‘chief commandants’, ‘household administrators’, “juqu” officials21. Probably, a part of the ‘chiefs of a thousand’ were tribal chiefs. The ‘chiefs of a hundred’ and ‘chiefs of ten’ were, most likely, clan leaders of different ranks. The economic, judicial, cultic, fiscal, and military functions were considered to be responsibilities of chiefs and elders (Taskin 1973, 9-11).\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Shamans."},{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Shamans."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists not considered present during the later Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."},{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The sources provide evidence of administrative officials in the Xiongnu Empire but it is unclear whether they were full-time professionals. \"The Xiongnu had many titles for the rulers of the segments within the empire confederation. In addition, there were special functionaries (“gudu hou”). The Chinese chronicles report that “the gudu marquises assist the chanyu in the administration of the nation” (Watson 1961a, 163-164). In a special work Pritsak (1954, 196-199) assorts their place in the Xiongnu political system. Nonetheless, the number of these functionaries was very limited.\" 'The central government, which the Shanyu/Chanyu headed, was in practice run by elite officials called the Gudu marquesses, who had the responsibility of managing relations between the central government and provincial governments within the Xiongnu empire'. Not a full-time occupation? \"The economic, judicial, cultic, fiscal, and military functions were considered to be responsibilities of chiefs and elders (Taskin 1973, 9-11).\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full-time specialists not considered present during the later Xiongnu Imperial Confederation."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The economic, judicial, cultic, fiscal, and military functions were considered to be responsibilities of chiefs and elders (Taskin 1973, 9-11).\" Not a specialised function."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Later Xiongnu Imperial Confederation coded absent."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to personal communication with N. Kradin."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Later Xiongnu Imperial Confederation coded absent."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to personal communication with N. Kradin."}]}},"Q2608489":{"seshat":["Aztec Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":3000000,"to":4000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Just over one million people were living in the Valley of Mexico [...] in 1519 and another two to three million Aztecs dwelt in the surrounding valleys of central Mexico\"."}],"territory":[{"from":28070,"to":28070,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Valley of Mexico = 7,260 square km + Aztec Central Mexico = 20,810 square km."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":150000,"to":300000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"When the Spanish arrived [...] the city could have housed up to 300,000 inhabitants\". In a recent personal communication, David Carballo suggested a rough estimate of \"150-250k\" for the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan at this time."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Information retrieved from a map of the settlement pattern in the Valley of Mexico during the Aztec rulership."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Cihuacoatl (Secretary of State)3. Noble council members (could range from low dozens to low hundreds by city state)4. Provincial governor (tlatoani) of subject city-state5. Ward or district chiefs6. Lineage heads 6. Hereditary nobles"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Rank was achieved primarily by the taking of captives.\" 1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Commanding General (has taken a difficult captive) 3. General (inferred lower than Commanding General, has taken a difficult captive) 4. Veteran Warriors (have taken more than four captives) 5. Leader of Youth (three captives) 6. Leading Youth (when a youth takes a captive without any help) 7. Soldier without accomplishments (inferred) A more meta look at the rankings in terms of groups of knights:\"There were two orders of a quasi-noble rank (Eagle and Jaguar knights), lesser orders who could still wear fine battle gear, and simple foot soldiers.\" 1. Huey Tlatoani (Great Speaker/Paramount ruler)2. Eagle Knights 2. Jaguar Knights3. Lesser orders of knights. Cuauhpipltin: \"Commoners who had achieved noble status by virtue of their deeds in war.\" 4. Simple foot soldiers: yaoquizqueh"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Full time bureaucrats are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). Evidence more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521) than in previous periods."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Professional military officers are known by Teotihuacan (ca. 250-550 CE). Evidence is more secure from the Aztec Period (1450-1521)."}]}},"Q28573":{"seshat":["Inca Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":6000000,"to":14000000,"year_from":1532,"year_to":1532,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Approved of as \"reasonably vague\" by Alan Covey. Cook 1980 has done a thoughtful overview of Andean demography and the Inca population at the time of contact . Cook reaches an estimate of 5.5 million to 9.4 million inhabitants , but he favours the upper range of this estimate, settling on a number of 9 million . However, Alan Covey has pointed out the methodological weaknesses of Cook's work, which is inferred from documentary evidence compiled decades after the fall of the Incas . A possible estimate for the period between 1375-1420 CE would be an inferred 150,000-250,000 inhabitants, based on data for the Killke period (note that the data provides an estimate of 35,000 for the core region; the estimate used for 1400 CE infers a larger population over a territory of 41,000 km2): Sacred Valley Archaeological Project survey region after \"Inka consolidation of the Cusco region\" - undated, presumably 1200-1400 CE? Key: Big dot = over 10 ha; medium dot = 5-10 ha; small dots = 1-5 ha; circle and ? = Size unknown. Map has 31 small dots, 4 medium dots, 2 large dots and 3 size unknown. If small dots average 2.5 ha, medium dots 7.5 ha, and the largest dots are 15 ha, and size unknown are 5 ha total urban area of survey area is 152.5 ha. If we assign 150 per ha to small dots (11,625), 300 per ha to medium dots (9,000), 400 per ha to the large dots (12,000), and 200 ha to unknown dots (3,000), estimated urban population (sites > 1 ha) of the Sacred Valley Archeological Project survey region after 1200 CE (?) is 35,625. Cuzco valley: 10,000-20,000. According to a Spaniard in mid 16th century, valley held over 20,000 Alan Covey: But another Spaniard estimated a population of ten times that size. Sacred Valley Archeological Project survey region: 35,625 - 40,000. First figure is estimated urban population (sites > 1 ha) of the valley after 1200 CE (?) \"Spanning over 4,000 km of western South America and encompassing more than ten million inhabitants, Tawantinsuyu was a century-long latecomer to Andean civilization, built on more than three millennia of complex societies.\" \"Given the complexity of the population problem and the limitations of all the methodologies used by various scholars, it seems unlikely that we shall ever be able to determine an accurate population figure. Nevertheless, these attempts have helped narrow the range of estimates. Most modern Inca scholars seem to accept and work with figures ranging between 6 million and 14 million people.\" 8,000,000: 1532 CE"}],"territory":[{"from":500000,"to":2000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. According to Alan Covey, none of these measurements can be taken into account: \"This is an overly crude measure, especially in the Andes, where vast amounts of land are desert or high montane landscapes with potential for permanent human occupation. The maps that we use to show Inca conquests over time are highly problematic, and do not give us enough detail to make meaningful calculations of Inca territory.\" Expert checked: variable now coded as blank. 41,000: 1400 CE; 125,000: 1450 CE; 1,925,000: 1500 CE; 2,000,000: 1530 CE \"In terms of administered territory, it is difficult to assess the total area controlled by the early Inka state, although it is clear that the polity in the Cusco Basin had surpassed the operational boundaries for pre-state polities.\" Polity heartland was 60 km radius from Cuzco and covers the region inhabited by the Inca of Privilege. \" Territory is difficult to measure in the Andes, until we develop an ecologically-sensitive map of archaeological settlement that accounts for the huge areas that are covered by desert, snow-capped mountains, and impassable cliff-sides.\" \"A quick estimate would be to use the Pacific coast as a western boundary, the Colombian border (or Pasto province) as a northern boundary, the Maule River in Chile as a southern boundary, and the rough eastern border that Rowe laid out in his 1945 article, which is more conservative than the map that Parssinen (1992) has developed. I would use D'Altroy (2015) for the general run of that eastern border.\" From D'Altroy's map, a territory of about 2,000,000 square kilometers can be estimated. David Beresford-Jones uses an estimate of 1,000,000 square kilometers A range of 500,000-2,000,000 square kilometers takes most possibilities into account."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":20000,"to":100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Cuzco peak. According to Vicente de Valverde, in a letter to the king of Spain: \"the city had but only three or four thousand houses, [the valley] held more than twenty thousand people.\" Ruiz de Acre c1545 CE also estimated 4,000 houses. Alan Covey: This may reflect the area of Spanish Cuzco, but it probably omits the dense network of towns and villages that immediately surrounded the Inca city. Another Spaniard estimated a population of ten times that size. \"The UNESCO report’s author, Santiago Agurto Calvo, surmised that the population of the central sector was about 15,000-20,000 people, with an additional 50,000 in a ring of immediately surrounding districts. He estimated, very roughly, that 50,000-110,000 more people may have occupied the suburban area that extended about 5 km beyond the urban neighborhoods. While the evidence to support any population estimate is thin at best, we may judge that greater Cuzco housed somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 people. The city was thus smallish by the standard of ancient imperial capitals.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital city (Cuzco) At its height \"Cuzco became a cosmopolitan center, and people from diverse areas of the empire came to live there.\" Occupied almost exclusively by about 12 royal ayllus \"Commoners and foreigners were not permitted to live there and had to leave the city each night. These peoples were housed in satellite communities surrounding Cuzco at a short distance. As a result, Cuzco never grew to the enormous size of the capitals of European empires such as Rome or even as large as some of its key administrative centers in the provinces.\" Cuzco had 20,000 inhabitants at its peak and \"the urban core was a planned settlement, covering about 40 hectares.\" Alan Covey: These are both weak readings of the ethnohistory. Eyewitnesses stated that nobles from across the empire had houses in Cuzco, and there were diverse populations of retainers in Inca royal households, as well as populations of craft specialists living in outer districts. McEwan’s statement about population size is inaccurate regarding the size of provincial centers, which did not have permanent populations larger than Cuzco’s. Only Chan Chan, the coastal Chimú capital, would have rivalled Cuzco in terms of population, and its size was probably greatest before Inca conquest. 2. City (provincial)Inca provincial centers Hatun Xauxa (Peru), Cotapachi (Bolivia), Campo del Pucara (Argentina) Quito was a very important city, on the way to becoming the second capital of the Inca empire. Cajamarca had 7,000-10,000 inhabitants in 1532 CE Unsubstantiated. Alan Covey: Statement on Quito is accurate, but there are better sources, like Frank Salomon. The number given for Cajamarca is not based on any early colonial source that I am aware of. 3. Town.Can have as many as 4,000-5,000 inhabitants. \"In the Upper Mantaro Valley, my colleagues and I have recorded more than 125 Inca-era settlements within about a day’s walk of the provincial center of Hatun Xauxa. The largest of those towns, Marca and Hatunmarca, each contained about 4,500 residential structures. We estimate that their populations were probably in the order of 4,000-5,000.\" 4. VillageExample, Muyu Cocha. Large village. No evidence that is was occupied during the Killke Period. Perhaps created to house state construction workers. 5. Hamlet These hamlets could have grouped one or several canchas. The Cancha architectural unit was a walled domestic compound and \"the basic settlement unit in the Andean region from the inception of agriculture and llama herding to post-colonial times\" Alan Covey: completey untrue. (AD: we probably should not take anything written by Kaufmann and Kaufmann for granted.) Killke period hamlets occupied between 0.25-1 ha so Inca period hamlets were probably of a similar size."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Administrative levels, in theory: 1. Sapa Inca2. apu chincahaysuyu / apu antisuyu / apu kollasuyu / apu cuntisuyu (Lord of region_name)Four territorial units called suyu \"Individuals holding this rank would have been close relatives of the ruler, usu- ally brothers, cousins, or uncles.\" 3. Provincial governor (20,000 households)territorial unit called huamani. at least 80 provinces. The governor (tokrikoq) reported directly to the Inca and was assisted by local elites and functionaries, such as quipucamayoc (record-keepers) 4. hunu kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 10,000 householdsterritorial unit called saya \"Each province was composed of two or three ranked parts called saya\" 5. pichkawaranqa kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 5,000 households)6. waranqa kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 1,000 households)7. pichkapachaka kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 500 households)8. pachaka kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 100 households)territorial unit called marca 9. pichkachunka kamayuq (theoretical jurisdiction: 50 households)10. chunka kamayuq (theoretical jurisdiction: 10 households) \"In practice, the government consisted of an umbrella of Inca officials who oversaw a hierarchy of hereditary ethnic lords drafted into state service.\" \"In terms of levels of hierarchy, I don't know that the Incas had so many more than I would expect for Wari. Most high-ranking Inca officials were close relatives of the ruling couple, and there were provincial lords and ladies who ruled client kingdoms. Beneath the noble level, the Incas had their decimal hierarchy, which organized from 10,000 household units down to about 10, but the lower-order positions were not full-time bureaucrats, as much as local people charged with organizing a bunch of their own relatives and neighbors to do their turn of labor service.\" Administrative levels, in practice: 1. Sapa Inca2. apu chincahaysuyu / apu antisuyu / apu kollasuyu / apu cuntisuyu (Lord of region_name)Four territorial units called suyu \"Individuals holding this rank would have been close relatives of the ruler, usu- ally brothers, cousins, or uncles.\" 3. Provincial governor (20,000 households)territorial unit called huamani. at least 80 provinces. The governor (tokrikoq) reported directly to the Inca and was assisted by local elites and functionaries, such as quipucamayoc (record-keepers) 4. hunu kuraka (theoretical jurisdiction: 10,000 householdsterritorial unit called saya \"Each province was composed of two or three ranked parts called saya\" Coded as 4-6 to allow for a certain degree of flexibility.(AD)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Military units, like civilian administration, organized with decimal system. 1. Sapa Inca King was commander in chief and occasional field general. Alan Covey: Most military commanders were sons or brothers of the ruler. (2. aucacunakapu (chief of soldiers)came from Hanan Cuzco 2. aucata yachachik aup (chief in charge of organizing soldiers)came from Hurin Cuzco 2. hinantin aucata suyuchak apu (chief who assigns troops to their proper place)Equivalent to European sergeant major of period 2. apusquipay (commander in the field)Usually a relative of the Sapa Inca the apusquiprantin was an assistant of the apusquipay ) Alan Covey: Concerning these ranks from aucacunakapu to apusquipay) This all comes from a really spurious late 18th century source (Juan de Velasco), and is not corroborated by any early chronicler AD: number of ranks corrected to 6 (see hierarchy below). 3. hunu kuraka10,000 men were lead by a hunu kuraka - not known how often 10,000 men were fielded 4. Waranqa kuraka\"One thousand men were commanded by a waranqa kuraka\" 5. PihcachuncacamayocsPosition held by local leaders The second lowest order was 100 soldiers, under a pachaka kuraka. Alan Covey: Pichka chunka is 50. Pachaka is 100. 6. Chuncacamayocs (50 soldiers) Position held by local leaders \"The smallest unit contained ten heads of household (hatun runa), under the command of a chunka kamayuq.\" 7. Individual soldier aucapussak Huaminca: veteran units from Hanan Cuzco and Hurin Cuzco had captains called aucapussak Alan Covey: Again, I wouldn’t use information from this source. \"Each division contained two halves, each with its own leader.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1.Intip churin Inca 9th Imperial ruler added the title intip churin (Son of the Sun) to the paramount qhapaq/capac title. 2.OraclesGave advice to the Inca and performed function of state ambassador 3. Mamakunas (priestesses) 4. Chosen virgins (aqllawasi) 3.High priestPrinciple temple was the Coricancha 4.PriestsLocal level state religious infrastructure Other actors were important in religious life but had a parallel role and did not come into this hierarchy.House of Cloistered women: \"In the sequestered House of the Chosen Women (aqllawasi), they were taught religion, weaving, cooking, and chicha-making by lifelong virgins dedicated to the religious institutions. Cobo said that as many as 200 women of various ages could be found in the largest aqllawasi. Although they were well protected, the girls and women were not entirely confined, since they participated in many ceremonies at locations outside their quarters. After about four years, the girls were ready to serve as mamakuna (priestesses) or to marry men who merited the honor for their service to the Inca (Cobo 1990: 172-4; Rowe 1946: 283).\" This system runs parallel to the religious hierarchy, as the girls can become priestesses (level 4). Alan Covey: The mamakuna were much more numerous than any male priestly functionaries, and should probably be thought of as the real imperial religious hierarchy. . Mamakunas and aqllakunas are counted within the 4 religious levels as outlined above. Ritual advisor for state matters OraclesAdvised the Sapa Inca and performed function of state ambassador \"Some, but not all, huacas had oracular powers. Some of the most famous, such as Pachacamac and Apurimac have already been mentioned. In Inca culture all decisions were made only after consulting the supernatural. Questions put to oracles usually had to do with seeing the future and result of certain actions.\" \"After consulting his oracles and counselors, the Inca ruler chose to favor the Lupaqas but hedged his bets by promising aid to both sides.\" \"The mummies and their oracles also served the king in an advisory capacity. The ruling Inca was expected to seek advice from the ancestors on issues of importance, and it was carefully observed which oracles provided sound advice and which did not. The most trusted mummies and their spokespersons were used as ambassadors for the Inca.\" \"Each mummy had an oracle: an individual who spoke for and received things on behalf of the dead king.\" -> seem to be parallel, religious command, not administrative. Innovations relating to organization of state religion occurred during reign of Qhapaq Yupanki. \"Several different Inka rulers are credited with the institution of the Sun cult.\" The Coricancha was the \"principal temple in Cusco.\" This cult had a \"high priest.\" Inka Roq'a required that \"aqlawasi (house of cloistered women) be established in Inka-controlled towns\" which produced crump (fancy cloth) and aqha (maize beer) used in rituals. Alan Covey: I wouldn’t treat this as historical, but rather to say that a state sun cult developed around the time of early state expansion (maybe in the later 13th or early 14th century)."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Cuzco also appointed a centrally controlled set of inspectors (tokoyrikoq, “He Who Sees All”) who checked on affairs in the provinces. Diez de Betanzos (1996: 110-11) wrote that the sons of the ruler were charged with the inquiries. The highest-ranking official may have been the “Inspector General” of the conquered territories, a position that was sometimes filled by the emperor’s brother. The existence of these independent agents implies that the rulers evidently did not fully trust the provincial officials to conduct all affairs with the best interests of the Sapa Inca and the state in mind.\" \"Imperial overseers and specialized record keepers produced tribute levies, population counts, and assessments of provincial development potential\" Given-Wilson writes of the important role played by the 'curacas' who functioned below the governor ('toqrikok') appointed for each province. Day-to-day organization or labour and tribute and the administration of justice was entrusted to the curacas, with the toqrikoks acting as overseers or magistrates, who were themselves monitored by superior inspectors, usually members of the royal family. The most important bureaucratic tools for the Incas was the quipu (a number of strings or cords tied with various nots at certain points, each signifying a certain piece of information. Given-Wilson argues that a lack of alphabetic writing did not prevent the Inca Empire from running an extensive bureaucracy, it just altered its character and effect. Alan Covey: I wouldn’t necessarily call them bureaucrats, although quipu specialists (quipucamayocs) might be the closest thing to non-noble functionaries with regular state duties."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The delegation of military authority extended to more distant relatives as the Inka state formed and began to engage in more distant and sustained campaigns.\" \"Inka rulers began to appoint close relatives to religious, administrative, and military positions.\" Commander of a pukara fortress usually a nobleman from Cuzco (orejon) appointed by the king, whilst the garrison was locally recruited. \"I don't think I would expect \"professional\" military officers--of the sort that the Romans developed under Marius, after centuries of trying to use municipal offices to do the trick--but I think it is fair to say that both societies had military commanders. For Wari, this can be inferred iconographically in warrior imagery on ceramics, and maybe from an uptick in elite trauma that Tiffiny Tung has noted for later Wari populations. For the Incas, we have ethnohistory. In the Inca case, the northern frontier (Ecuador) saw a transformation of military command in the last 50 years of Inca expansion. As territorial growth slowed in placed very far from Cuzco, the emperor moved up to the frontier and fought with Cuzco nobles and special troops that served more or less full-time. By the time the Spanish. arrived, I think it would be hard to deny that there were military professionals--low-born captains such as Quizquiz and Chalcochima--whose only work was leading troops, and who were well-versed in campaign logistics and battle tactics.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Another important difference lay in the long-time presence of special-purpose money and more sophisticated weights and measures than those found in the central Andean highlands. It is not clear how widely the currencies were used in prehistory. There is no evidence, for example, that land or labor could be purchased until the Colonial era (Hosler et al. 1990; Salomon 1986; 1987; Netherly 1978). The Incas themselves did not adopt the currencies for the state economy, although they used large amounts of the shell and gold for political and ceremonial ends. Instead, they either left things alone or manipulated the situation politically to give favored groups an advantage.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Another important difference lay in the long-time presence of special-purpose money and more sophisticated weights and measures than those found in the central Andean highlands. It is not clear how widely the currencies were used in prehistory. There is no evidence, for example, that land or labor could be purchased until the Colonial era (Hosler et al. 1990; Salomon 1986; 1987; Netherly 1978). The Incas themselves did not adopt the currencies for the state economy, although they used large amounts of the shell and gold for political and ceremonial ends. Instead, they either left things alone or manipulated the situation politically to give favored groups an advantage.\""}]}},"Q8575586":{"seshat":["Umayyad Caliphate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":23000000,"to":33000000,"year_from":700,"year_to":700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. [23,000,000-33,000,000]: 720 CE ."}],"territory":[{"from":9000000,"to":9000000,"year_from":700,"year_to":700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. 6,700,000: 661 CE; 7,850,000: 680 CE; 9,000,000: 700 CE; 11,100,000: 720-750 CE Actual control of this territory, especially in areas recently conquered means that this estimate should be viewed with some skepticism. Much of the territory was uninhabited desert."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":200000,"to":400000,"year_from":700,"year_to":700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon in 622 CE: 500,000. How many remained after Seige of Ctesiphon, and its subsequent looting in 637 CE is unknown. Kairwan in 800 CE: 80,000. Fustat in 800 CE: 100,000. Fustat c750 CE: 200,000. Fustat (earliest period): 10,000 soldiers. Arab population of Fustat 30,000: 670 CE; 50,000 750 CE. Including slaves, clients and Copts 200,000: 750 CE. Samarkand in 800 CE had a population of 75,000. Alexanderia in 622 CE had a population of 94,000, which increased to 95,000 by 800 CE . Damascus in 800 CE had a population of 65,000."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"For issues with population estimates, especially in the period before large scale conversion to Islam, see the arguments presented in Blankinship's End of the Jihâd State For detailed coverage of the individual polities below, see Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A historical encyclopedia The settlement hierarchy can be divided into six subsets: 1. Metropoles 50,000-150,000 Cairo, Damascus 2. Provincial Centres 20,000-50,000: Antioch, Alexandria 3. Provincial cities 10,000-20,000: Jerusalem 4. Small towns 500-10,000 Gaza, Hebron 5. Villages 200-500 6. Nomadic peoples (i.e Berbers)"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Caliph (tribal Patriarch, head of the Umma) _ Central government line _ 2. \"in Mu'awiya's time, the caliph was surrounded by Arab chiefs.\" 3. \"in Mu'awiya's time, the caliph was surrounded by Arab chiefs. Now [i.e. some time after Mu'awiya] a chamberlain kept visitors in order and regulated daily business.\" 4. office of the Chancery staffed by professionals. 5. ... ? ... \"Under the Arab domination the East Roman civil servants continued to work for the government. The Byzantine theologian, John of Damascus, belonged to the well-known family of Mansur and under the first Umayyad Caliph Muawiya the financial administration of the Caliph had been controlled by Sarjun ibn Mansur. These Christians, formerly in the service of the East Roman exchequer, carried through vital financial reforms for the Caliphs. As the East Romans had done in the case of the great imperial army, they divided up the Arab tribes into separate katasters which registered all members of each particular tribe. ... They also had the idea of departing from Byzantine precedent which divided the land among the soldiers and settled them on it as military farmers. But they grouped them together in strongholds which were set up in districts which could supply their economic needs. Thus military establishments were placed in Kufa, Basra and Cairo (al-Fustat) because the troops garrisoned in these places could easily be provisioned from the fertile and highly developed countryside.\" _ Provincial line _ 2. Amel (civilian governor) and Amir (military governor)\"In the early years after the Islamic conquest both “civil” governors (ʿāmels) and military governors (amīrs) were appointed over towns and districts as circumstances demanded.\" Regional military governors (members of Arab tribal coalition). Mu'awiya (661-680 CE) \"appointed regional governors over tribal army but did not create a \"centralized government apparatus\" Prefects sent from Damascus administered Egypt. The Egyptian capital had a governor. 3?. Local rulers of Sasanid/Byzantine regionsfor example, the \"shahr\" district under Sasanids had a \"king\" appointed by the King of Kings. In the Umayyad period did this official report directly to the caliph's regional governors or to the caliph himself? 4?. Head administrator of local governmentE.g. Sasanid local government was run by a shahrab and a mowbed and often an accountant. 5?. Official of a rustagReported to the local government bureaucracy? 6?. village headman It is important to make a distinction between the central government line and provincial line in the administrative hierarchy of the Umayyad Caliphate. The central government line was non-existent at the beginning and was in a developing stage in the mid-8th century, so there was low administrative hierarchy in the central government throughout this period. However, the provincial line of government was extremely well-developed from the start because the Muslim-Arabs retained the bureaucracies of the Sasanids and Byzantines, and in fact also kept their administrators. According to Lapidus: the Muslim-Arabs: \"Reconstructed the governing apparatuses of the Byzantine and Sasanid empires.\" One could therefore speculate the Caliph replaced the Sasanid provincial governors (the Shahrabs) with his own military chiefs and kept the e.g. Sasanid bureaucracy below it intact. In Iraq this may have been a Sasanid district called a shahr, which had its own chief or king and a government (further levels of complexity). A division within a shahr was called a rustag. There was a further division below this called a \"deh\" run by a village headman. The Abbasids who followed the Umayyad's formalised a \"hierarchy of districts\" in Iraq, Iran and Egypt including the bottom unit called \"rustag.\" The Sasanids who preceded the Umayyads also had a \"rustag.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":661,"year_to":705,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate the Army was effectively a tribal institution supported by local auxiliaries and foreign military units that had deserted from the Caliph's enemies. Demarcating a distinct command is effectively impossible as it was non existent. Tribal loyalty determined who men would follow over a title. Following a period of Civil war, the military was reformed under the reign of 'Abd al-Malik (685 CE-705 CE)to a more permanent system. This was not the case with the guards of the provincial cities and the Caliph, as indicated below. Domestic Guardsmen The Shurta (police) and the Haras (guards) were responsible for the securing the capital and maintaining the security of the Caliph and his family. 1. Caliph 2. Sahid-al-Shurta (provincial commander) 3. Common guardsman (661 CE-705 CE) Military The layout below is an oversimplification. In the earlier period of the Umayyad Caliphate the Caliphs had relied on the service of Arab tribes originally from Arabia, and subsequently settled in garrison cities in newly conquered lands. As the empire expanded this system changed to an increasingly professional army paid for in cash rather than a tribal nation in arms. The was also geographic variation. In Syria, Permanent garrisons differed from the temporary Arabic cohorts used for Jihad campaigns. 661-705 CE 1. Caliph 2. Amir 3. Muqualtila (fighting men) 705-750 CE 1. Amir al-mu' minin (official title of the Caliph) 2. Amir (commander or governor of a province or army) 3. Qa-id (military officer) 4. Arif (leader of a militay unit of ten to fifteen soldiers) 5. Muquatila (Muslim soldiers paid a salary)"},{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":705,"year_to":750,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate the Army was effectively a tribal institution supported by local auxiliaries and foreign military units that had deserted from the Caliph's enemies. Demarcating a distinct command is effectively impossible as it was non existent. Tribal loyalty determined who men would follow over a title. Following a period of Civil war, the military was reformed under the reign of 'Abd al-Malik (685 CE-705 CE)to a more permanent system. This was not the case with the guards of the provincial cities and the Caliph, as indicated below. Domestic Guardsmen The Shurta (police) and the Haras (guards) were responsible for the securing the capital and maintaining the security of the Caliph and his family. 1. Caliph 2. Sahid-al-Shurta (provincial commander) 3. Common guardsman (661 CE-705 CE) Military The layout below is an oversimplification. In the earlier period of the Umayyad Caliphate the Caliphs had relied on the service of Arab tribes originally from Arabia, and subsequently settled in garrison cities in newly conquered lands. As the empire expanded this system changed to an increasingly professional army paid for in cash rather than a tribal nation in arms. The was also geographic variation. In Syria, Permanent garrisons differed from the temporary Arabic cohorts used for Jihad campaigns. 661-705 CE 1. Caliph 2. Amir 3. Muqualtila (fighting men) 705-750 CE 1. Amir al-mu' minin (official title of the Caliph) 2. Amir (commander or governor of a province or army) 3. Qa-id (military officer) 4. Arif (leader of a militay unit of ten to fifteen soldiers) 5. Muquatila (Muslim soldiers paid a salary)"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In theory the Caliphate and governors were the head of the Sunni faith, but in practice local religious scholars (ulama) attracted the wider populace as definers of doctrine. Unlike the Orthodox or Catholic faith, the structure of the Islamic faiths were not clearly hierarchical as all were theoretically equal before Allah. The period also saw the rise of the religious sects. 1. Caliph as head of the Sunni Muslim Umma. 2. Imams: successors of the prophet and leaders of the Muslim world."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":661,"year_to":685,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The administrative system was staffed by permanent officials. from the reign of al-Malik (685-705 CE) and al-Walid (705-715 CE) . In Mu'awiya's reign, the caliph was surrounded by Arab chiefs."},{"value":"present","year_from":685,"year_to":750,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The administrative system was staffed by permanent officials. from the reign of al-Malik (685-705 CE) and al-Walid (705-715 CE) . In Mu'awiya's reign, the caliph was surrounded by Arab chiefs."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":661,"year_to":682,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Military commanders were selected from the tribal nobility, called the Ashraf. The state could shift the ri'asa, or headship of tribes from one family to another, a sort of half formed precursor to professional military commanders. Internally, the structure of command was very fluid. \"Men were appointed to command armies for different reasons: they were loyal to the regime, they could recruit followers and attract men to their service, they could organise the collection and payment of revenues and they were effective and knowledgeable commanders in battle. ... In the main, however, it is unhelpful to think of a hierarchy, of generals, or of an officer class.\""},{"value":"present","year_from":683,"year_to":750,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Military commanders were selected from the tribal nobility, called the Ashraf. The state could shift the ri'asa, or headship of tribes from one family to another, a sort of half formed precursor to professional military commanders. Internally, the structure of command was very fluid. \"Men were appointed to command armies for different reasons: they were loyal to the regime, they could recruit followers and attract men to their service, they could organise the collection and payment of revenues and they were effective and knowledgeable commanders in battle. ... In the main, however, it is unhelpful to think of a hierarchy, of generals, or of an officer class.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":661,"year_to":699,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The first Umayyad coins were imitations of Roman and Sasanid coins. In the reign of Abd Malik, a distinctly Islamic coin was issued with Arabic script and a uniform size and shape. There were two principle coinages in circulation, the gold Dinar and the silver dirham. This was in part a legacy of the conquest of Byzantine and Sasanid territories where the two coins were the major form of currency."},{"value":"present","year_from":700,"year_to":750,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The first Umayyad coins were imitations of Roman and Sasanid coins. In the reign of Abd Malik, a distinctly Islamic coin was issued with Arabic script and a uniform size and shape. There were two principle coinages in circulation, the gold Dinar and the silver dirham. This was in part a legacy of the conquest of Byzantine and Sasanid territories where the two coins were the major form of currency."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. from India, Afghanistan when they came under control of the Caliphate."}]}},"Q1155700":{"seshat":["Rattanakosin"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":1000000,"to":3000000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. \"Evidence for the size and distribution of the population before the first census in 1911 is sparse and far from reliable. Estimates for the 1800-20 period vary from 1 to 3 million (Skinner, 1957:79; Sternstein, 1993:18). A detailed examination of the evidence by Sternstein (1965:1984) suggests very gradual growth from the 1780s to reach a population a little short of 5 million by the middle of the nineteenth century.\" It is not clear whether this estimate covers tributary states."},{"from":4000000,"to":5000000,"year_from":1850,"year_to":1850,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. \"Evidence for the size and distribution of the population before the first census in 1911 is sparse and far from reliable. Estimates for the 1800-20 period vary from 1 to 3 million (Skinner, 1957:79; Sternstein, 1993:18). A detailed examination of the evidence by Sternstein (1965:1984) suggests very gradual growth from the 1780s to reach a population a little short of 5 million by the middle of the nineteenth century.\" It is not clear whether this estimate covers tributary states."}],"territory":[{"from":513120,"to":513120,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. A map provided by Wyatt suggests that the territory governed by Rattanakosin, tributary states included, corresponded roughly to modern-day Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. According to Google, the current size of each of these is, respectively, 513,120 km2, 236,800 km2, and 181,035 km2, for a total of 930,955 km2. However, the below population estimate probably only applies to the core region, which would have corresponded with Thailand."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":50000,"to":100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. \"We know that in 1782, there was already some settlement on both banks of the river. Rama I chose for his new capital, and by the end of the first reign it would be unreasonable to suppose the capital had more than 50,000 or so. Terwiel's work suggests that at the Bowring Treaty (1855) Bangkok's population may have reached around 50,000-100,000. These are, of course, only very rough estimates, and it is well known that the river dwelling population makes it impossible to seek much more.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital2. Great cities (mahanakhon)3. Towns4. Villages. The first period of the Rattanakosin era (1781-1868) maintained a similar administrative hierarchy to that of the 4-tiered pattern of the Ayutthaya kingdom: 1. Royal Capital; 2. Four towns under the administration of the king (muang luk-luang); 3. Other towns under administration of governors (muang phraya-maha-nakhon); 4. Outlying towns or colonies (muang prathetsarat) which sent tributes to the king. In the late eighteenth century the second tier of inner-ring towns was absorbed into the capital."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Ranks and titles were conferred on the bureaucratic and military nobility until the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, a rank and title usually being associated with an office. The chaophraya were highest on the list, the equivalents of cabinet ministers, generals, and the governors of the most important provincial cities. On a descending scale came phraya , phra , luang , and khun .\" Presumably the king should be added to this hierarchy--RA's guess. 1. King 2. Chaophraya 3. Phraya 4. Phra 5. Luang 6. Khun"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Ranks and titles were conferred on the bureaucratic and military nobility until the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, a rank and title usually being associated with an office. The chaophraya were highest on the list, the equivalents of cabinet ministers, generals, and the governors of the most important provincial cities. On a descending scale came phraya , phra , luang , and khun .\" 1. Chaophraya 2. Phraya 3. Phra 4. Luang 5. Khun"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Somdet Phra Sangharat (Supreme Patriarch) 2. Chao kana yai (Sangha general governors.There were three. 3. Phraracha kana\"[T]he heads of monks in the capital and important provinces\". 4. Phra khru\"The head monks of the lesser provinces\". 5. Abbots 6. Ordinary monks"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"A form of bureaucracy had existed in Thailand since Ayutthayan times . Thai bureaucracy was extensively reformed between the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century . It seems reasonable to infer that, before the reforms, Rattanakosin bureaucracy resembled Ayutthayan bureaucracy. Specifically, \"[s]enior officials might also be awarded people and maybe land or its product. [...] Nobles [in charge of administration] were expected to live from these grants, and from whatever income they could make through their status and office--mostly by taking a percentage of revenues collected, or charging fees for judicial work\" ."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Referring to the early modern period, Charney writes that \"[c]ontemporary European accounts also sometimes refer to what appear to be highly organized command hierarchies. The Siamese army command in the 1680s, for example, was described by Gervaise as consisting of a 'commander-in-chief, a deputy general, several captains with their lieutenants and some subalterns.' In actuality, members of the nobility through ad hoc appointments led Southeast Asian armies. These men were usually personal favorites of the ruler or one of his relatives, or were outlying lords obligated to bring local levies to participate in campaigns. One reason for this was the concern that otherwise a regular officer class on a permanent footing would become part of the court and ministerial politics that plagued early modern Southeast Asian states.\" Because the Thai army was reformed only in the early twentieth century , it is reasonable to infer that there were no professional military officers throughout the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Thai kingdom of Sukhothai introduced the pot-duang, popularly known to the West as 'bullet coins'. These continued to be used throughout Central Thailand, even under the historical successors of Sukhothai, from Ayutthaya down to the present kingdom of Rattanakosin (Bangkok).\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Chinese sycee money, Japanese silver coins and even European and American money, were readily accepted for international trade\" ."}]}},"Q160307":{"seshat":["Fatimid Caliphate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":13000000,"to":14000000,"year_from":1000,"year_to":1000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 1000 CE Algeria 2m, Tunisia 1m, Libya 0.5m, Egypt 5m, Palestine and Jordan 0.5m, Hijaz 4m (est. from 4.5m for The Interior). 1100 CE Egypt 4m and eastern Libya 0.2m (est. from 0.4m) 1056 CE low Nile flood severe famine which took \"a heavy toll in human life and disrupted collection of state revenues.\""},{"from":3500000,"to":4500000,"year_from":1100,"year_to":1100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 1000 CE Algeria 2m, Tunisia 1m, Libya 0.5m, Egypt 5m, Palestine and Jordan 0.5m, Hijaz 4m (est. from 4.5m for The Interior). 1100 CE Egypt 4m and eastern Libya 0.2m (est. from 0.4m) 1056 CE low Nile flood severe famine which took \"a heavy toll in human life and disrupted collection of state revenues.\""}],"territory":[{"from":1400000,"to":1400000,"year_from":1000,"year_to":1000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 2,400,000: 969 CE; 1,400,000: 1000 CE; 1,000,000: 1050 CE; 631,000: 1100 CE; 850,000: 1150 CE \"At the peak of their power, their empire spanned Egypt, north Africa (present day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), Syria, Palestine, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula, parts of Iraq, Sicily, and north-western India with additional covert cells in Byzantine and central Asian lands.\" Abu Yaqub Sejestani (d c.971 CE), da'i of Khorasan, \"now endorsed the imamate of the Fatimids and propagated their cause in Knorasan, Sistan, and Makran, where numerous Ismailis rallied to the side of the Fatimid da'wa. The Fatimid da'is also succeeded around 347/958 in establishing a Fatimid vassal state centered in Moltan, in northern India, where the kotba was now read in the name of the Fatimid caliphs, instead of their Abbasid rivals.\". This Isma'ili state in Multan overthrown by Gaznavids 1005-1006 CE. 1051 CE Zirids declare independence in Tunisia. 2,400,000: 969 CE. Egypt conquered 969 CE under General Jawhar."},{"from":631000,"to":631000,"year_from":1100,"year_to":1100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 2,400,000: 969 CE; 1,400,000: 1000 CE; 1,000,000: 1050 CE; 631,000: 1100 CE; 850,000: 1150 CE \"At the peak of their power, their empire spanned Egypt, north Africa (present day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), Syria, Palestine, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula, parts of Iraq, Sicily, and north-western India with additional covert cells in Byzantine and central Asian lands.\" Abu Yaqub Sejestani (d c.971 CE), da'i of Khorasan, \"now endorsed the imamate of the Fatimids and propagated their cause in Knorasan, Sistan, and Makran, where numerous Ismailis rallied to the side of the Fatimid da'wa. The Fatimid da'is also succeeded around 347/958 in establishing a Fatimid vassal state centered in Moltan, in northern India, where the kotba was now read in the name of the Fatimid caliphs, instead of their Abbasid rivals.\". This Isma'ili state in Multan overthrown by Gaznavids 1005-1006 CE. 1051 CE Zirids declare independence in Tunisia. 2,400,000: 969 CE. Egypt conquered 969 CE under General Jawhar."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":120000,"to":120000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Fustat even afer the Mustansir Crisis 1065-1073 CE and the fire of 1168. \"The city of Fustat must have had a surface area of approximately 300 hectares and a population of about 120,000.\" \"In Fustat, writes Ibn Hawqal in 950, \"the houses have five, six, or even seven stories, and as many as 200 people may live in a building.\" This description is confirmed by Muqaddasi: \"The houses, which have four or five floors, are like lighthouses, with light entering through the center, and each holding about 200 souls.\" Nasiri-i Khusraw reported \"there are houses fourteen stories high, while others are limited to seven.\" al-Qahira (Cairo) covered 160 hectares between 1087-1798 CE. Alexandria 100,000 in 900 CE. Cairo 135,000 in 1000 CE, 150,000 in 1100 CE, 175,000 in 1200 CE. Fustat/Cairo 150,000 in 900 CE, 200,000 in 1000 CE. Mecca 100,000 in 1000 CE. Kairouan 100,000 in 900 CE 80,000 in 1000 CE. Tinnis (Egypt) 100,000 in 1000 CE. , 83,000 in 1000 CE, 110,000 in 1100 CE, 125,000 in 1150 CE. \"The rab', a type of collective tenement block let for rent, seems to have existed only in Cairo, close to the centre. Estimates allow us to suppose that up to 10 per cent of the city's artisans and traders lived in such buildings, which allowed a large, more modest, population to reside close to the centre of Cairo, thus mitigating the otherwise exclusively bourgeois character of this zone.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital (i.e. Cairo). 2. Provincial capital (e.g. Fustat). 3. Dependent cities (Mecca and Medina). 4. Other large cities. 5. Towns. 6. Villages. \"Housing in the medieval Islamic world included tents, mud huts, reed huts, single-story residences, multistoried tenements, and elaborate palaces.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":970,"year_to":1171,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Vizier/Military chief (1073-1171 CE) after 1073 CE (although transition may have begun under regency of al-Mustansir) position of vizier became de facto ruler, effectively a dictator with nominal caliph. in this period vizier lived in own palace. essentially after 1073 CE Badr al-Jamali the vizier is the chief executive. 1. Caliph 1073 to 1121: the military chiefs replaced the caliphs as the effective heads of government. Highly stratified court court employed 30,000 people according to traveller Nasir-i Khusraw (c1048 CE?) 2. Harem\"A hierarchical corps of eunuchs controlled the harem and the personal life of the caliph.\" _Central government line_ 2. Slave viziers (c970 - 1073 CE)Vizier did not exist for Tunisian period 909-969 CE al-Badr who assumed the powers of a \"military dictator\": \"Henceforth, with minor exceptions, real power in the Fatimid state remained in the hands of viziers who possessed military bases of power and acted independently, while the caliphs remained the nominal heads of state and as Ismaili imams also functioned as supreme leaders of the ismalil da'wa or religious organization. A distinguishing feature of the Fatimid vizierate during its final century is that several viziers were Christians, notably Armenians.\" of 11 Fatimid rulers 7 came to throne as minors; Egypt frequently ruled by the Vizier. Late 11th century viziers became more powerful, called themselves malik (prince). 3. Heads of administration (e.g. military, treasury, religious, missionary, and judiciary) \"The post of auditor (zimam) and the office of the audit (diwan al-zimdm) are well known features of the 'Abbasid administration. In the case of the Fatimid administration, the earliest reference to diwan al-zimam is from 402/1011-1012, and the holder of the post (ndzir diwan al-zimdm) was a person of Iraqi origin with previous experience in 'Abbasid administration.\" Chancery (diwan al-inshda) 4. (inferred) head of state armory (khizdna al-bunud)\"Al-Zahir is credited with establishing the state's armory (khizdna al-bunud), which was an arsenal and a workshop employing 3,000 craftsmen for producing arms.\" 5. (inferred) manager of section in state armory 6. Craftsman in state armory 4. Lesser bureaucrats??5. Scribes?? _Provincial line _ 2. Subject cites/territoriesE.g. in Hejaz For a brief period Egypt was run by Jawhar, a proconsul 2. Provincial governorsE.g. Zirids in Tunisia) 3. ... ? ...Fustat was governed by a wali (governor) who was effectively chief of police. 4 fustat . In Fustat the muhtasib \"supervised the activities of shopkeepers and artisans and saw to the observance of religious law.\" 5 fustat . In Fustat some public services were provided e.g. rubbish collection, sewage system. \"al-attalun (police force?)\" 4. Village headmen Abu Yaqub Sejestani (d c.971 CE), da'i of Khorasan, \"now endorsed the imamate of the Fatimids and propagated their cause in Knorasan, Sistan, and Makran, where numerous Ismailis rallied to the side of the Fatimid da'wa. The Fatimid da'is also succeeded around 347/958 in establishing a Fatimid vassal state centered in Moltan, in northern India, where the kotba was now read in the name of the Fatimid caliphs, instead of their Abbasid rivals.\". This Isma'ili state in Multan overthrown by Gaznavids 1005-1006 CE."},{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":909,"year_to":969,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Vizier/Military chief (1073-1171 CE) after 1073 CE (although transition may have begun under regency of al-Mustansir) position of vizier became de facto ruler, effectively a dictator with nominal caliph. in this period vizier lived in own palace. essentially after 1073 CE Badr al-Jamali the vizier is the chief executive. 1. Caliph 1073 to 1121: the military chiefs replaced the caliphs as the effective heads of government. Highly stratified court court employed 30,000 people according to traveller Nasir-i Khusraw (c1048 CE?) 2. Harem\"A hierarchical corps of eunuchs controlled the harem and the personal life of the caliph.\" _Central government line_ 2. Slave viziers (c970 - 1073 CE)Vizier did not exist for Tunisian period 909-969 CE al-Badr who assumed the powers of a \"military dictator\": \"Henceforth, with minor exceptions, real power in the Fatimid state remained in the hands of viziers who possessed military bases of power and acted independently, while the caliphs remained the nominal heads of state and as Ismaili imams also functioned as supreme leaders of the ismalil da'wa or religious organization. A distinguishing feature of the Fatimid vizierate during its final century is that several viziers were Christians, notably Armenians.\" of 11 Fatimid rulers 7 came to throne as minors; Egypt frequently ruled by the Vizier. Late 11th century viziers became more powerful, called themselves malik (prince). 3. Heads of administration (e.g. military, treasury, religious, missionary, and judiciary) \"The post of auditor (zimam) and the office of the audit (diwan al-zimdm) are well known features of the 'Abbasid administration. In the case of the Fatimid administration, the earliest reference to diwan al-zimam is from 402/1011-1012, and the holder of the post (ndzir diwan al-zimdm) was a person of Iraqi origin with previous experience in 'Abbasid administration.\" Chancery (diwan al-inshda) 4. (inferred) head of state armory (khizdna al-bunud)\"Al-Zahir is credited with establishing the state's armory (khizdna al-bunud), which was an arsenal and a workshop employing 3,000 craftsmen for producing arms.\" 5. (inferred) manager of section in state armory 6. Craftsman in state armory 4. Lesser bureaucrats??5. Scribes?? _Provincial line _ 2. Subject cites/territoriesE.g. in Hejaz For a brief period Egypt was run by Jawhar, a proconsul 2. Provincial governorsE.g. Zirids in Tunisia) 3. ... ? ...Fustat was governed by a wali (governor) who was effectively chief of police. 4 fustat . In Fustat the muhtasib \"supervised the activities of shopkeepers and artisans and saw to the observance of religious law.\" 5 fustat . In Fustat some public services were provided e.g. rubbish collection, sewage system. \"al-attalun (police force?)\" 4. Village headmen Abu Yaqub Sejestani (d c.971 CE), da'i of Khorasan, \"now endorsed the imamate of the Fatimids and propagated their cause in Knorasan, Sistan, and Makran, where numerous Ismailis rallied to the side of the Fatimid da'wa. The Fatimid da'is also succeeded around 347/958 in establishing a Fatimid vassal state centered in Moltan, in northern India, where the kotba was now read in the name of the Fatimid caliphs, instead of their Abbasid rivals.\". This Isma'ili state in Multan overthrown by Gaznavids 1005-1006 CE."}],"military_levels":[{"from":7,"to":9,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Note that in 1073 CE Badr al-Jamali \"transformed the army\" and thereafter the Fatimid Caliphate was dominated by \"military wazirs\". 1. Caliph 2. Wazir3. Commander of commanders (\"amir al-umara\")4. Commander5. Assistant commander6. Khassa (grade I)7. Khassa (grade II)8. Khassa (grade III)* \"three grades of Khassa\"9. QaidLowest unit = groups of 10 men. \"the Kutama were organized in cohorts ('irdfa) under their respective commanders (Curafta). The question whether the cohorts were organized along tribal lines or in terms of military needs remains unanswered.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Isma'ilism was the state religion. Majority of Egyptians were Sunni Muslims. The Ismaili branch of Shi'ite Islam is \"a sect within a sect.\" \"Under this dynasty these were two of the highest positions: the chief justice, termed the judge of judges (qadi al-qudat), was outranked only by the imam and the wazir. The head da'i, the da'i al-du'at, followed immediately below.\" The Fatimids claimed \"biological and spiritual descent from the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah and her husband, the first Shia imam and fourth Sunni caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib\" and \"the Fatimids (who also called themselves 'Alawids') challenged the rival caliphate of the Abbasids of Iraq, and asserted that they were the sole legitimate rulers of the Islamic world.\" The da'wa was a \"unique institution of religiopolitical proselytizing and education\" 1. First Imam / Caliph da'wa: international missionary movement, in principle directed by the Fatimid imam in Egypt, but the provincial leaders had virtually complete autonomy. \"The Imam \"stood, for the Ismailis, in the very centre of their religious system; it was of overriding importance; on it depended the continuity of institutional religion as well as the personal salvation of the believer. 'Whosoever dies without recognising the Imam of his time, dies a pagan's death' is one of the most often quoted maxims of Ismailism.\" Commander of the Believers 2. Chief da'i closely supervised by the Imam administrative head, appointed provincial da'i and influenced choice of da'i in non-Fatimid territories 3. Provincial da'i in Damascas, Tyre, Acre, Ascalon, Ramla and some rural areas. 4. hujja (or naqib, lahiq or yad) in a jazira (region, or \"island\") \"assisted by a number of subordinate da'is of different ranks operating in the localities under his jurisdiction.\" e.g. China, Byzantium. 5. Subordinate da'is 6. al ma'dhun, the licentate assistant of the subordinate da'i ?? There were scholars (e.g. 11th CE al-Baghdadi in Farq bayna 'l-firaq) who alleged the Fatimids, Ismailis and Carmathians \"were all Manichaean dualists, followers of the ancient religion of the Persians to the detriment of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam itself.\" However, Brett suggests \"we should probably think in terms of a number of different movements which eventually came together under the leadership of the Fatimids and the rubric of Isma'ilism. ... a world of many doctrines coalescing in the future rather than dividing in the past\". Provincial da'i in charge of actual provinces within the Caliphate, hujja in charge of regions outside the Caliphate, such as China and Byzantium. EC"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Efficient civil service. Saqaliba - their origin \"enigmatic\" and land \"unidentified\". Eunuchs used as courtiers and administrators. E.g. Jawdhar. Some Saqaiba were also used by preceding Ikhshids and owned privately. In Tunisia the caliph directly ruled without a vizier. The court administration was run by a vizier after the move to Egypt. \"The Fatimids in North Africa had appointed no wazirs and the notion of delegating that level of authority to a subordinate seemed not to have existed.\" The court was highly stratified and according to traveller Nasir-i Khusraw (c1048 CE) employed 30,000 people , an exaggerated figure which reflects the fact it was involved in more than managing the imam-caliph's harem and personal life, which was controlled by a \"hierarchical corps of eunuchs\". The court-based government had heads for military, treasury, chancery (domestic and foreign communications), religious and missionary activities, judiciary and an auditor (from 1011 CE). From the early 11th century a state armoury employed 3,000 craftsmen. \"Poets were employed by the state to fill the role of modern-day public relations agents\" who were \"paid to present truth and lies in a palatable manner.\" ... At least from 1073 CE the executive became de facto held by the vizier who soon would operate from his own palace. The transition probably began in the regency of the imam-caliph al-Mustansir. Badr al-Jamaili was \"a virtual dictator\" although \"his rank remained that of a wazir, and he was always theoretically subservient to the imam-caliph.\" The son and successor to the famous vizier Badr al-Jamali after 1094 CE built the Palace of the Vizerate (Dar al-Wizara) which became \"the official residence of the vizirs until the end of the Fatimid caliphate\". \"The Armenian wazir, Badr al-Jamali, is certainly one of the most famous of these and was the de facto ruler of the Fatimid state (1074-94) as wazir to the Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir (r. 1036-94).\" From vizier Badr al-Jamali \"Henceforth, with minor exceptions, real power in the Fatimid state remained in the hands of viziers who possessed military bases of power and acted independently, while the caliphs remained the nominal heads of state and as Ismaili imams also functioned as supreme leaders of the ismalil da'wa or religious organization. A distinguishing feature of the Fatimid vizierate during its final century is that several viziers were Christians, notably Armenians.\" Badr al-Jamaili was \"a virtual dictator\" although \"his rank remained that of a wazir, and he was always theoretically subservient to the imam-caliph.\" Badr's son al-Afdal was murdered in 1121 CE but he had \"exercised the same iron-fisted control over the government as had the father.\" In all periods the executive, whether or not it was effectively in the hands of the caliph or the vizier, also held legislative power. The executive exerted power through the court-government. After the Palace of the Vizerate was built the new complex presumably simply replaced the imam-caliph's palace complex as the seat of the government (or created a command centre for organizing it) but the equivalence of the executive and legislative always remained with the court-government. The Palace of the Vizerate may have been the closest the Fatimids came to a bureaucracy independent of a royal/caliphal court."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Faitimid military was a standing professional army.\" \"The Fatimid army included a professional officer corps and many permanent regular and elite regiments stationed in Cairo or in garrisons throughout Egypt. The army was administered by the Army Ministry (diwan al-jaysh), which oversaw salaries and land grants (iqta').\" Complex military administration maintained by Christian scribes. \"The Fatimid army was paid in cash, apparently in several installments over the year. My information is derived from a single account describing the arrangement reached between the Kutama and Ibn 'Ammar at the time of al-Hakim's coronation ceremony.\" al-Mustansir civil war as turning point to Iqta system for military \"In the period prior to al-Mustansir, qadis, administrative personnel, and members of the royal family received grants of iqta in lieu of their salaries or as a part of their remuneration.' In a previous study, I presented a few examples showing that during al-Hakim's reign the circle of those receiving iqta was enlarged to include soldiers (junud) and 'abid al-shira'. Since then, I have gathered these further examples ...\" Examples includes generals and soldiers."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"dinars. 220,000 dinars was about 1 ton of refined gold. The value of their gold coinage \"remained constant for almost two centuries.\" Gold dinar from al-Mu'izz who replaced the Ikhshidid currency. In medieval Islamic world dinars generally made of gold, dirhams of silver and fals of bronze or other base metal."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"coded present for previous period."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"coded present for previous period."}]}},"Q975405":{"seshat":["Rum Sultanate"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":1500000,"to":2000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"5-6 million in Turkey-in-Asia at this time. However, the polity covered only 40% of the land area and possibly not the most densely populated area because it was landlocked. 2,400,000 would be just above the upper limit for a range so perhaps 1.5-2 million."}],"territory":[{"from":250000,"to":300000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":30000,"to":40000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Konya probably the largest city. The crusaders who reached there in 1190 thought it was “the size of Cologne\". The population of Cologne had about 40,000 in 1180 CE."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital - Konya was also probably the largest city. 2. Cities - Sivas, the second city. Also Antalya, Erzincan, Malatya which were all all important trading cities. 3. Small cities/ towns - e.g. Erzurum, Amasya, Aksaray. 4. villages. Rural life was arranged around villages. Ibn Said “believed that in his time the Seljukid realm comprised 400, 000 villages, 36, 000 of which were in ruins. No doubt one would go too far either to accept these figures as valid, or to dismiss them as useless, since he did not make them up.”"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. In keeping with their tribal origins the Saljuqs of Rum did not have a bureaucratic apparatus to begin with. As they consolidated their power, they did develop one. A core of senior bureaucrats were based around the royal court, along with scribes. The rest of apparatus was organised regionally with regional officials overseeing local tax collectors.Land, and the right to collect revenue for it, was distributed to the senior officials. There positions and the land grants often became hereditary; certainly they were decided by the Sultan, rather than by an examination systems. 1. Sultan 2. Court officials.A core of senior bureaucrats were based around the royal court, along with scribes. 3.4. _Provincial government_ 2. Amirs.Administered regions. They were granted land by the Sultan, often in return for military service. 3. Governors - of cities and towns. 4. The ikdis or urban aristocracy who were like a police force or local militia. Later acting as tax collectors or sometime tax assessors."}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Originally the Seljuks in Anatolia had been tribal warriors. After establishing the sultanate they adopted some of the military organisation of other Middle Eastern polities. By the mid 13th century their force consisted of: Turcoman tribes; “the elite of ghulam slave-soldiers (many of whom were freed on the completion of their military training); cavalrymen performing military service in return for lands or fiefs known as iqta; local mercenaries; Western European or ‘Frankish’ mercenaries; and assorted allied contingents” The professional warriors were supported by a system of land grants \"on whose revenues the warriors, their mounts and weapons could be supported.\" 1. Sultan. The Sultan appointed the military governors, tribal leaders owed allegiances to him in times of war. 2. Sultan's retinues.Seljuks, Ottomans and Mongols all had a version of ‘military retinue’ system, “a group of armed, mainly free men (the majority of them foreigners), who served on a voluntary basis and were attached personally to the leader. They were his closet companions, friends and servants; they commanded the troops in wars, while a select group of them served as his bodyguard.\" They would have numbered a few thousand. 3, Subasibay or zaim - military governor of large city and commander of cavalry and fortress garrison. As the state established itself, land was given to members of the retinue who then ruled it as regional governors. The governors ruled \"a territorial unit called avilayet, or larger city, and was the commander (zaimu’l-cuyus) of the ikta-holder cavalry (sipahi) and the fortress garrisons (mustahfiz) under his authority.” 4. Tribal leaders.They owed allegiances to the Sultan and would provide troops. 5. Officers and cavalrymen.Professional warriors performing military service in return for land holding. 6. Soldiers.Ghulam slave-soldiers and mercenaries employed during war."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Caliph. 2. Sultan. The title 'sultan', \"carried with it the notion of defender of the faith, but ... did not commit them to holy war\". 3. Jurists. The central concern of the madrasa was the study of law in this period. 4. Imams"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. court scribes. In keeping with their tribal origins the Saljuqs of Rum did not have a bureaucratic apparatus to begin with. As they consolidated their power, they did develop one. A core of senior bureaucrats were based around the royal court, along with scribes. The rest of apparatus was organised regionally with regional officials overseeing local tax collectors. Land, and the right to collect revenue for it, was distributed to the senior officials. There positions and the land grants often became hereditary; certainly they were decided by the Sultan, rather than by an examination systems."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Senior soldiers within the sultan's military retinue and the military governors. Both officers and soldiers were employed by the polity on a full time basis. A full time Islamic priesthood worked in the mosques."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Silver coins minted, \"of a fineness superior to other Muslim coinages in the Levant\". When they were a tribal people the Turks and the Seljuks would have accumulated coins through tribute and booty. As they settled down they began to mint their own coins under Sultan Masud I. These early coins were of copper and used in commerce. Silver began to be used under Kilic Arslan II, followed by gold in the 1200s."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. coins acquired through booty and tribute. When they were a tribal people the Turks and the Seljuks would have accumulated coins through tribute and booty. As they settled down they began to mint their own coins under Sultan Masud I. These early coins were of copper and used in commerce. Silver began to be used under Kilic Arslan II, followed by gold in the 1200s."}]}},"Q487829":{"seshat":["Chagatai Khanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":1500000,"to":2500000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. McEvedy and Jones estimated 3 million for Russian Turkestan 1300 CE. Chagatai Khanate included what likely was the most populous region (Zavastan basin) of this area? at this time (after the Mongol genocides)."}],"territory":[{"from":3500000,"to":3500000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 1310 CE: 3,500,000; 1320 CE: 2,500,000; 1350 CE: 3,500,000; 1370 CE: 2,500,000; 1390 CE: 0 In the mid-thirteenth century CE: \"The Chaghadayid khanate originated as the territory of Chinggis Khan's second son, Chaghadai, whose lands centered on the Issyk Kul and the Ili river, and included the Muslim territory of Central Asia.\" After Tarmashirin Khan's downfall in 1334 CE: \"Although the eastern part of the Chaghadayid Khanate was now lost, the Ulus Chaghatay contained large new territories south of the Oxus: northeastern Khorasan and the regions of Qunduz, Baghlān, Kabul and Qandahar. Most of this area was the region of the Qara'unas, a large body of Turco-Mongolian troops (probably three tümens), which had originated as the garrison troops of Qunduz and Baghlān.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Metropolitan centre 2. Town3. Village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Kaghan 2. Governors for the settled regions.3. Princes - rulers of provincial districts. Representatives of Mongol power.\"The Chaghatay ulus was a decentralized state, with governors appointed by the Kaghan (for the settled regions, until 1289) and rulers of provincial districts, i.e. princes assisted by special officials, the darughachi or tammachi, the representatives of Mongol power.\" 4. darugachi or tammachi5. assistants for darugachi? 4. Head of mint inferred 5. Mint worker inferred Split into Eastern and Western Khanate in mid-14th Century \"The Chagatai khans ruled from the eastern side of the Khanate, an area that had gained the nickname Mughulistan, 'Land of the Mongols'; they had never been able to wield very much power in the western reaches of the kingdom, Transoxania (the lands just east of the Oxus river). There, amirs (local Mongol chiefs) wielded the real power. \"The administrative reform divided the country around Bukhara and Samarkand into tümens, and in Ferghana and East Turkistan into orchins (literally ‘near’, ‘around’, ‘surrounding’), i.e. a region located around the capital. \" \"The Chaghatay ulus was a decentralized state, with governors appointed by the Kaghan (for the settled regions, until 1289) and rulers of provincial districts, i.e. princes assisted by special officials, the darughachi or tammachi, the representatives of Mongol power.\" \"At the time of Temür's rise to power, politics in the Ulus Chaghatay was controlled by the tribes who made it up. With the decline of central leadership, control over the territory and wealth of the Ulus had fallen to them. They provided most of the military manpower of the Ulus, either from their own tribesmen or from the armies of the regions under their control. No one therefore could either become or remain leader of the Ulus wihout the backing of the tribal leaders. Tribal chiefs naturally were not eager to strengthen the position of a central leader; they were intolerant of claims to sovereignty over them,and if a leader displeased them, they were quick to switch their loyalties to a rival candidate. Under these circumstances, central leadership was often contested, sometimes even after a leader had been acclaimed by the tribes of the Ulus.\" \"The early Chaghadayid khans and their followers lived out in the steppe, but in the early fourteenth century the Chaghadayid Khan Kebeg (1318-1326) took up his residence in Transoxiana and began to take a more direct interest in the settled population. Kebeg undertook a number of reforms and is credited with organizing Transoxiana into tümens, regions supporting ten-thousand soldiers, of which seven were in the Samarqand region and nine in Ferghana.3\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":6,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. typically decimal system used. 1. Khan 2. General of 10,000 soldiers3. (General of 1,000 soldiers?)4. 1005. 106. Individual soldier \"In accordance with Mongol tradition, Kebek Khan divided Transoxania into military-administrative districts, or tümens (in Per- sian orthography, tu ̄ma ̄n), that is, ‘10,000’ (the original meaning being a group of 10,000 fighting men or a territory providing that number of warriors). The holdings of many local landowners became tümens, and the landowners themselves hereditary governors.\" \"Along with this land Chaghadai was given a portion of the army,including four regiments of a thousand, each led by an important tribal commander.2\" \"The early Chaghadayid khans and their followers lived out in the steppe, but in the early fourteenth century the Chaghadayid Khan Kebeg (1318-1326) took up his residence in Transoxiana and began to take a more direct interest in the settled population. Kebeg undertook a number of reforms and is credited with organizing Transoxiana into tümens, regions supporting ten-thousand soldiers, of which seven were in the Samarqand region and nine in Ferghana.3\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Many religions."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"darughachi were specialist administrators. \"The Chaghatay ulus was a decentralized state, with governors appointed by the Kaghan (for the settled regions, until 1289) and rulers of provincial districts, i.e. princes assisted by special officials, the darughachi or tammachi, the representatives of Mongol power.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"As with Mongols."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Kebek Khan (who succeeded his brother and ruled from 1318 to 1326) holds a special place in the history of the Chaghatay ulus. For example, his name is linked to the currency and administrative reforms which played an important role in the development of feudal statehood in Central Asia. [...] As for the monetary reforms, the systems of Il Khanid Iran and the Golden Horde were utilized as models. The weight of 1 kebek dinar was 2 mithqa ̄ls and 1 kebek dirham was equal to 1/3 of a mitbqa ̄l. The administrative and currency reforms of Kebek Khan were only superficial, however, and internal problems remained. The new monetary unit became known as kebek, a term that survives in the Russian word kopek.\""}]}},"Q12150341":{"seshat":["Samanid Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":6000000,"to":6000000,"year_from":900,"year_to":900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 900 CE in McEvedy and Jones (1978) Afghanistan 2.30m Russian Turkestan 2.25m Khoresan part of Iran. Iran total: 4.25m. Khoresan region perhaps a third? 1.4m"}],"territory":[{"from":600000,"to":600000,"year_from":900,"year_to":900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. 900 CE: 600,000. Greatest extent c930 CE: 2,500,000."},{"from":2500000,"to":2500000,"year_from":930,"year_to":930,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. 900 CE: 600,000. Greatest extent c930 CE: 2,500,000."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":130000,"to":130000,"year_from":900,"year_to":900,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Nishapur 130,000: 900 CE (Modelski) \"Bukhara, Samarqand, but especially Nishapur, and other cities of Khurasan increased greatly in size and complexity. For example, the oasis of Bukhara ... under the later Samanids became a metropolis - Bukhara, with villages which were almost suburbs, rather than a succession of towns. The wall was neglected, as was agriculture in general, as the sands encroached on the settled areas. Archaeology confirms the sources which indicate that the dihqans and peasants flocked to the cities in the second half of the 4th/10th century.\" \"Central Asian cities were densely populated - one expert estimates that 230-270 persons per acre was typical - and the footprint of four-fifths of the houses was as small as 380 square feet, even though they typically housed up to six people on two or three floors.\" Expert cited: K. M. Baybakov (1986). Also recommends \"O. G. Bolshakov’s estimates of population densities in Merv, Bukhara, Termez, etc.\" Balkh: urban walls enclosed 1000 acres. (Undated reference for Central Asia in Middle Ages) Afrasiab: \"Afrasiab, the predecessor to Samarkand ... covered over five hundred densely built acres.\" (Undated reference for Central Asia in Middle Ages) Termez: \"the river port of Tirmidh (Termez), which covered a thousand acres on the Uzbek side of the Amu Darya\". (Undated reference for Central Asia in Middle Ages) Merv: \"an enormous urban complex.\" (Undated reference for Central Asia in Middle Ages)"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2 Metropolitan centre3. Town4. Village \"Satellite towns and villages like those that surrounded Merv were to be found at all the other metropolitan centers.\" 5. Hamlets?Were rural caravanserei settled by caravanseri workers?"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Samanid state organization provided a model for the Saljuqs and later states.\" Book of Government by Nizam al-Mulk is therefore an essential source for this code and the codes for the Kara-Khanids and the Seljuks. 1. Amir Head of state was the amir. 2. hajib of the dargah (royal court)\"division of political functions between the court (dargah) and the chancery (divan) mirrored similar conditions at Baghdad.\" \"Theoretically the vizier was the head of the divan, the bureaucracy, and thus was the counterpart in the bureaucratic institution of the head of the court, the chamberlain (hajib).\" 3. Officer in Turkish palace guardhajib had authority over the Turkish palace guard _Central government_ 2. Vizier (head of divan).\"The Samanid rulers followed the ancient Persian custom, recently copied by the Abbasids in Baghdad, of entrusting the management of official life to competent and loyal chief ministers or viziers.\" Reporting to the viziers were some ten agencies that functioned like ministries, each with central offices situated around a single square in Bukhara, and each with local representatives in every province. Together these offices managed all aspects of civic life except religion.\" 3. Prime Minister (vazir) (-- not the same as vizier) 3. The treasurer (mustaufi) 3. Correspondence (amid al-mulk) 3. Captain of the guard (sahib shurat) 3. Postmaster (sahib barid) 4. Postal station head inferred 5. Courier inferred 3. Inspector, fiscal as well as general (mushrif) 3. Private domains of the ruler 3. Chief of Police (muhtasib) 3. Religious endowments (auqaf) 3. Justice (qada) Centralized control over \"the distribution of landed estates ... and the revenues of crown estates.\" _Provincial government_ \"The Samanid state, like all its predecessors in Central Asia, was in reality a conglomeration of great urban complexes, each with its own local dynasty, traditional elite, and economic and cultural particularities.\" \"the ruler appointed local governors, or loca ldynasts functioned as governors although they were actually vassals of the Samanid amir.\" 2. Vassal princes e.g. Khwarazmian dynasty , Khurasan and Tukharistan. \"It is not known when the various parts of Transoxiana submitted to the Samanids, but some of them remained under the control of their local rulers, for example in Khwarazm where the country became a part of the Samanid state after Isma'il's defeat of 'Amr b. Laith, but the local Khwarazmian dynasty continued to flourish until 385/995 in the south of the country, while a governor of the Samanids ruled in the north with his capital at Gurganj.\" 2. Governor of provinces e.g. at Gurganj \"The primary duty of both governors and local potentates was to collect taxes and provide troops if needed.\" 3. Vizier equivalent in the provincesThe \"central bureaucracy was matched by a similar organization in the provincial capitals, but on a smaller scale\" Representative of the central government (Ten Agencies) in the provinces --- assumed to be different from Governor 4. Head of section under vizier equivalent in the provinces \"The local organs of all the diwans, apart from the postal administration, were responsible both to the central authority and to the local provincial rulers.\" 5. Staff of section e.g. scribe6. Staff of section e.g. doorkeeper, lesser scribe."}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Turkish slave soldiers were the most important body of troops in the Samanid army\". \"The organization of the Samanid state was modelled after the caliph's court in Baghdad with its central and provincial divisions.\" Abbasid forces had slave soldiers 1. Amir 2. sipah-salarThe governor of Khurasan province \"was usually the sipah-salar (Arabic: sahib al-juyush) or commander of the principal army.\" [the following infer continuity with Abbasid hierarchy) 3. Qa-id (military officer) 4. Arif (leader of a militay unit of ten to fifteen soldiers) 5. Muquatila(Muslim soldiers paid a salary); Malwa(rank and file Turkish soldier) 6. Arrarun (irregular volunteers)"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 3 was the code for Abbasid Caliphate. Samanids were loyal to the Caliph. 1. Caliph as head of the Sunni Muslim umma. 2. Imams, successors of the prophet and leaders of the muslim world. 3. The Umma, i.e all Muslims."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Samanid rulers followed the ancient Persian custom, recently copied by the Abbasids in Baghdad, of entrusting the management of official life to competent and loyal chief ministers or viziers.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Over the years, Turkic junior officers who had proven themselves at the platoon and squadron levels rose in the ranks, until by the time of Nasr II they dominated the officer corps.\" Iqtas \"Bukhara was held by the latter as an iqta ... as a conditional reward for services rendered in the capacity of governor with the right to levy for his own benefit a part of the income of Bukhara and, later, the entire income from the town. It is also clear from the legends on Samanid coins that Bukhara, Akhsikath, Kuba, Nasrabad and other towns and regions were held as iqtas for various periods of time by members of the dynasty and by senior military and civilian officials as rewards for their services. These grants were neither lifelong nor hereditary, although attempts were made to move in that direction and were resisted by the central government.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Samanid culture rested on solid monetary policy, as reflected in its gold dinars ... and silver dirhams, which served as a reserve currency from India to Scandinavia\" and \"... at the bazaar level, either a more debased coin of the same size or small coins of bronze.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Central Asia was \"the major center of banking and finance for trade between China, India, and the Middle East.\" coded present for the Abbasid Caliphate."}]}},"Q93180":{"seshat":["Seleucid Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":30000000,"to":30000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"Aperghis (2004) [14,000,000-18,000,000]: 281 BCE. The estimated figure was calculated using information from the peak of the empire in 281 BCE. The population fluctuated as different kings won and lost territory. Ehrenberg (2013) 30,000,000: ??? BCE Territory in 300 BCE Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant Territory in 200 BCE Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast). Territory in 100 BCE Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant"},{"from":16000000,"to":16000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"Aperghis (2004) [14,000,000-18,000,000]: 281 BCE. The estimated figure was calculated using information from the peak of the empire in 281 BCE. The population fluctuated as different kings won and lost territory. Ehrenberg (2013) 30,000,000: ??? BCE Territory in 300 BCE Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant Territory in 200 BCE Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast). Territory in 100 BCE Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant"}],"territory":[{"from":3600000,"to":3600000,"year_from":-312,"year_to":-201,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. Estimated using maps and Google Maps Area Calculator. Territory in 300 BCE Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant Territory in 200 BCE Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast). 200 BCE Greek City dug up in Bahrain. Territory in 100 BCE Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant"},{"from":2300000,"to":475000,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-147,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. Estimated using maps and Google Maps Area Calculator. Territory in 300 BCE Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant Territory in 200 BCE Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast). 200 BCE Greek City dug up in Bahrain. Territory in 100 BCE Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":50000,"to":100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"inhabitants in the city Seleucid-on-the-Tigris."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital (50,000-100,000 inhabitants), at Seleucid-on-the Tigris. 2. Major city (20,000-50,000 inhabitants) (e.g.Seleukeia-Pieria, 250-300ha; Antioch, 225ha; Apameia, 205-255ha; Laodikeia, 220ha) 3. Large city (10,000-20,000 inhabitants) (e.g. Kyrrhos, Chalkis, Beroia and Seleukeia-Zeugma, 65-100ha) 4. Small city (5,000-10,000 inhabitants) (e.g. Doura-Europos, Djebel Khaled) 5. Town (inferred, based on references to cities and villages)6. Village (e.g Baitokaike, recorded to have been given to a sanctuary of Zeus)"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Prior to the Parthians, political systems in Southwest Asia were for the most part relatively loose confederations in which central government ruled their 'empires' through unstable alliances with vassals and satraps. Even Hammurabi, Darius, and Alexander were only temporarily successful in linking their centralized governments to local administrative institutions, particularly outside of the core areas of Greater Mesopotamia.\" 1. King 2. Relatives of the King 3. Circles of philoi : (a) “First ranking” ( protoi philoi ) (b) “Esteemed” ( timoumenoi philoi ) (c) “Friends” ( philoi ) _Central government_ 2. Heads of financial administration, satrap governance and local military commanders within each satrap. Head generals and officials (e.g. the General Commander of the Upper Satrapies.) 3. Dioiketes - responsible for finances within the satrapies of royal land, revenue and expenditure, and possibly also supervised royal mints and registry offices. 4. Level between head of royal mint and Dioiketes? 5. Head of a royal mint inferred 6. Worker in a royal mint inferred 4.5. 3. Eklogistai - under the dioikētai and responsible for setting the level of taxation. 4.5. 3. Oikonomoi - ‘managed royal land and revenue, one it had been received, and also controlled expenditure in their financial districts.’ 4.5. 3. hoi epi tōn hierōn (a separate group)- supervised temples and their revenue. 4.5. _Provincial line_ 1. King 2. Satrapies governed by a strategosCivil, financial and military powers separated since Alexander's reform of the Persian system. \"in all the lands east of the Euphrates the Seleucids had a more complete system of internal subdivision; it was a threefold division - satrapy, eparchy, hyparchy - corresponding roughly to the threefold division in Ptolemaic Egypt of nome, topos, village, the nome like the satrapy, being under a strategos or general. This threefold administrative division in each of the two empires must, one supposes, have had a common origin, but what it was is unknown. As the smallest administrative unit in Egypt was the village and in Seleucid east the hyparchy - a district would comprise a number of villages - the organisation of the Seleucid east was of necessity much looser than that of Egypt; the hyparchy, however, for purposes of land registration, was again subdivided into fortified posts called stathmoi - originally post stations on the main roads, the Seleucids having taken over the Persian postal system - each stathmos being the centre of a subdivision comprising so many villages.\" 3. Eparchy\"So far as is known at present, the eparchy was a Seleucid innovation.\" 4. Hyparchy 5. Stathmoi _Autonomous Cities_ 2. Leader of city/council inferred \"Seleucid and Parthian cities were self-governing and controlled considerable territories independent of the central government.\" 3. Department in city administration? inferred 4.5."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The military levels provided here are an outline of the Seleucid army. There were many other titles and subsets of command within the army, different provinces and over time which are discussed by Bar-Kochva. 1. King - the king often took command of the storm troops (mainly cavalry) in campaign battles, or commanded from behind the front lines with other groups of troops. 2. strategoi - the senior commanders of the army. 3. hipparchoi - the officers of the cavalry and infantry of the army. 4. hegemones 5. and soldiers- the rank and file soldiers of the army."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Seleucid kings (and occasionally the queens) were portrayed as divine beings and so acted as the head of religious order in the empire. The high priests were appointed by the king to be responsible for the temples in territories or satrapies of the empire, which included dealing with the temple high priests (for example, in matters of state funding and provisions). The local priests include for example the three priests of the shrine to Sarapis and Isis at Laodicea-by-the-Sea, who complained about the number of statues being erected on their land. 1. King 2. Chief priest3. Temple high priest4. Local or shrine priest"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"An example is the position of dioiketes , or ‘the financial counterpart of the strategos/satrap in each satrapy and the oikonomoi of the hyparchs'."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Military officers were needed to command and control the large standing army, and to conduct successful military campaigns."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Silver coins ('tetradrachms') were introduced by the Seleucid kings after Seleucus I in order to increase the royal revenue. The kings needed money to pay mercenary soldiers and cover military expenses to defend the kingdom. Gold coins were also used as a higher denomination of money, after the ‘Alexanders’ which were in use during the reign of Alexander."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Foreign coins circulated freely alongside the Seleucid silver coinage (mainly ‘tetradrachms’)."}]}},"Q1069609":{"seshat":["Western Zhou"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":13500000,"to":13500000,"year_from":-956,"year_to":-795,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 100,000: 1122 BCE; 5,000,000: 1045; [9,000,000-12,000,000]: 957 BCE; 13,500,000: 771 BCE McEvedy and Jones (1979) say after the Shang Empire population actually increased quickly so that by 400 BCE the figure for a definition of China - that included parts outside the Western Zhou - was 25 million. Their implied figure for the Shang Empire in 1045 BCE was 5 million. Maisels suggests 13.5 million for Western Zhou. Relevant page in Maisel's book not now accessible via google books so cannot check for date. If figure was at peak, i.e. c950 BCE, that would be a jump of 8m in 100 years from 5m in 1045 BCE. Seems high even for territorial acquisitions. Perhaps 13.5 million reflects 771 BCE. Have instead coded a range for the population at the the peak date between the beginning and end figures."},{"from":9000000,"to":12000000,"year_from":-1045,"year_to":-957,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 100,000: 1122 BCE; 5,000,000: 1045; [9,000,000-12,000,000]: 957 BCE; 13,500,000: 771 BCE McEvedy and Jones (1979) say after the Shang Empire population actually increased quickly so that by 400 BCE the figure for a definition of China - that included parts outside the Western Zhou - was 25 million. Their implied figure for the Shang Empire in 1045 BCE was 5 million. Maisels suggests 13.5 million for Western Zhou. Relevant page in Maisel's book not now accessible via google books so cannot check for date. If figure was at peak, i.e. c950 BCE, that would be a jump of 8m in 100 years from 5m in 1045 BCE. Seems high even for territorial acquisitions. Perhaps 13.5 million reflects 771 BCE. Have instead coded a range for the population at the the peak date between the beginning and end figures."}],"territory":[{"from":850000,"to":850000,"year_from":-957,"year_to":-957,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"850,000 km2: 957 BCE. Peak territorial extent King Zhao of Zhou c955-977 BCE. Western Zhou controlled central plains of China and reached its limit of control to the south. The figure reflects the extent of the typical map of the Western Zhou. \"... little of no evidence of any sustained Zhou occupation of the Yangzi River valley.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":-1045,"year_to":-901,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Haoqing."},{"from":125000,"to":125000,"year_from":-900,"year_to":-795,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Haoqing."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital (homeland).2. Capital (eastern lands).3. Vassal strongholds.4. Towns.5. Villages."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King \"Under the hierarchical clan system, the King of Zhou was also the head of Zhou Family, thus, the imperial and the clan power were integrated with each other, the imperial family and the state were closely related, and the grade of the ranks in clans paralleled those in politics. As a result the pyramids-shaped political ranks were developed, within which \"the king makes the duke his servant; the duke the senior officials; the senior officials the junior officials\" ...\" 2. zai (intendants), shanfu (provisioners), shi (scribes)\"At court affairs zai (intendants), and shanfu (provisioners) \"took out and brought in\" (chu na) the king's commands.\" Court scribes called shi. _Central government_ 2. Prime MinisterMany scholars argue Western Zhou government had a Secretariat. \"King Wen of Zhou appointed Jiang Shang as prime minister.\" \"Moreover, an un-earthed mid-Western Zhou bronze vessel (mugui) also contained inscriptions which recorded that the king was worried about corruption and abuse of power by his officials and, therefore, appointed a person named Mu to take charge of the censorial duty. This could be the forerunner of the censorial system fully developed in the Han bureaucracy.\" 3. Supervisor of Land. 3. Supervisor of the Horsec950 BCE \"In place of the generic early Western Zhou hou, or regional \"lords,\" the most powerful figures came to be the Three Supervisors (can you si), the Supervisor of the Horse (sima), the Supervisor of Lands (situ), and Supervisor of Works (si gong)\". 3. Supervisor of Works \"By the mid-Western Zhou era, the Zhou government administration consisted of three separated functional divisions: royal household, civil administration, and military.\" 4. Official who managed roads within ministry of works inferred level \"As early as the Shang period, roads were controlled by a special official, and in the Zhou period, traffic had reached such proportions that regulations were introduced for particularly crowded crossroads and reckless driving was prohibited. ... they are said to have put roads into five categories: pedestrian roads for people and pack animals, roads for handcarts, roads for single carts, roads on which two carts could pass, and main roads wide enough to take three vehicles abreast.\" 5. Scribe under the official who managed roads, within the ministry of works inferred level 5. on site road works manager inferred level _ Provincial line_ appears to be room for a higher provincial level - did such exist? 2. 170 units, members of Zhou nobility as regional rulers\"It is said that when the Zhou dynasty was established around 1000 BC, about 1800 political units, referred to as states by some scholars, paid allegiance to the Zhou king. We may assume that these were mainly tribal units, clans, and federations of local units ruled by their chiefs and elders. In some cases warriors had established themselves as nobles and as commanders of garrison towns, which were at most fortified places like Panlongchang described above. Upon this agglomeration of small units the Zhou imposed their feudal system. About 170 units were formed with members of the Zhou nobility as the regional rulers, combining up to several dozens of the older units into new ones.\" 3. units such as garrison towns, tribes, clans, federations of units 4. local headman Note on periodization \"In short, the archaeological excavations suggest that while the Zhou elite in the east enjoyed a highly identical bronze culture identical to that which is found in the Wei Valley, the pottery workshops on the eastern plain continued to produce old types of pottery according to local standards that had their origin in the Shang. ... from the very beginning the Western Zhou state faced a west-east division that emerged as the result of the Zhou conquest. ... the situation began to change some time during the mid-Western Zhou when the Zhou pottery types were gradually introduced to the eastern plain. ... The complete merging of the two pottery tradtions during the late Western Zhou reflects the eventual integration of the two regions, guided by a unified elite culture introduced soon after the Zhou conquest.\" 2. Fiefdoms Aristocrats given fiefdoms in exchange for loyalty, tribute and aid to a king. This feudal system is referred to as fengjian. A poem in the Shijing that refers to this period reads: \"no land is not the king's land\" and \"there are none who are not the king's servants.\" Aristocrats also helped run a central government bureaucracy, originally created by the Duke of Zhou (with some inheritance from Shang as Shang officials were found employment). They were obliged to attend court, and supply manpower for military operations and construction projects.3. Mini-kingdomsAristocrats further sub-divided their domains among their own relatives, officials and courtiers based on oaths of allegiance (mini-kingdoms). However, the feudal relationship with the center was not an \"abstract concept\", as they usually rested on kinship ties, such as a marriage. Thus the realm of the Western Zhou was an \"extended household.\" However, by 771 BCE these kinship links were breaking down. The aristocratic system had a hierarchy of noble titles: gong (duke), hou (marquis), bo (earl), zi (viscount), nan (baron). By the 8th century BCE, at least 100 small states were in existence. Each had a walled capital, surrounded by a ring of farm land, which in turn was surrounded by barbarians. Bureaucracy has multiple levels of \"scribes\"? \"Li is also able to find that, as the Western Zhou government developed, fewer and fewer official appointments were hereditary in nature. It became a routine that the appointees started their careers very young at junior levels, and then followed a lengthy path of promotion across various government divisions (experiences in the military being a plus), and finally to the top of government. The lengthy and in some cases complicated paths show that the Western Zhou government was hierarchical with layered ranks of officials.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King 2. Dukes and Princes3. Generals for each of the Six Armies and Eight Yin Armies: Under the Western Zhou (about 1027-770 BC), the feudal lords each had armies of one to three jun, while the kings had at least 14, the Six Armies and the Eight Yin Armies. The strength of a jun is not certain, but a later commentator put it at 12,500 men.\" 4. level for c1000 men? inferred level : Western Zhou had a military aristocracy and a ritual code of honour (like chivalry). 5. level for c100 men? inferred level : Lesser military officer called shi (captain). 6. level for c10 men? inferred level 7. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"_State cult_ 1. King King's title \"Son of Heaven\" gave him sole right to perform sacrifices and rituals related to agriculture and seasons. Claimed descent from Hougi: \"he who rules the millet.\" Sacrifices could only be made by male family members. 2. Ritual specialist3. ? _Ancestor worship_ Peasants worshipped their own gods."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Edward Shaughnessy and Li Feng both write that a bureaucratic government with full-time bureaucrats was present in the Western Zhou. Shaughnessy points to reforms in 950 CE that led to the \"appointment of individuals - often without any apparent relationship to the king\". According to Li Feng, the Western Zhou central bureaucracy had two branches: the Ministry (卿事寮) and the Secretariat (太史寮). In the ministry, the three major positions (参有司) were the Supervisor of Land, Supervisor of Construction, and the Supervisor of Horses. The major positions in the Secretariat were the Scribe (史), Invocator (祝), and the Document Maker (作册). The Royal Household was a separate independent system headed by Zai (宰), and the Six Armies and Eight Armies were another independent system. A generic term for the Zhou government was the \"hundred bureaus\". \"Li is also able to find that, as the Western Zhou government developed, fewer and fewer official appointments were hereditary in nature It became a routine that the appointees started their careers very young at junior levels, and then followed a lengthy path of promotion across various government divisions (experiences in the military being a plus), and finally to the top of government. The lengthy and in some cases complicated paths show that the Western Zhou government was hierarchical with layered ranks of officials.\" According to Herrlee G. Creel, centralized government with administrative system run by non-professional bureaucrats who had fiefdoms. Li Feng argues that Creel's hypothesis lacks sufficient evidence."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to Herrlee G. Creel, \"functional\" military officials. However, there may be from the same pool of aristocrats-with-fiefs who run the administrative system."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"All scholars agree that neither money nor a clear concept of private land ownership existed during the Western Zhou period.\" \"The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"All scholars agree that neither money nor a clear concept of private land ownership existed during the Western Zhou period.\""}]}},"Q577668":{"seshat":["Khanate of Bukhara"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":500000,"to":1200000,"year_from":1600,"year_to":1600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Populations of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadzikhistan, Kirghizstan : 1600 CE: 4 million people 1700 CE: 4.5 million people AD: The Khanate of Bukhara would only represent a small portion of that estimate, perhaps 1/5th of the population.Considering that this is an estimate based on an estimate (!) it should be double-checked by an expert.However a rough population number for the Bukhara Khanate could be comprised between 500,000 and 1.2 million people in 1600 CE and between 600,000 and 1.4 million people in 1700 CE. (arbitrary estimates, RA's guess!)"},{"from":600000,"to":1400000,"year_from":1700,"year_to":1700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Populations of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadzikhistan, Kirghizstan : 1600 CE: 4 million people 1700 CE: 4.5 million people AD: The Khanate of Bukhara would only represent a small portion of that estimate, perhaps 1/5th of the population.Considering that this is an estimate based on an estimate (!) it should be double-checked by an expert.However a rough population number for the Bukhara Khanate could be comprised between 500,000 and 1.2 million people in 1600 CE and between 600,000 and 1.4 million people in 1700 CE. (arbitrary estimates, RA's guess!)"}],"territory":[{"from":150000,"to":300000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 219282.13 square km based on an estimate generated on Google Maps Area Calculator. The area was drawn based on the indications of the map referenced above which looks as follows:"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital. Bukhara 2. Secondary town/provincial capital. Eg. Samarkand3. Town4. Village5. Hamlet"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Complex administrative hierarchy 1. Khan _Territorial hierarchy_ 2. Provinces (wilayat) headed by hakim (governor) 3. Tuman _Central government_ 2. Grand emir 3. Ataliqs - experienced emirs 2. Diwan begi - head of state chancellery and treasury. 3. Diwan - state chancellery \"The Bukhara khanate was divided into wilayats (provinces), each headed by a ha ̄kim (governor). The wilayats were in turn divided into tumans. If a canal was dug from a river, and the water irrigated 100,000 tanabs (1 tana ̄b = approx. 40 m) of land, such land was known as a tuman. District offices were subordinate to heads of departments in the capital. To the name of the official governing the territories of an influential tribe was added the name of that tribe.At the head of the state was the khan, who in theory had unlimited power, although it was assumed that any intended measures should first be discussed with his chief nobles and ministers. In practice, many Janid khans were completely dependent on their grand emirs, who possessed their own troops. While the eldest member of the ruling house was traditionally chosen as khan, in practice it was the individual with the strongest support among the nobles who came to power. Usually the election of the khan was accompanied by a ceremony in which the successful candidate was raised up on a white felt blanket, the four corners of which were held by four influential members of the ruling house, nobility and clergy.A decisive role in the Janid state was played by the ataliqs, who received their pay in the form of an appanage. In theory, the title ataliq was conferred upon a respected, experienced and elderly emir, a ‘knowledgeable, loyal and well-informed person’. In practice, in the second half of the seventeenth and the first half of the eighteenth century, the office of grand ataliq, which was considered a mainstay of the state, was claimed by the most powerful emirs.The next highest office of state was that of the diwan-begi, who was head of the diwan (state chancellery) and treasury. A significant role in state affairs was also played variously by the kukeldash (kukuldash), lit. ‘foster brother’, who gathered information from all over the empire and was also in charge of hunting accessories, ‘such as various hunting birds, hounds, and so on’ (later, under the Manghits, the role of the qush-begi, lit. ‘chief of birds’, ‘commander of falconers’, grew substantially); the mushrif (supervisor), whose duties included noting all grants made by the sovereign and maintaining records of khara ̄j (land tax) receipts in daftars (tax registers); the m ̄ır-shab (chief of night duty); the da ̄dkhwa ̄h, in charge of receiving complaints from the population; the m ̄ır-a ̄khur, or master of the stables; the dasta ̄rkhwa ̄nch ̄ı (court official, lit. ‘spreader of the banquet cloth’); the munsh ̄ı (chancery secretary), and others. Individuals belonging to the official hierarchy also participated actively in military campaigns. At government meetings and receptions, each official occupied a set place, according to his rank. Some sat and others stood; some were permitted to leave the palace on horseback, while others had to leave on foot.The ruling class included members of the ulama ̄’ (high clergy). Some of these were considered the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, which allowed them to claim the honorary title of sayyid and seek a high status accordingly. Another group of privileged individuals, calling themselves khwa ̄ja, claimed to be descended from one of the four immediate successors of Muhammad. Beginning in the sixteenth century, a decisive role was played by the Juyba ̄r ̄ı shaykhs, some of the richest individuals in the country. It was usually from among their number that the guardian of the law, or shaykh al-isla ̄m, was chosen.The waqfs were managed by sadrs (‘eminences’), whose task was to supervise the activ- ities of the mutawall ̄ıs, the managers of waqf institutions. Justice was in the hands of qa ̄z ̄ıs (judges). From amongst the jurists a muft ̄ı was appointed, whose duties included ruling on religious and legal questions. An important place in the administration was occupied by the muhtasib (market inspector), whose task it was to ensure order in the market, to check the accuracy of weights and measures in the bazaar, to guarantee the quality and standard of goods, and also to ensure that the inhabitants observed practices enjoined by Muslim law.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. The quote below denotes a very hierarchical system without detailing the types of military ranks. Therefore, they have been coded as a range. 1. Khan 2. General 3. Captains 4. 5. Individual soldiers \"Individuals belonging to the official hierarchy also participated actively in military campaigns. At government meetings and receptions, each official occupied a set place, according to his rank. Some sat and others stood; some were permitted to leave the palace on horseback, while others had to leave on foot."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (1. Khan?) 2. Ulama (high clergy) 3. Imams \"The ruling class included members of the ulama, (high clergy). Some of these were considered the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, which allowed them to claim the honorary title of sayyid and seek a high status accordingly. Another group of privileged individuals, calling themselves khwa ̄ja, claimed to be descended from one of the four immediate successors of Muhammad.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The documentary (wasiqa and waqfnama) descriptions of tangas can be divided into two groups. Nine wasiqas from the reigns of the Janid khans Wali Muhammad (1605-11), Imam Quli (1611-41), Nadr Muhammad (1641-5) and cAbdu’l cAz ̄ız (1645-80) dating from 1606 to the last quarter of the seventeenth century refer to the tanga as equal to 30 copper dinars. In other words, the tanga exchange rate was equal to that of the ‘new’ tanga of the last of the Shaybanids. The words ‘new’ and ‘pure’ crop up only rarely in the descriptions, however. It is interesting that the mints had stopped issuing copper dinars by that stage (they had turned into units of account). As units of account these were not subject to the exchange-rate fluctuations of real copper coins, and so were a more stable peg against which to fix the exchange rate for silver coins.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q484195":{"seshat":["Timurid Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":49000000,"to":49000000,"year_from":1400,"year_to":1400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. 1400 CE Iraq: 1.0m Iran: 3.5m Caucasia: 1.0m Russian Turkestan: 3.4m North Pakistan and Delhi region of India (Upper Indus and Upper Ganges): 40.0m. Estimate reasoning: 94.0m for whole of the Indian Subcontinent. If 60% population of India c500 BCE was in the Ganges Basin (67% under the Guptas) and \"The next fifteen hundred years consolidated without significantly altering this pattern\" then about 56.0m should be within the Ganges Basin. Timur held only about 50% of the Ganges Basin so for this territory we could estimate 28.0m. Of the 38.0 remaining for the rest of the sub-continent it is likely the Indus Basin contains the majority. If 60% of remaining is in the Indus Basin then we could say 23.0m for the whole Indus Basin. Timur held the north of the Indus Basin so for this territory we could estimate 12.0m."}],"territory":[{"from":5500000,"to":5500000,"year_from":1400,"year_to":1400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Estimated using Google area calculator and a map."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Samarkand 1400 CE: 150,000 according to Clavijo. Apogee of Herat was in the twelfth century: \"al Qazwini wrote ... there were twelve thousand shops in the markets, six thousand hot baths and 659 colledges. The population was 444,000.\" In the 1330s CE Ibn Battutah reported Herat was \"the largest inhabited city in Khorasan\". Tabriz, rich trade city, c1400 CE: \"The city walls measured twenty-five thousand paces (compared with nine thousand in Herat and ten thousand in Samarkand), encompassing a vast population in the region of 1.25 million, based on the two hundred thousand households recorded by Clavijo.\" However, these figures are considered an exaggeration. Marco Polo described a cosmopolitan city which contained Armenians, Nestorians, Jacobites, Georgians and Persians. According to Rashid ad-Din it was a city of high culture with \"philosophers, astronomers, scholars, historians - of all religions, of all sects\". Other peoples included Indians, Kashmiris, Chinese, Uighurs, Arabs, Franks, Turks and Tibetans."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital (Samarkand) 2. Large city (wealthy trade centre)3. Lesser city4. Town5. Village6. Hamlet Spanish ambassador Clavijo spoke of villages and hamlets."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Amir/Emperor/Sultan Timur \"ruled in the name of the Chagatai Khanate\" as an amir. Did not take the title of \"Khan\" because he was not in the family of Genghis Khan: \"he maintained the charade that he was a governor under the Chagatai khan, when in reality he was the supreme power.\" 2. Ichki (or muqarrab)In the royal household this official \"did not have defined duties but who was in constant attendance on the ruler and served him in an advisory capacity.\" _Central government_ Timurid government functionally distinguished between civilian and military branches of government. 2. Vizier. \"Often inheriting their positions or having served in the administrations of previous rulers, the Persian secretaries (navisandagan-i Tajik) who staffed it and who held the title of vazir, exhibited remarkable professional continuity.\" 3. Diwan-i a'la \"The requirements of ruling over a sedentary population in the agrarian oases of Central Asia and Iran, however, necessitated the adoption of the traditional Perso-Islamic administrative system of the diwan, which was concerned primarily with financial and bureaucratic matters, including chancery correspondence.\" 4. Scribe in Department inferred 5. 6. Imperial doorkeepers armed with maces. _Regional government_ 2. Governor or mayor called darugha. \"The authority of the darughas and the diwans, the princes and amirs, all dependent directly on the emperor.\" Timur's descendants divided the territories into provinces, which included Samarkand and Bukhara. \"Timur was notably lax at establishing effective and loyal governments in the conquered lands. ... conquered lands had their own governing bodies, and ... he was content to leave them be.\" \"appanage system [created] a new class of rich and autonomous grandees who were largely beyond the control of the central government.\" 3. Head of provincial diwans\"the personnel of city councils might become part of Timurid provincial diwans\" 4. 4. personnel of city councils? - where do they go?"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Sultan 2. Diwan-i tovachi\"dealt with military affairs and was controlled by the Barlas tribe\" 2. Tarkhan\"The most senior officers were granted the ultimate title of tarkhan, a position harking back to the days of Genghis Khan. This conferred on them a number of important privileges, among which the most valuable was the permanent exemption from taxes. Unlike any other soldier in Temur's armies, the tarkhan was entitled to keep everything he plundered. Everyone else had to make over a share of the spoils to the emperor. The Tarkhan was also immune from criminal prosecution. Only after he had committed the same crime nine times was he answerable to justice. Perhaps the ultimate prize was his access to Temur at all times.\" 2. Amir of a tumanTuman was 10,000 men. 3. Binbashi of a binlik1000 troops. 4. Yuzbashi of a yuzlikTen onliks in a yuzlik. 5. Onbashi of an onlik\"The smallest unit of men was ten soldiers, an onlik, led by an onbashi.\" 6. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Timur \"Although he came from a conventional Sunni tradition, his Sufi credentials were bolstered through his patronage of the Naqshbandi order, centred in Bukhara, and his cultivation of the Sufi shaykhs of Mawarannahr and Khorasan, who enjoyed a prominent position in his court\" However, \"Temur could just as easily pose as protector of the Shi'a tradition. \"The five daily prayers were a regular feature of life at Temur's court. Wherever he campaigned, with him went the imams and the royal mosque, a sumptuously appointed pavilion made of the finest silk.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Bureaucrats."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Professional soldiers. However: \"Timur’s bureaucrats therefore resorted to the old trick of handing out vast tracts of land to relatives and favorites on the sole condition that the recipients make regular payments to the treasury.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Few gold, mostly silver (tanka), copper (dangi) in Transoxania. \"The unit of account throughout the Timurid period was the dinar kebeki (kebeki dinar) ... The physical coin, the tanka, was valued against the kebeki dinar.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"found no mention yet of single currency system. as trade center would have had many foreign visitors who would have bought and used coinage if there were no single currency system."}]}},"Q178084":{"seshat":["Ilkhanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":5250000,"to":5250000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. McEvedy and Jones Iran: 3.5m Afghanistan: 1.75m \"The problem in Persia is that land that has been neglected may well not be easy to bring back into cultivation. Agriculture was, in the absence of large rivers or adequate rainfall, very dependent on the qanat system of underground water channels. ... qanats require constant skilled maintenance if they are to continue to operate, many will have been ruined, not necessarily by deliberate destruction but simply through long-term neglect because the peasants had fled. ... Similarly in the case of Iraq. ... It is unlikely that Hulegu deliberately destroyed the agricultural potential of Iraq though here, too, much damage could inadvertently have been done simply through lack of proper maintenance of the irrigation canals.\""}],"territory":[{"from":3800000,"to":3800000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Estimate of Ilkhanate at its greatest extent. The Ilkhanate emerged from the Mongol conquest of Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The armies of Hulegu had attacked and destroyed many of the great cites of the Middle East, and ended the Abbasid Caliphate. Local dynasties had to submit to Mongol rule. In 1300 the Mongols spilt up their empire into four semi-independent regions, one of these was the Ilkhanate. From then on it was a fairly autonomous polity, although its rulers acknowledged a higher authority in the Great Khan. The Ilkhanate saw the return of stability to the region. Over time the Ilkhanate absorbed influences from Persia and the Middle East, becoming less 'Mongol'."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":200000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Estimate is more than Rayy in 1220 CE, significantly more on basis that Tabriz was likely the most populous city in Persia at this time. Tabriz. Prior to the Mongol conquest Rayy, in northern Iran, had about 80,000 in 1220 CE. Tabriz \"developed into a great metropolis\". As the major trade center in Persia it therefore was likely the most populous city in Persia in the post-Mongol conquest era. Tabriz had a cistern for drinking water and baths with hot water. The population of Tabriz was larger than that of the later Ilkhan capital Sultaniya, which was also impressive. \"Sultaniya was an important commercial centre, a 'great city', as Clavijo reported on his arrival on 26 June 1404 ... Founded in about 1285 by Arghun, the sixth Ilkhanid ruler of Persia, who was attracted by its abundant pastures and used it as his summer capital, Sultaniya became the seat of empire under his son Mohammed Oljeytu Khudabanda in 1313. The city was expanded aggressively, the outer walls increasing from twelve thousand paces in circumference to thirty thousand. ... Oljeytu intended Sultaniya to become a fully functioning capital, no mere royal camp. He duly embarked on a terrific building spree, ordering his courtiers to design graceful palaces and gardens. The vizier Rashid al-din built an entire quarter of a thousand houses. Another, Tak al-din Ali Shah, built a lavish, ten-thousand-dinar palace called Paradise, its doors, walls and floors studded with pearls, gold, rubies, turquoise, emeralds and amber. A city of monuments made from baked brick, stone and wood sprang up on the desert plain, luxuriously decorated with bronze doors, inlaid window grilles, marble revetments and mosaic faience.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Tabriz 2. Cities \"Mostawfī distinguishes in his account of the revenues of the different provinces and districts between the revenues of certain towns and their surrounding districts (welāyāt) ... Among the towns and districts described in this way, all of which were situated on the main trade routes, were Baghdad, Kūfa, Wāseṭ, Ḥella, Isfahan, Solṭānīya, Qazvīn, Qom, Kāšān, Hamadān, Yazd, Tabrīz, Ojān, Ahar, Šūštar, Āva, Sāva, Zanjān, Marāḡa, and Shiraz.\" 3. Towns 4. Villages 5. Hamlets"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Khan 2. Royal household and the high officials e.g. chief minster, tax officials. Later, some were granted land holdings to support them. _Central government_ \"For all these dynasties - whose administrative infrastructures tended in any case to be derived from, or at least strongly influenced by, those of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate - there was a military affairs department (dīvān al-ǰayš, dīvān al-ʿarż/ʿāreż) in the central administration, headed by an official, normally a civilian, called the ṣāḥeb al-ǰayš or ʿāreż.\" 2. wazir Persian historian Rashid al-Din was chief minister to Ghazan. According to Rashid al-Din, the Mongols assessed the wazir on his ability to extract revenue. 3. divans - Departments of state. 3. ṣāḥeb-e dīvān (postal service?)\"These stations were in the charge of the ṣāḥeb-e dīvān, who had nāʾebs in the provinces.\" 4. nāʾebs 5. Station master\"Each station was to be run by a station master and to keep twenty horses for the government couriers\" 6. Stable hand inferred _Provincial government_ 2. Regional governors.Members of the Khan's military retinue were appointed as regional governors to administer conquered territory. Local tax-farmers. \"Apart from the shortage of liquid funds, because the Mongols had no officials capable of running the fiscal administration at the local level, it was convenient to place the responsibility for the provincial tax administration on the tax-farmers; and so the tax farm or moqāṭaʿa became the dominant fiscal institution of the Il-khanate... The tax-farmers were mainly local people—merchants, landowners, members of the bureaucracy, and amirs temporarily resident in the district. It was rare for them to be members of the Mongol military classes, perhaps partly because local people could be more easily coerced by the central government. \""}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Noteworthy was the decimal chain of command, the grouping of soldiers in tens, hundreds, and thousands, up to an army division of 10,000 men (Mongolian tümän, Pers. tūmān), which was to have an enduring impact on the military organization of succeeding eastern Islamic powers, being adopted by, e.g., the Mughals in India.\" 1. Khan. The military retinue, governors, warriors holding iqtas and the tribes all owed military obligations to the Khan. 2. Military retinue.Like the Seljuks and the Ottomans, the Khans had “a group of armed, mainly free men (the majority of them foreigners), who served on a voluntary basis and were attached personally to the leader. They were his closet companions, friends and servants; they commanded the troops in wars, while a select group of them served as his bodyguard. Their livelihood was secured by their masters, predominantly from the booty acquired during incursions and wars. The strength of these retinues ranged from a few dozen to 3,000 men. When the founders of the new states began to transform their personal might into territorial power, they relied heavily on their military retinues, delegating them to and settling them on the territories they controlled. In this Gefolgschaft-type of state, it is the military retinue to which the origins of the formal institutions of power can be traced back.” 2. Chief hajeb or espahsalar (commander) (10,000s?)\"For all these dynasties—whose administrative infrastructures tended in any case to be derived from, or at least strongly influenced by, those of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate ... The commander-in-chief of the actual troops was normally a Turk, and held the title of “chief ḥāǰeb” (ḥāǰeb-e bozorg, ḥāǰeb al-ḥoǰǰāb, etc.) or espahsālār, lesser commanders having the unqualified title of ḥāǰeb.\" 3. hajeb (lesser commander) (1,000s?) 4. intermediate officer (100s?) inferred 5. iqta holders (10s?)Warriors holding iqtas. 6. Soldiers- those men who had to fight through tribal obligations or recruited locally."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Until Ghazan the Reformer the Ilkhans were pagan although Teguder had converted to Islam before 1284 CE. 1. The Khan. After Ghazan's formal conversion to Islam he adopted the title padishah-i Islam which \"expressed independence within the Mongol tradition and claims to pre-eminence in the Islamic world\" 2. Islamic judges. They were regulated under Ghazan's administrative reforms. 3. Imams"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. chief minster, tax officials. There were full time officials involved in administration at the royal court and regional governors as well. The bureaucracy's main focus was on collecting revenues and providing writing services. Senior officials were granted land holdings to support their offices. Appointments were made by the Khan, it was not a meritocratic service."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"original code: absent: 1256-1303 CE; disputed_present_absent: 1304-1335 CE Changed on the basis of this: There were full time officers and soldiers within the Khan's military retinue and those warriors who held iqtas [land grants] in return for military service. absent \"the Ilkhan Ghazan decided to give a modest level of pay to low-ranking soliders, while the high-ranking Mongol officers remained unpaid.\" In 1303 an officer captured by the Mamluks reportedly said: \"The Mongol is the slave of his sovereign, He is never free. His sovereign is his benefactor: he does not serve him for money. Although I was the least of Ghazan's servants I never needed anything.\" present Senior warriors within the Khan's retinue. There were full time officers and soldiers within the Khan's military retinue and those warriors who held iqtas [land grants] in return for military service. There were full time Muslim priests."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Dinars. Ghazan the Reformer reformed the coinage. \"the gold and silver coins and the measures (kila, gas) were standardised according to the standards of Tabriz\"."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Through trade and through tribute, for example from the Seljuks who paid partly in cash."}]}},"Q25979":{"seshat":["Kushan Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":12500000,"to":13500000,"year_from":100,"year_to":100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"No reliable estimates exist, although the population seems to have increased and a the number of cities in the northern steppe grew and prospered. Studies and excavations of cities also show a marked growth in the density and overall population size of the populations involved. McEvedy and Jones 100 CE Pakistan and North West India. 36m for Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In 200 BC approximately 40% in the Ganges Basin. If roughly same proportions in 100 CE, and Kushans mostly outside the Ganges Basin, leaves 22 million for rest of India. Indus Basin likely to have been next most populous part of Indian sub-continent at this time. If, say, 25% total that would be 9m. Afghanistan 2m Transoxania 1.75m for Russian Turkestan 200 CE Pakistan and North West India. 39m for Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In 200 BC approximately 40% in the Ganges Basin. If roughly same proportions in 100 CE, and Kushans mostly outside the Ganges Basin, leaves 23 million for rest of India. Indus Basin likely to have been next most populous part of Indian sub-continent at this time. If, say, 25% total that would be 10m. Afghanistan 2.25m Transoxania 1.75m for Russian Turkestan"},{"from":14000000,"to":15000000,"year_from":200,"year_to":200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"No reliable estimates exist, although the population seems to have increased and a the number of cities in the northern steppe grew and prospered. Studies and excavations of cities also show a marked growth in the density and overall population size of the populations involved. McEvedy and Jones 100 CE Pakistan and North West India. 36m for Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In 200 BC approximately 40% in the Ganges Basin. If roughly same proportions in 100 CE, and Kushans mostly outside the Ganges Basin, leaves 22 million for rest of India. Indus Basin likely to have been next most populous part of Indian sub-continent at this time. If, say, 25% total that would be 9m. Afghanistan 2m Transoxania 1.75m for Russian Turkestan 200 CE Pakistan and North West India. 39m for Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. In 200 BC approximately 40% in the Ganges Basin. If roughly same proportions in 100 CE, and Kushans mostly outside the Ganges Basin, leaves 23 million for rest of India. Indus Basin likely to have been next most populous part of Indian sub-continent at this time. If, say, 25% total that would be 10m. Afghanistan 2.25m Transoxania 1.75m for Russian Turkestan"}],"territory":[{"from":2000000,"to":2500000,"year_from":100,"year_to":100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. [2,000,000-2,500,000]: 100 CE 60 CE Greater Bactria, Anxi (Indo-Parthia), Kaofu (Kabul Region), Puda (Paktiya), Jipin (Kapisa and Gandhara), and the Taxila region. However, at this time core area was the Taxila region. Vima Taktu (81-100 CE) and Vima Kadphises (101-127 CE) \"the entire region of Greater Gandhara including Uddhyana (Swat, Dir & Bajaur) and Upper and Lower Kabul River valleys became a solid part of the Kushan Empire.\" \"North of the Hindu Kush, till the Guissar Mountains, Kushans exercised some influence; but these regions were not strictly under the political control of the Kushan emperors.\" \"Probably Mathura was also established as a vassal State of the Kushan Empire during this period.\" [3,500,000-4,000,000]: 150 CE Kanishka I (128-150 CE) \"the Kushan Empire included besides the territories of Greater Gandhara, Greater Bactria, part of Parthia and the Tarim Basin in Chinese Xingjiang.\" [2,000,000-2,500,000]: 200 CE Huvishka (155-190 CE) \"it seems that the territories north of the Amu Darya and the Tarim Basin became independent but Bactria (south of the Amu Darya) could have remained under Kushan control.\" [1,000,000-1,500,000]: 250 CE 230 CE \"during the rule of the minor rulers, the entire Central Asian region became independent.\" Note on the Rabatak Inscription \"peak territory\" \"The Rabatak Inscription ... mentions a number of cities which Kanishka says formed a part of his vast empire. The names of these cities are given as Ozene, Zageda, Kasambo, Palabotro and Ziri tambo in the Rabatak inscription, which the translator of the Rabatak inscription, Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams, has identified with the cities of Ujjain, Saketa, Kausambi, Pataliputra and Champa.\" \"This identification, if it is correct, obviously gives a rather exaggerated account of the extent of the Kushan Empire during Kanishka's reign. This statement in the Rabatak Inscription is not supported by reliable archaeological or historical information from other sources. At best one could agree that Kanishka invaded these territories and forced the rulers to pay tribute, but such an arrangement could not have lasted for very long. These territories could therefore not be considered an integral part of the Kushan Empire.\" Sogdiana \"The territory of Sogdiana (the Zerafshan valley) did not belong to the Kushan Empire\"."},{"from":2000000,"to":2500000,"year_from":200,"year_to":200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. [2,000,000-2,500,000]: 100 CE 60 CE Greater Bactria, Anxi (Indo-Parthia), Kaofu (Kabul Region), Puda (Paktiya), Jipin (Kapisa and Gandhara), and the Taxila region. However, at this time core area was the Taxila region. Vima Taktu (81-100 CE) and Vima Kadphises (101-127 CE) \"the entire region of Greater Gandhara including Uddhyana (Swat, Dir & Bajaur) and Upper and Lower Kabul River valleys became a solid part of the Kushan Empire.\" \"North of the Hindu Kush, till the Guissar Mountains, Kushans exercised some influence; but these regions were not strictly under the political control of the Kushan emperors.\" \"Probably Mathura was also established as a vassal State of the Kushan Empire during this period.\" [3,500,000-4,000,000]: 150 CE Kanishka I (128-150 CE) \"the Kushan Empire included besides the territories of Greater Gandhara, Greater Bactria, part of Parthia and the Tarim Basin in Chinese Xingjiang.\" [2,000,000-2,500,000]: 200 CE Huvishka (155-190 CE) \"it seems that the territories north of the Amu Darya and the Tarim Basin became independent but Bactria (south of the Amu Darya) could have remained under Kushan control.\" [1,000,000-1,500,000]: 250 CE 230 CE \"during the rule of the minor rulers, the entire Central Asian region became independent.\" Note on the Rabatak Inscription \"peak territory\" \"The Rabatak Inscription ... mentions a number of cities which Kanishka says formed a part of his vast empire. The names of these cities are given as Ozene, Zageda, Kasambo, Palabotro and Ziri tambo in the Rabatak inscription, which the translator of the Rabatak inscription, Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams, has identified with the cities of Ujjain, Saketa, Kausambi, Pataliputra and Champa.\" \"This identification, if it is correct, obviously gives a rather exaggerated account of the extent of the Kushan Empire during Kanishka's reign. This statement in the Rabatak Inscription is not supported by reliable archaeological or historical information from other sources. At best one could agree that Kanishka invaded these territories and forced the rulers to pay tribute, but such an arrangement could not have lasted for very long. These territories could therefore not be considered an integral part of the Kushan Empire.\" Sogdiana \"The territory of Sogdiana (the Zerafshan valley) did not belong to the Kushan Empire\"."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":100,"year_to":100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Taxila: 150,000: 100 CE; 100,000: 200 CE Merv: 100,000: 100 CE Purushapura: 100,000: 100 CE; 100,000: 200 CE Kanishka I (128-150 CE) moved the capital to Purushapura, and Purushapura developed into the greatest city in the Kushan Empire.\" 40,000 in Vargsar \"which was always of major strategic importance as the main water-supply centre for the left-bank sector of the Samarkand Oasis and as a point commanding the approaches to Samarkand. Whoever held Vargsar could deprive Samarkand of its water supply. In the political history of Samarkand, there are numerous examples of attempts by foreign invaders to destroy the Vargsar dam and so compel Samarkand to surrender.\" Settlement of Bhita, or Vichi, covered about 26ha and had a population of between 10,000-20,000. The largest Central Asian cities were Bukhara, Samarkand and Ershi. City of Sirkap was \"transferred to a new site at Sirsukh ... This new Kushan city, founded under the nameless king Soter Megas, covered an area of 1,370 x 1,000 m, but has not yet been excavated.\""},{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":200,"year_to":200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Taxila: 150,000: 100 CE; 100,000: 200 CE Merv: 100,000: 100 CE Purushapura: 100,000: 100 CE; 100,000: 200 CE Kanishka I (128-150 CE) moved the capital to Purushapura, and Purushapura developed into the greatest city in the Kushan Empire.\" 40,000 in Vargsar \"which was always of major strategic importance as the main water-supply centre for the left-bank sector of the Samarkand Oasis and as a point commanding the approaches to Samarkand. Whoever held Vargsar could deprive Samarkand of its water supply. In the political history of Samarkand, there are numerous examples of attempts by foreign invaders to destroy the Vargsar dam and so compel Samarkand to surrender.\" Settlement of Bhita, or Vichi, covered about 26ha and had a population of between 10,000-20,000. The largest Central Asian cities were Bukhara, Samarkand and Ershi. City of Sirkap was \"transferred to a new site at Sirsukh ... This new Kushan city, founded under the nameless king Soter Megas, covered an area of 1,370 x 1,000 m, but has not yet been excavated.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. City - capital Kanishka I (128-150 CE) moved the capital to Purushapura. He had regional capitals at Taxila, Begram and Mathura. 2. City - administrative center\"Major administrative centers are believed to have been Peshawar in northwest Pakistan and Mathura in the Ganges Basin.\" 3. Towns2nd and 3rd CE in Bactria: \"During this period the country consisted of towns, including the important cities of Balkh and Termez, and rural settlements (roughly in the ratio of one to seven).\" Vichi (Bhita) estimated population of population of between 10,000 and 20,000 persons. \"In Sisupalgarh (ancient Kalinga˙nagara), where the ruins of the ancient city cover an areaof about 1.36 km2\". \"Begram, north of Kabul, at the confluence of the Panjshir and Ghorband rivers. The city was rectangular in shape, extending 800mfrom north to south and 450m from east to west with a citadel in the northeast.\" \"The cities became centres for the production of commodities for sale, hence their key importance in the city-village-nomadic-steppe system.\" 4. Rural settlements5. Nomadic camps. Commune \"There is some direct, and a great deal of indirect, evidence to show that the commune occupied an important place in the socio-economic life of Central Asia and in the ancient East as a whole. This seems to have continued until the Early Middle Ages, for which evidence is available. Thus, the commune in Sogdiana was known as naf; it consisted of the aristocracy (azat, azatkar), merchants (xvakar), and free peasants (who were members of the commune) and craftsmen (karikar). ... According to the written sources, the azat owned the land and the villages and were the chief retainers of the local and provincial rulers.\" \" In all probability, there was more land under communal ownership than any other type. There is some evidence to show that communes owned whole irrigation systems and the regions irrigated by them, as well as settlements and grazing lands. Localities settled by rural communes were called varzana, vardana or gava, meaning village or rural district, and it was precisely at this time that the fortified settlement of Vardanze, in the northern part of the Bukhara oasis, was established.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels Widespread literacy in India among Buddhist monks and Brahmans who were recruited as administrators using their Kharosthi script. For example, \"putting in place an effective satrapy system was not within the capabilities of the Kushans. ... At Kashgar, Kanishka installed a king of his choice ... but after Kanishka's death, this kingdom also slipped out of Kushan control.\" 1. Kushana king. Despite lower levels of administration, the Kushan king possessed unfettered powers. _Central government_ Within Greater Gandhara (northwest Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) administration through the Buddhist establishment. Outside Greater Gandhara (Bactria, Sogdiana, Tarim Basin, Jumna Basin etc.) there was no such establishment to run the administration of the territories. 2. Mantriparishad (Council of ministers) or Mantriparishatpala (prime minister) where is this from? is it inferred from later or earlier Indian systems? what is the evidence for this in the Kushan era? \"The king seems to have possessed unfettered powers, as we find no reference in the Kushan records to any advisory body or to councillors corresponding to amatyas and sachivas of the Mauryan period.\" 3.4.5 _Regions_ 2. SatrapsInscriptions mention satraps and other officials have been found. \"Satraps are known for Kapisa (Begram), Manikyala (near Rawalpindi), Und (west of the Indus), Mathura, Varanasi, etc. There may have been satraps for other parts of the empire, but the evidence on this point is wanting.\" 3. dandanayakas\"ksatrapas were definitely at a higher administrative level than the dandanayakas\" but the relationship between them is not known. 4. gramika or padrapala (village head) / Commune\"The inscriptions mention two terms - 'gramika' and 'padrapala' - both signifying 'village headman', who collected the king's dues and took cognizance of crimes in his area. There is no information about the local government that we find later in the Gupta period.\" \"the commune occupied an important place in the socio-economic life of Cenral Asia and in the ancient East as a whole. This seems to have continued until the Early Middle Ages, for which evidence is available. Thus, the commune in Sogdiana was known as naf; it consisted of the aristocracy (azat, azatkar), merchants (xvakar), and free peasants (who were members of the commune) and craftsmen (karikar). Of these three categories in the naf the highest status was enjoyed by the azat, that is, persons of 'high and noble birth', the azatkar or free persons associated with the azat and the 'children of the azat of aristocratic, noble origin.' According to the written sources, the azat owned the land and the villages and were the chief retainers of the local and provincial rulers.\" \"There is some evidence to show that communes owned whole irrigation systems and the regions irrigated by them, as well as settlements and grazing lands.\" \"the state and large land-holders, who tried to attach members of the commune to the land - a process that ultimately led to the emergence of feudalism in Central Asia.\" 3. Khwarazm\"All but unknown today, the civilization of Khwarazm between AD 100 and 600 was a highly sophisticated society. Its capital and main religious center, Topraq Qala, in what is now western Uzbekistan, featured a walled, 1100-by-1600-foot rectilinear compound. Elegantly built, it consisted of grand three-storied palaces and temples.\" 4. Yuezhi confederation organized into five major tribes which were led by yabgu (tribal chiefs). However, it might also be \"the five Kingdom were in fact not the Yuezhi people, but were the people in the state of Daxia. ... where each town carried out its affairs in its own way and was ruled by a so-called 'minor chief'. The Yuezhi did not wipe out these 'minor chiefs,' but 'made them all into their subjects' after they had conquered the state of Daxia.\" Daxia = Bactria. By turn of the millennium the Yuezhi \"had dominated Greco-Bactria for almost two centuries.\" \"State in Kangju/Sogdia \"acknowledged nominal sovereignty to the Yuezhi.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Kushana king 2. Chiang (military general), Dandanayaka, Mahadandanayaka 3. Baladhika (commander of an army) 4. 5. 6. Common soldiers likely to have been at least one level between the commander of the army and the ordinary soldier, especially as the organization was complex enough to warrant a general above a commander of an army. changing code to range of 4-6 NOTE: Dandanayaka and Mahadandanayaka may have referred to a judge, magistrate, head police-officer or an army general. They may have have been used to perform judicial, civil and military duties at different times or as the occasions demanded."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Sivaism, Vishnuism, Jainism, Buddhism - and their different schools \"penetrated Central Asia\" from India where there was Zoroastrianism, Greek divinities, pre-Zoroastrian cults, and ancient Iranian religions of the horseriding nomads. Kushan rulers had \"a liberal and tolerant attitude to all religions.\" \"The Kushan rulers patronized religious cults to assert their legitimacy in power of the conquered sedentary societies\". \"religious cults appeared on the coins - the dynastic symbol - to indicate religious devotion of a particular king. A variety of gods and cults were documented on Kushan coins - the Sumerian goddess Nana on her lion, Persian gods Oado and Atash, Indian cults of Buddha and Shiva. Zoroastrian fire worship left many remains.\" _Sivaism_ 1. King \"it seems that originally the divine patron of the Kushan dynasty was the ancient Iranian moon god. In view of the close connection between Siva and the moon, dynastic religious ideas may have also suggested to Vima [Kadphises] the choice of Siva as his divine patron.\" 2. Syncretic religious cult which \"apparently combined Greek, Iranian and non-Sivaite Indian elements.\" _Dynastic protector religion_ 1. King 2. Bakanapati (temple-keeper) \"a network of imperial temples dedicated to the divine protectors of the dynasty, where statues of the royal ancestors were also erected\". \"The main source of their legitimacy was no doubt the divinity of claim to their kingdom. Rulers of Kushans were called 'Son of God' or the 'Son of Heaven' ... the worship of heaven, prevailed in many tribes of the steppe. Kushan probably, like other tribes, claim the legitimacy of the chief deity of the sky.\" Inscription in the Rabatak temple lists gods 'from whom the king as obtained kingship.' Five are Zoroastrian but two are not. Muzhdwan \"is portrayed as a Yuezhi rider with a typical Scythian hooded cap, and it seems reasonable to suppose that Kanishka took this personal protector from his own stock of family gods.\" Terracotta figurines of horsemen with pointy caps are found at Kushan-Bactrian sites and usually assigned to category of 'rider gods' or 'heroized ancestors.' Umma was a goddess (\"not to be confused with the Indian goddess Uma who is shown on some later coins\") whose Iranian name means 'highest' or 'supreme'. The Rabatak inscription said she was \"welcoming in her presence all the other gods named here.\" Scythians had a goddess called Tabiti (Herodotus) who might fit her description as a \"bestower of power\". A terracotta of Umma found in a former Yuezhi territory showed her with \"strikingly Yuezhi facial features.\" \"The family temple (Devakula Sanskrit) of the Kushan royal family was where protective deity or deities should be worshiped ... The deification of the ruler which was so prevalent in the Roman and Hellenistic world as well as among the Iranians was thus introduced into India and left a mark on the future development of Hindu kingship.\" _Vishnuism_ 1. 2. _Jainism_ 1. 2. _Zoroastrianism_ 1. 2.3.4. \"the pantheon shown on Kushan coins belongs almost entrely to the Zoroastrian religion - which was the religion of the local populatn of Bactria at least from the Achaemenian period - though the iconographic types were mostly borrowed from Greece and India.\" _Buddhism_ 1. 2.3.4. Kanishka I (128-150 CE): \"Several traditions indicate that Kanishka sponsored the fourth Buddhist Council meeting at Jalandhar, which gave birth to Mahayana Buddhism.\" Mahayana Buddhism introduced new deities - bodhisattvas - \"to help others cross the ocean of suffering\". Bodhisattvas like Avalokiteshvaras would help people in trouble and responded to donations. Other bodhisattvas included Maitreya and Amitabha who had paradises for Buddhists not yet able to reach nirvana. \"The Mahayana vision of future lives was no doubt much more attractive to the pragmatically inclined. Rebirth into a beautiful heaven was much more desirable than reaching nirvana. For merchants, making donations was a much more satisfying and practical approach than self-denial. The gifts given in the name of the Buddha or bodhisattvas became the property of Buddhist monasteries.\" \"They were influenced by Buddhism to some extent but none of them actually converted to Buddhism. They patronized the Buddhist establishment and gave full respect to the Buddhist community and Buddhist religion, but continued to worship a large number of Iranian, Mesopotamian, and even some Indian deities.\" _Hinduism_ 1. 2. \"When the Kushans entered South Asia, they encountered both Brahmanism and Buddhism, and cults of both religions appeared on Kushan coins.\" _Christianity_ 1. 2. \"Later Armenian sources refer to the success of Iranian Christianity, spreading to the Kushan Empire and even into India, where it still survives (in Kerala).\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"the Kushan city had a special official, the dovarika, who wouldshut the city gates at night show the way to strangers."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"These may have also acted as civil or judicial officials. Probably covered by profession of Mahadandanyaka or Dandanayaka ."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Empire's founder \"Kujala issued the first Kushan coins from Taxila, which were patterned on the Roman coinage.\" The gold coinage introduced by Vima Kadphises used a gold dinar that copied the weight standard of the Roman gold aureus. Most of the early coinage was made of bronze, and each coin bore a legend in Bactrian using Kushan script based on the Greek alphabet The coins of Vima Kadphises \"are of such high quality that some historians believe that they must have been made by Roman mint masters in the service of the Kushana kings.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Roman coins"}]}},"Q875305":{"seshat":["Northern Wei"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":32000000,"to":32000000,"year_from":500,"year_to":500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. \"On the eve of the Six Garrisons revolt [in 523], Northern Wei had a registered population of approximately 5,000,000 households and 32,000,000 individuals.\" Storing this data here until I create pages for these polities Western Han (end): 57,000,000. Sui Dynasty: 46,000,000. Tang (height of power 742 CE): 49,000,000."}],"territory":[{"from":500000,"to":500000,"year_from":400,"year_to":400,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 500,000: 400 CE; [1,200,000-1,300,000]: 425 CE; 2,000,000: 450 BC; [1,900,000-1,850,000]: 475 CE; 1,773,000: 500 CE; [1,700,000-1,650,000]: 525 CE; 1,545,000: 550 CE (in squared kilometers)"},{"from":1773000,"to":1773000,"year_from":500,"year_to":500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers 500,000: 400 CE; [1,200,000-1,300,000]: 425 CE; 2,000,000: 450 BC; [1,900,000-1,850,000]: 475 CE; 1,773,000: 500 CE; [1,700,000-1,650,000]: 525 CE; 1,545,000: 550 CE (in squared kilometers)"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":600000,"to":600000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Luoyang grew to a population of 600,000."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Perhaps 5-6 levels, taking up earlier imperial modes? (there seems to be a similar division into central court/capital city, prefecture, commandery, districts and villages as in earlier times; maybe more after 486 CE reforms. 1. Capital 2.3.4.5. \"Li Ping (2000, 59) has noted that the Northern Wei, after establishing its capital at Pingcheng (modern Datong) in 398, divided the Sang'gan River basin of northern Shanxi into the Inner Capital District, which would include the capital city and the central basin area (jinei). This zone would be inhabited by the bulk of the settled farming population, Tuoba and related households and probably a large portion of the central army cavalry units, not to mention the palace guard units. The Outer Capital District, which would include the hills and mountains surrounding the basin area (jiwai) would be settled by nomadic and semi-nomadic tribal and clan groups who were never completely de-tribalized. Together these two zones would comprise the Capital District (dianfu). These two zones were administered by Eight Councillors (babu diafu) and Eight Chieftains (babu dashuai), respectively.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. This number is equal to the number of levels in both the provincial government and the outer court, plus the Khan. 1. Khan inscription discovered at an ancestral temple in Inner Mongolia shows early Tuoba Xianbei rulers used the title \"Khan.\" However, this inscription was written in Chinese characters. the guoren was initially the ruling clan then later \"widened to include the elites of many of the defeated peoples.\" _Central court_ At this time the typical post-Han central government bureaucracy consisted of a Royal Secretariat (shangshu tai), which had boards headed by presidents (shangshu). This later became a Department of State Affairs (shangshu sheng). _Inner Court_ Political and military power concentrated in the \"inner court\" which was almost totally made up of Xianbei. Inner court made decisions in consultation with the king. Some powerful officials called directors (ling) could function simultaneously in both inner and outer courts. 2. Chancellory, lead by shizhong (Palace Attendant)Had direct access to king as a companion/advisor. 3. _Outer Court_ Department of State Affairs At the central court the Chinese style Department of State Affairs along with the Secretariat (less so regarding the Chancellory) were mostly manned by Chinese courtiers in what has been referred to as the Northern Wei \"outer court\", though, the highest ranking members of the Department of State Affairs could very well be Xianbei.\" 2. Board of works lead by a president (shangshu) or lead by (Xianbei) directors? - is this same thing? 3. Qibu (Bureau of Works) lead by a ?Northern Wei: \"Bureau of Works, under the Board of Works.\" 4. lower levels, scribes etc? 5. lower levels, scribes etc? 2. Qibing (Board of War) lead by a president (shangshu) or lead by (Xianbei) directors? - is this same thing? 3. lower levels, scribes etc? 4. lower levels, scribes etc? 5. lower levels, scribes etc? 2. Other boards (Justice, Personnel, Revenue, Rites) 3. lower levels, scribes etc? 4. lower levels, scribes etc? 5. lower levels, scribes etc? _Capital District_ Pingcheng Capital District (dianfu) 2. Inner Capital District (jinei) - Eight Councillors (babu diafu) 3. Outer Capital District (jiwai) - Eight Chieftains (babu dashuai) _Provincial government_ \"Matsushita Kennichi has pointed out the existence of very early Northern Wei offices of Northern Chief and Southern Chief (beibu daren, nanbu daren) appointed directly by the throne and charged with maintaining surveillance over re-located tribal peoples in the Sang'gan river basin and its environs. Matsushita argues that this system remained in place from 386-398, and following the establishment of Pingcheng as the Northern Wei capital, was subsequently supplanted by the more elaborate arrangement of the Eight Councillors and Eight Chieftains. However, the administrative bailiwick remained the same and was later directly absorbed by the Northern and Southern Boards.\" 2. Northern Board (beibu) - Director of Northern Board (beibu shangshu)Northern Board (beibu) and Southern Board (nanbu). Director of Southern Board (nanbu shangshu). Four out of twelve of the heads were Chinese, whereas all the Directors of Northern Board were Xianbei. \"Northern Wei did not have have standard Chinese style administrative units on its northern borders until the reign of Xiaowendi and later - these areas tended to be governed by garrison commanders. \" 2. Southern Board (nanbu) - Director of Southern Board (nanbu shangshu)Northern Board (beibu) and Southern Board (nanbu). Four out of twelve of the heads were Chinese, whereas all the Directors of Northern Board were Xianbei. \"Until 493 the Northern Wei regime formally functioned as an apartheid conquest dynasty. Conquered Chinese areas were generally left to be governed by customary law and inherited Chinese administrative institutions, but these local and provincial structures were assigned as many as two levels of Xianbei surveillance officials placed at all levels (Yan Yaozhong 1990, 77-83). Thus a prefect's office could very well comprise could very well comprise a member of a local elite Chinese family (the rule of avoidance was not strictly adhered to at this time), a Xianbei official, and, if the Xianbei official was not fluent in spoken or written Chinese, a Chinese courtier from the central court would be present as well.\" 3. Zhou (prefecture) headed by a mu or cishi (prefect) \"prefectures, headed by a mu or cishi (prefect). In the post-Western Jin era, the zhou and jun were greatly reduced in size ... So \"prefecture\" in lieu of \"province\" is used to translate zhou while \"commandery\" in lieu of \"region\" is used to translate jun. From Han to Six Dynasties, the zhou (province or prefecture) served as the highest-level local government, above the jun (region or commandery).\" 4. Jun (commandery) lead by a governor \"In the post-Western Jin era, the zhou and jun were greatly reduced in size ... \"commandery\" in lieu of \"region\" is used to translate jun. From Han to Six Dynasties, the zhou (province or prefecture) served as the highest-level local government, above the jun (region or commandery).\" 5. Xian (county) headed by a ling (magistrate) During the Han to Six Dynasties period the xian was the \"lowest of the tri-level system (zhou [provinces or prefectures], jun [regions or commanderies], and xian [counties]), headed by a magistrate (ling). _Three Chiefs System from 486 CE_ \"A system of mutual surveillance to facilitate tax collection ad fulfillment of corvee and military duties. Proposed by Li Chong ..., it was first promulgated in Northern Wei in 486 in the name of Xiaowendi. Replacing the system of clan masters (zongzhu ...) at the grassroots level, it organized every five households into units known as lin (neighbourhoods). Five lin constituted a li ... (village), and five li, a dang ... (community). The heads (zhang) of lin, li, and dang were the three chiefs.\" Also known as the Taihe reforms. 6. dang (community) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted 125 households (five li) perhaps 750 people 7. li (village) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted 25 households (five lin) perhaps 150 people 8. lin (neighbourhoods) lead by a zhang (chief)Constituted five households perhaps 30 people? _Subject peoples (self-governing)_ 2. Xianbei were among other northern people \"subject to the Wei rulers\" who \"continued to speak their ancestral languages\" and remained herders. 2. Erzhu clan allied with government to suppress 526-527 CE rebellions. Previously part of the Xiongnu tribal confederacy. They were living under \"their own tribal organization\" a pastoral lifestyle. Early 6th century estimated at 8,000 families. Possessed cattle, sheep, camels and horses, \"counted by the valley\" due to the vastness of their stocks."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Multiple levels of hierarchy: \"In addition to the headquarters fortress, each garrison controlled a network of lesser outposts (shu) and might also have military authority over surrendered tribal groups occupying the nearby grazing lands.\" 1. King 2. Qibing (Board of War) lead by a president (shangshu) 3. Generals? 4. Officers? 5. Zhen (territorial garrison) lead by a zhenjiang (commander) \"often set up at prefectural, commandery or county level, where the commander (zhenjiang) concurrently held the position of prefect, commandery governor, or county magistrate. It was also set up as an independent garrison.\" 6. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. _Daoism_ \"Organized religion emerged in Daoism with the founding of its first church - the Wudoumidao (the Way of Five Pecks of Rice) or Tianshidao (the Way of the Celestial Masters) - in Sichuan in Eastern Han in the early second century AD. In the Six Dynasties period, Tianshidao still existed, but there was no clear line of transmission, In the north, Kou Qianzhi of Northern Wei, as a self-claimed successor to Tianshidao, made a forceful effort to promote Daoism at court.\" 1. Celestial Master There was a Celestial Master at Pingcheng. It was \"standard practice\" for new emperors to take part in a \"Daoist ritual to receive talisman registers.\" 2. ? _Buddhism_ \"After its official entry in the Han, Buddhism came to dominate both north and south China during the Six Dynasties period.\" 1. Emperor (from 460 CE) \"Adopting Confucianism as the state religion was not acceptable to many nobles of the Northern Wei royal lineage, who took pride in their steppe traditions, nor was it appealing to their Chinese subjects. Buddhism was the obvious choice. From 460 on, the Northern Wei emperor began to have huge statues of the Buddha carved near the capital, Pingcheng (present-day Yungang, in the northern part of present Shanxi Province. Those statues, monuments marking the eastern end of the Silk Road, represented the reincarnations of the current and former rulers of the Northern Wei. Through these carvings, the Northern Wei emperors declared themselves the representatives of the Buddha and therefore the legitimate rulers of China.\" 2. ? _Confucianism_ Construction of Confucian temple late fifth century, Empress Dowager and Xiaowen."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Taihe Reforms 472-492: \"They included procedures for evaluating and promoting regional and local officials; graded official salaries...\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Palace guard command called dianzhong shangshu. Northern Wei \"re-established the old Han system of frontier garrisons supported by agricultural colonies.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Byzantine gold coin of Anastasius I discovered in suspected tomb of Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei.\""}]}},"Q600524":{"seshat":["Sokoto Caliphate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":10000000,"to":10000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“By 1837, the population of the Sokoto Caliphate had reached 10 million people, with an estimated 1.25 million of the total population enslaved.”"}],"territory":[{"from":648000,"to":648000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Converted from: “The Caliphate covered an area of 250,000 sq miles and stretched as far as Nikki in the present day Benin Republic, Ngaundere and Tibati in the Republic of Cameroon and much of the southern part of Niger Republic. Its institutional influence also extended to Segou and Masina in the Republic of Mali, Fouta Djallon in the Republic of Guinea, Fouta Toro in the Sene-Gambia area, Northern Ghana, Chad in the Central Africa and further east into the Republic of Sudan.”"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":120000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Seems that the population fluctuated throughout the nineteenth century, at least in part linked to where the caliph was residing. 1827 is an estimated date based on the timing of Clapperton and Lander’s visit to Sokoto. “Therefore a network of settlements grew up which led to the development of areas of close-settled farmland, the most important of which was that centred on the capital, Sokoto. The 19th-century explorers such as Clapperton (1966) and Lander (1967) believed that Sokoto was the largest city in the interior of Africa that they had seen: Lander estimated Sokoto's population as 120,000 - compared with Kano's 40,000. But by the time Barth arrived in 1853 it was thinly inhabited and greatly dilapidated. This was one of the periods in the 19th century when the caliph and his court were residing at Wurno 30 km away.” “Sokoto itself was transformed from a small hamlet in 1809 into one of the largest cities in the Central Sudan, with a population of about 100,000 by the end of the century.”"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1) Capital city; 2) Regional cities and cities in other emirates; 3) Towns; 4) Villages; 5) Homesteads (gandu, patrilineal homesteads). “One of the most striking features of the caliphal system was the emergence of new political centres, many of which also became centres of agricultural production, manufacturing and trade. Sokoto itself was transformed from a small hamlet in 1809 into one of the largest cities in the Central Sudan, with a population of about 100,000 by the end of the century. The city became noted for its heterogeneous wards and its many celebrated artisans, traders and scholars. Many other cities such as Gusau, Kaura-Namoda, Gwadabawa and Illela grew up in the metropolitan region, all with substantial populations drawn from all parts of Western and Central Sudan and Sahel. Outside the Rima Basin, several new towns were built, Bauchi, Ja-lingo and Yola to name but three, all of which grew into large cosmopolitan settlements which drew traders, artisans and peasant cultivators from all over their respective regions.” “The dominant unit of production in the Caliphate was the gandu (patrilineal homestead), comprising several generations of kin, clients and slaves.”"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":12,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"There are several clearly distinct roles, but it’s unlikely the hierarchy is entirely vertical, especially given the emirate system. 1) Caliph (amir al-muminin – Commander of the Faithful); 2) wazirai (viziers/advisers); 3) alkalai (judges); 4) muhtasib (the officer charged with upholding morals); 5) sa'i (in charge of the markets); 6) wali al-shurta (police chief); 7) Limamai (imams); 8) military commanders; 9) mamluk (royal (caliphal) slaves); 10) nuwab (the Caliph’s officials in the metropolitan districts and the emirs of the various emirates); 11) Village heads; 12) Council of village elders.“Within the Sokoto Caliphate, emirs used royal slaves to expand political control over their territory. Royal slaves—numbering between 2,000 and 5,000 in Kano, for example—were prominent and were organized into slave households, which served as a system of recruitment and training. These slaves were usually war captives, with the emir retaining about half, bought using cowry shells as currency. There was a significant amount of trust between emirs and their appointed slaves. The royal slaves (those kept by the emir) in Kano had a great deal of power because they controlled the distribution of agricultural products as well as holding key positions in the government and military. For example, senior royal slaves of the caliph had influence in the appointing of emirs. They were able to obtain new rights, moving them closer to freedom. The use of royal slaves in the Sokoto Caliphate emerged out of governmental necessity, as opposed to Islamic doctrine. Most slaves in the Sokoto Caliphate worked on labor-intensive plantations.” “MAMLUK. An Arabic-derived term that refers to powerful slaves and literally means “owned” (person or thing). It is part of an Islamic political system that incorporates the institution of slavery. Prior to the colonial era in northern Nigeria, the military and government were partially run by slaves. In 19th-century Kano, for example, slaves commanded armies, managed plantations, and collected taxes. Each emirate within the Sokoto Caliphate ran his mamluk system differently.” “The Sokoto Caliphate system was based squarely on the strength of its ideals and programmes, which the mujahhidun articulated within an Islamic religious framework. In the course of their attacks on the Hausa kingdoms, the leaders of the jihad offered an alternative set of political, economic and social principles which they called the \"structures of Muslim government\" as opposed to what they termed the \"structures of non-Muslim government\".” “The political programmes of the Sokoto Caliphate are set out in a number of works written by the Shehu, Abdullahi dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello. One of their most important features was to outline the political structures of caliphal administration. The Caliphate was to be led by the Caliph as the amir al-muminin (Commander of the Faithful), assisted by his wazirai (advisers), alkalai (judges), a muhtasib (the officer charged upholding morals), the sa'i (in charge of the markets), the wali al-shurta (police chief), limamai, and military commanders. Although the leadership of the Caliphate did not specify all the offices to be filled, it is clear that the Shehu categorically rejected the proliferation of political titles characteristic of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and planned to abolish parasitic sarauta titles in favour of a more streamlined political system consonant with the Islamic theory of political administration drawn largely from the Maliki school of jurisprudence. The Shehu was also vehemently opposed to the hereditary traditions of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and emphasised scholarship and unquestioned morality as the principal criteria for office.” “In his policy guidelines, Muhammad Bello called on the nuwab (his officials in the metropolitan districts and the emirs of the various emirates) to: ‘... encourage the artisans and those who practise trades which are indispensable to the people: farmers and smiths, tailors and dyers, physicians and grocers, butchers and carpenters, and all sorts of trades which contribute to the proper order of this world. The ruler must allocate these tradesmen to every village and every localilty.’” “A village head has long been an integral part of effective governance in Nigeria, particularly before and during the colonial period. The role of a village head in the Sokoto Caliphate during the 19th century, for example, included supplying labor and collecting annual taxes for the emirs. The Nupe also had a village head, or zitsu, for every town (and incorporated satellite villages). The zitsu’s authority may have extended to figuratively “owning” the land and possessing the community. For this reason, the zitsu of Jebba Island on the Niger River has the title gebba. The village head ruled over his community with the assistance of elders, who represented their families (broadly defined) in a council.”"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1) Military commanders in Sokoto administration; 2) General (in each emirate); 3) Military commanders (in each emirate); 4) Soldiers. As noted below, the Sokoto Caliphate did not have a standing or professional army, even though military commanders were a set part of the administration. Individual emirates enjoyed considerable autonomy and appear to have raised their own armies as and when the occasion demanded. The Caliph would, in theory, have had overall control of these disparate military forces, but this does not seem to have been the case in any practical sense. It is therefore difficult to settle firmly on levels within the caliphate as a whole. “The armies of the Caliphate and its emirates were organised in a completely different fashion. There was no single army and no commander-in-chief who enjoyed respect on the basis of his seniority, experience and expertise. The armies of the emirates were also far from being neatly structured and lacked the cohesion of their enemies. Each emirate had its general and a more or less numerous corps of military commanders, but the commanders did not co-ordinate their movements and never had as much control over their troops as did their British counterparts. Lack of co-ordination and a clear chain of command was a crucial reason for the extremely poor performance of most emirate troops against the British. Differences in training were equally important.” “The same could not be said for the troops of the Caliphate. The emirates had no standing armies, and the troops they raised were not professional soldiers. Although some emirates had troops armed with guns, their numbers were too small and their expertise in handling their weapons too low to have any significant effect on the outcome of the engagements in which they were used. Smaldone is quite right to point out that the firearms found in the arsenals of some emirates such as Nupe and Ilorin, which did not make much use of guns in their resistance to the British invasion, probably indicated that they did not have men trained in their use. Even when firearms were used, they were not employed to good effect. The British officers who led the assaults on Nupe, Ilorin, Kano and Sokoto all reported that the defenders were poor marksmen and lacked fire discipline. Accurate fire and the efficient use of firearms required skills which could only be acquired through regular training, and this the defenders did not have.”"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1) Caliph (amir al-muminin, Commander of the Faithful); 2) Limamai (imams); 3) Islamic scholars; 4) Mallams (teachers of Islam). “SOKOTO. The capital of Sokoto State, with a population of approximately 500,000. It is historically significant for the Hausa and Fulani as the seat of the great Sokoto Caliphate between 1804 and 1903. Today, it is the home of the University of Sokoto, the sultan’s palace, and the Shehu Mosque. Of interest to historians are the Centre for Islamic Studies in Sokoto and the Waziri Junaidu History and Culture Bureau, which house manuscripts from Islamic scholars in Nigeria dating back to at least the 17th century.” “The Caliphate was to be led by the Caliph as the amir al-muminin (Commander of the Faithful), assisted by his wazirai (advisers), alkalai (judges), a muhtasib (the officer charged upholding morals), the sa'i (in charge of the markets), the wali al-shurta (police chief), limamai, and military commanders.”"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“In the city of Sokoto there was a small bureaucracy headed by the vizier who in his own house had some scribes to receive and write short (one-page) letters in classical Arabic to those emirs he was in charge of overseeing (Last 1967:190–97). Imported paper and local ink were used, and letters from the Amir al-mu'minin had his personal stamp on them (the vizier and the emirs had no stamp of their own). The letters were never dated, but they were folded in a precise way and carried in a pouch by a messenger; it could take a week or more for a letter to reach the addressee, since fifteen miles a day was a good speed and distances were huge.”"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Though there were military commanders, these were part of the administration of the caliphate, so their role wasn’t purely military. “The political programmes of the Sokoto Caliphate are set out in a number of works written by the Shehu, Abdullahi dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello. One of their most important features was to outline the political structures of caliphal administration. The Caliphate was to be led by the Caliph as the amir al-muminin (Commander of the Faithful), assisted by his wazirai (advisers), alkalai (judges), a muhtasib (the officer charged upholding morals), the sa'i (in charge of the markets), the wali al-shurta (police chief), limamai, and military commanders.” “The Shaykh had neither a standing army nor an organized structurally based military. Every able bodied was a contingent.” “The armies of the Caliphate and its emirates were organised in a completely different fashion. There was no single army and no commander-in-chief who enjoyed respect on the basis of his seniority, experience and expertise. The armies of the emirates were also far from being neatly structured and lacked the cohesion of their enemies. Each emirate had its general and a more or less numerous corps of military commanders, but the commanders did not co-ordinate their movements and never had as much control over their troops as did their British counterparts. Lack of co-ordination and a clear chain of command was a crucial reason for the extremely poor performance of most emirate troops against the British. Differences in training were equally important.”"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“Maria Theresa dollars could have served as a high denomination currency, and to some extent they did, but they were in short supply. Though they had had a presence in the Caliphate since at least the start of the nineteenth century, they were scarce, and often those that did circulate were melted down as a source of silver jewelry.”"}]}},"Q79965":{"seshat":["Golden Horde"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":400000,"to":600000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People.“The size of the Horde's population can be approximately calculated by a widely used method: the numerical strength of the army, known from the sources, is multiplied by 4 or 5. It is believed that upon full military mobilisation, some 3/4 or 4/5 of the total population of the nomads—women, children, feeble old men and horseless poor—stayed at home.” Therefore the estimated population of the Golden Horde is around 400,000 – 600,000 inhabitants by the end of this period."}],"territory":[{"from":6000000,"to":6000000,"year_from":1310,"year_to":1310,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers.The peak date of the Golden Horde’s territorial expanse was in 1310 when they held six million square kilometres of territory."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":75000,"to":75000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants.Sarai Berke on the Volga River (previously named Sarai Batu and located downstream) was the capital of the Golden Horde. At its peak it had around inhabitants."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Types of settlements varied between regions as the nomadic Horde conquered and settled in regions which had towns and villages. : 1. Capital city (Sarai) :: 2. Major cities (Astrakhan, Ükek, Bulğar) ::: 3. Towns :::: 4. Villages ::::: 5. Hamlets :::::: 6. Nomadic camps"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Prior to Islamic conversion : 1. Khan (head of state) :: 2. Family Council (quriltai) :: 2.1. Commander in chief / Deputy to the Khan (beglerbegi) :: 2.2. Vizier ::: 3. Ulus khans (a minor khan within each state, ulus, of the wider empire) :::: 4. Ulus Emirs ::::: 5. Lesser administrative posts. After Islamic conversion With the official conversion to Islam in the fourteenth century came the adoption of the Persian diwan system of governance. _Regions with direct administration_ : 1. Khan :: 2. Central Council ::: 3. Vizier (head of the treasury) :::4. Baskaki (local official, tax collector, supervisor, military commander) (changed to darugi in the fourteenth century) ::::: 5. Lesser administrative posts. _Regions with local administration_ The Golden Horde chose not to have direct administration in Russian or Armenia-Georgia due to the expense, and so allowed local rulers, such as princes, to administer the region. Although they initially had resident Mongol officials (baskaki) in Russia, this was later changed so that envoys (posoly) relayed direct orders from the Khan to the local Russian princes. : 1. Khan :: 2. Posoly (official envoys, important aristocrats) ::: 3. Local nobility (e.g. a foreign prince) :::: 4. Lesser administrative posts."}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels.“Characteristic of the Jochid Ulus army was the designation of a military service class chosen primarily from among the Horde's social elite. The Jochids formed its upper crust, followed by ulus begs and darugh begs, then emirs in command of thousands, hundreds, and dozens, to whom the title beg also applied.. Commanders from the Jochi clan were known as oghlans on the army's right and Left wings… Therefore, most scholars agree that the organizational structure of the military consisted of a rigid hierarchy based on the decimal system, in which tens were the smallest units and a tumen of ten thousand warriors—the largest unit.” : 1. Khan :: 2. ulus begs and darugh begs ::: 3. Emirs :::: 4. Military Governor (Voevoda) ::::: 5. Commander (Noyan) :::::: 6. Soldiers and horsemen."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels.With the official conversion to Islam in the fourteenth century came the change of the religious structure in the Golden Horde. There is no official structure or hierarchy in the religion of Islam. Though there are scholars and preachers (imams)."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Golden Horde had a permanent bureaucratic centre in the capital of Sarai."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The elite classes made up the officer ranks of the army but they were not necessarily professionals. The sources have not confirmed this."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Khans of the Golden Horde coined their own silver currency."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"P~A","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Regions which had been conquered by the Mongol forces often had their own coins, such as Russian rubles. However, by 1310 the minting of silver coins from Mokhshi only created a closed system and coins from foreign states were not permitted."}]}},"Q15180":{"seshat":["Soviet Union"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":147027915,"to":170557093,"year_from":1939,"year_to":1959,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The 1926 Soviet Union census, a comprehensive demographic survey, provided crucial insights into the population size and composition of the newly formed Soviet state. It captured detailed data on various aspects including age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, and literacy rates, painting a multifaceted picture of the society at that time. This data was pivotal in shaping subsequent economic and social policies within the Soviet Union. In twelve years the urban population more than doubled, reaching 56.1 million (33 percent of the total population) by 1939, a rate of urbanization historically without precedent. In terms of the economic structure of the working class, the share of workers and employees (along with their family members) reached half of the total population by 1939, up from roughly one-sixth in 1926. The virtually complete collectivization of farming was also indicated by census figures. While the 1939 Soviet census has not been widely utilized, it nevertheless provided a framework of organizational experience and added to a popular understanding of statistical methods. These developments helped especially in conducting the numerous emergency survey counts that were necessary during World War II. Twenty years passed before another comprehensive census took place on Soviet soil, on January 15, 1959. The date chosen at least allowed for comparisons by twenty-year intervals, and the published tables often included previously unreleased 1939 totals as well. However, the large territorial gains following World War II and the devastating effect that war losses had on the age and sex structure of the population made comparisons between census years quite difficult. Furthermore, unlike the Soviet censuses of 1920 and 1926, the 1959 questionnaire did not request information on place of birth, making difficult even a crude estimate of migration. The organization and administration of the population count in 1959 marked a standardization in Soviet census-taking procedures; most of the methods instituted in 1959 remained virtually unchanged for the succeeding Soviet censuses of 1970 and 1979. The 1989 Soviet census was the last one that took place in the Soviet Union. In 1989, the Soviet Union ranked as the third most populous in the world, above the United States."},{"from":170557093,"to":208826650,"year_from":1959,"year_to":1970,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":208826650,"to":241720134,"year_from":1970,"year_to":1979,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":241720134,"to":262084654,"year_from":1980,"year_to":1989,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":262084654,"to":286730817,"year_from":1989,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"territory":[{"from":18072800,"to":19008300,"year_from":1923,"year_to":1924,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The U.S.S.R. was the successor to the Russian Empire of the tsars. Following the 1917 Revolution, four socialist republics were established on the territory of the former empire: the Russian and Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics and the Ukrainian and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics. On December 30, 1922, these constituent republics established the U.S.S.R. Additional union republics (Soviet Socialist Republics) were set up in subsequent years: the Turkmen and Uzbek S.S.R.’s in 1924, the Tadzhik S.S.R. in 1929, and the Kazakh and Kirgiz S.S.R.’s in 1936. In that year the Transcaucasian Republic was abolished and its territory was divided between three new republics: the Armenian, Azerbaijan, and Georgian S.S.R.’s. In 1940 the Karelo-Finnish, Moldavian, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian S.S.R.’s were established. The Karelo-Finnish S.S.R. became an autonomous republic in 1956, leaving a total of 15 union republics (soyuznye respubliki)."},{"from":19008300,"to":19151400,"year_from":1924,"year_to":1929,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The U.S.S.R. was the successor to the Russian Empire of the tsars. Following the 1917 Revolution, four socialist republics were established on the territory of the former empire: the Russian and Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republics and the Ukrainian and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics. On December 30, 1922, these constituent republics established the U.S.S.R. Additional union republics (Soviet Socialist Republics) were set up in subsequent years: the Turkmen and Uzbek S.S.R.’s in 1924, the Tadzhik S.S.R. in 1929."},{"from":19151400,"to":22067200,"year_from":1929,"year_to":1936,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":22067200,"to":22276236,"year_from":1936,"year_to":1940,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":3641500,"to":4131633,"year_from":1926,"year_to":1939,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"On 12 March 1918, the capital was transferred back to Moscow, following a Soviet government resolution. And in 1922, while remaining the capital of the Russian Republic, Moscow also became the capital of the Soviet Union. During this period, the city underwent intensive urban development. With an increase in population came the development of public transport. Regular bus routes appeared in Moscow in 1924, and the first trolleybuses came along in 1933. In May 1935, the metro was launched. census data"},{"from":4131633,"to":5045905,"year_from":1939,"year_to":1959,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":5045905,"to":8769117,"year_from":1959,"year_to":1989,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_levels":[{"from":22,"to":22,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Generalissimus of the Soviet Union (Генералиссимус Советского Союза) 2. Marshal of the Soviet Union (Маршал Советского Союза) / Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union (Адмирал Флота Советского Союза) 3. Chief Marshal of the Branch (Главный маршал рода войск) 4. Marshal of the Branch (Маршал рода войск) 5. General of the Army (Генерал армии) / Admiral (Адмирал) 6. Colonel General (Генерал-полковник) 7. Lieutenant General (Генерал-лейтенант) / Vice-Admiral (Вице-адмирал) 8. Major General (Генерал-майор) / Rear Admiral (Контр-адмирал) 9. Colonel (Полковник) / Captain 1st Rank (Капитан 1 ранга) 10. Lieutenant Colonel (Подполковник) / Captain 2nd Rank (Капитан 2 ранга) 11. Major (Майор) / Captain 3rd Rank (Капитан 3 ранга) 12. Captain (Капитан) / Captain-Lieutenant (Капитан-лейтенант) 13. Senior Lieutenant (Старший лейтенант) 14. Lieutenant (Лейтенант) 15. Junior Lieutenant (Младший лейтенант) 16. Warrant Officer (Прапорщик) / Midshipman (Мичман) 17. Master Sergeant (Старшина) / Senior Chief Petty Officer (Главный корабельный старшина) 18. Senior Sergeant (Старший сержант) / Chief Petty Officer (Главный старшина) 19. Sergeant (Сержант) / Petty Officer First Class (Старшина 1 статьи) 20. Junior Sergeant (Младший сержант) / Petty Officer Second Class (Старшина 2 статьи) 21. Corporal (Ефрейтор) / Senior Sailor (Старший матрос) 22. Private (Рядовой) / Sailor (Матрос)"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":1923,"year_to":1991,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Revolution of 1917 swept away the tsarist civil service. The Communist Party at first held that a strong administrative organization was bound to damage the revolution by dampening spontaneity and other revolutionary virtues. But it soon became clear that a regime dedicated to social engineering, economic planning, and world revolution needed trained administrators. The party fell back, albeit reluctantly, upon the expertise of the more reliable tsarist civil servants. It did, however, surround the new civil service with elaborate controls in an attempt to ensure that its members remained loyal to party directives. As the Communist Party itself became bureaucratized and as the more enthusiastic revolutionary leaders were eliminated, special industrial academies were set up for party members who had shown administrative talent. With the First Five-Year Plan (1928–32) the status of civil servants was improved, and their conditions of service were made less rigid, even though the party never relaxed its tight system of control over all branches of the state apparatus. In 1935 the State Commission on the Civil Service was created and attached to the Commissariat of Finance with responsibility for ensuring general control of personnel practice. This commission laid down formal patterns of administrative structure, reformed existing bureaucratic practices, fixed levels of staffing, standardized systems of job classification, and eliminated unnecessary functions and staff. The inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance ensured that the commission’s general policies were carried out in the ministries. The commission itself remained under the close supervision of the Council of People’s Commissars to ensure that it complied with party directives, and the commission’s members were appointed directly by the council."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":1923,"year_to":1991,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Red Army was recruited exclusively from among workers and peasants and immediately faced the problem of creating a competent and reliable officers’ corps. Trotsky met this problem by mobilizing former officers of the imperial army. Up to 1921 about 50,000 such officers served in the Red Army and with but few exceptions remained loyal to the Soviet regime. Political advisers called commissars were attached to all army units to watch over the reliability of officers and to carry out political propaganda among the troops. As the Russian Civil War continued, the short-term officers’ training schools began to turn out young officers who were regarded as more reliable politically. The number of Communist Party members increased among the Red Army’s ranks from 19 to 49 percent during 1925–33, and among officers this increase was much higher. Moreover, all commanders were graduates of Soviet military academies and officers’ training schools, admission to which was limited to those recommended by the Communist Party."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":1923,"year_to":1991,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q34756":{"seshat":["Qin Empire"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":40000000,"to":40000000,"year_from":-207,"year_to":-207,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Dupuy and Dupuy refer to an army size of 1,000,000 out of a population of 12,000,000 under First Emperor. Lewis suggests Qin could marshal ca.500,000 troops in third c. bce"}],"territory":[{"from":340000,"to":340000,"year_from":-290,"year_to":-290,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 316 BCE territory doubled after conquest over Shu."},{"from":820000,"to":820000,"year_from":-270,"year_to":-270,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 316 BCE territory doubled after conquest over Shu."},{"from":1300000,"to":1300000,"year_from":-250,"year_to":-250,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 316 BCE territory doubled after conquest over Shu."},{"from":1967000,"to":1967000,"year_from":-230,"year_to":-230,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 316 BCE territory doubled after conquest over Shu."},{"from":2433000,"to":2433000,"year_from":-210,"year_to":-210,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"KM2. 316 BCE territory doubled after conquest over Shu."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":350000,"to":350000,"year_from":-300,"year_to":-300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Linzi: 300 BCE. Luoyang: 200-100 BCE. Xianyang (capital): 100,000: 300-200 BCE. Note: in an attempt to end feudalism, \"Legalist\" chief minister Li Si (237-208 BCE) deported 120,000 families to capital, Xiangyang in years 221, 219, 213 BCE. Other cities (300 BCE):"},{"from":200000,"to":200000,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Linzi: 300 BCE. Luoyang: 200-100 BCE. Xianyang (capital): 100,000: 300-200 BCE. Note: in an attempt to end feudalism, \"Legalist\" chief minister Li Si (237-208 BCE) deported 120,000 families to capital, Xiangyang in years 221, 219, 213 BCE. Other cities (300 BCE):"},{"from":200000,"to":200000,"year_from":-100,"year_to":-100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Linzi: 300 BCE. Luoyang: 200-100 BCE. Xianyang (capital): 100,000: 300-200 BCE. Note: in an attempt to end feudalism, \"Legalist\" chief minister Li Si (237-208 BCE) deported 120,000 families to capital, Xiangyang in years 221, 219, 213 BCE. Other cities (300 BCE):"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital city. 2. Commanderie capital.3. Prefecture capital.4. Town.5. Village. Shang Yang divided state into 31 counties (xian) each administered by a centrally-appointed magistrate"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. King/Emperor. 2. Central government.3. Officials in charge of commanderies.4. Officials in charge of districts.5. Officials in charge of communes.6. Officials in charge of hamlets. Emperor known as huangdi. Central government had a chief minister. 36 provinces under government-appointed governors, sub-divided into counties (about 1,000 total) with government-appointed officials. The \"district\" level probably already existed in all 7 states of the Warring States period (i.e. since 403 BCE). 18 of the 36 commanderies existed before the First Emperor (system extended, not invented) under unification. Families grouped into \"mutually responsible units\" (5 - 10). These were organised into hamlets, which had a headman. Hamlets made up a commune, which had a chief. Multiple communes divided into districts/counties, which comprised the units of a commandery/prefecture."}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Army structure as Qin system. 1. Emperor / Commander-in-chief 2. Chief officials and advisors with military duties (e.g. ‘grand commandant’) 3. Commandery governors (had military duties including organizing troop levies); Generals ‘in the field’ Imperial Qin: Terracotta soldiers in First Emperor's Mausoleum suggest smallest command unit was 68 soldiers. Next unit up 1400, then 6000 soldiers. Imperial Qin: Major units were \"brigades\" which had 2-3 \"regiments.\" Smallest unit was 1,000 men, which consisted of combined arms: cavalry, chariots, crossbowmen. There were 20 different pay grades in the Qin army, dependent on rank and years of service. 4. Brigade commander. Imperial Qin: Terracotta soldiers in First Emperor's Mausoleum suggest smallest command unit was 68 soldiers. Next unit up 1400, then 6000 soldiers. Imperial Qin: Major units were \"brigades\" which had 2-3 \"regiments.\" Smallest unit was 1,000 men, which consisted of combined arms: cavalry, chariots, crossbowmen. There were 20 different pay grades in the Qin army, dependent on rank and years of service. 5. Regiment commander. Imperial Qin: Terracotta soldiers in First Emperor's Mausoleum suggest smallest command unit was 68 soldiers. Next unit up 1400, then 6000 soldiers. 6. Individual soldier"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Qin introduced standardized weights and measures and used standardized currency Gold and copper. The First Emperor \"issued a gold coin, known as shangbi, and a copper coin, the xiabi. These circular coins with a square hole in the center were cast in open copper molds, and their form was maintained in China for the ensuing two millennia.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q46652":{"seshat":["Malacca Sultanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":500000,"to":1000000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Malaysia was an 'under populated' (little more than 400,000) of which 100,000 at least was in Malacca. East Sumatra by 1500 CE had (at least) hamlets along the coast. c1400 CE Malacca was a \"small fishing settlement\" which suggests that before the Malacca polity this was not a densely populated region. At this time the largest population concentration may have been on the island of Java, which is outside the region of this polity: \"the densely populated island of Java remained largely free of cities until the thirteenth century CE.\" An estimate of 0.5-1 million seems reasonable for 1500 CE based on the minimum of Malaysia + Malacca with the addition of whoever else the rest of East Sumatra contained. Malaysia Prior to the nineteenth century the Malay peninsula was \"an under populated region inhabited overwhelmingly by Malays, who were primarily rice cultivators and coastal fishermen, who spoke Malay, which was the lingua franca for most of the island areas of Southeast Asia.\" McEvedy and Jones (1978) have the population of Malaysia and Singapore 300,000-400,000 over the period 1200-1550 CE. c1500 CE \"Melaka then housed an urban population of 100,000, in which eighty different languages were spoken by Malays, Chinese, Arabs, Indians, and other ethnicities.\" c1400 CE Malacca was a \"small fishing settlement\". East Coast of Sumatra/Indonesia Hamlets along the coast."}],"territory":[{"from":200000,"to":225000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers This map has a maximum extent of about 225,000 km2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca_Sultanate#/media/File:Malacca_Sultanate_en.svg \"Malacca's influence and power grew throughout the 15th century. At the height of its powers, the Malaccan empire included much of the Peninsula: from Temasek and Johor in the south, to Kedah and Patani in the far north, as well as the east coast of Sumatra.\" \"Next came Sultan Muhammad Sjah, who was followed after the murder of a half-brother by Sultan Muzaffar Sjah (r.c. 1445-58), who expanded the realm by conquering Pahang, Kampar, Indragiri (in Sumatra), and other places, and also defeated the Siamese and loosened Malacca's links with China. His son Mansur Sjah (r. 1468-1477) kept up his father's policy of expansion, and the latter's son Sultan Alauddin Sjah (r. 1477-c.1488) had a successful reign, which is seen by Malays as the culmination of Malacca's greatness.\" Territory is a grey area \"In Borneo ... Victor King has observed that sultanates there as well were 'more interested in the control of people and their activities, and the right to take tax and tribute from them, than in ownership of land'.\" \"Time and again in court literature, and in the reports of statements from the ruling elite, the priority of people over land or financial wealth is spelt out.\" \"In the literature of the royal courts, a great ruler was one to whom many people owed allegiance ... Unlike the sensitivity 'Malay' rulers expressed with respect to subjects, they sometimes admitted to having almost no idea of the territorial dimensions of their realms.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 1400 CE a \"small fishing settlement\" \"In both stories, Parameswara is said to have set himself up in Malacca around 1396 after fleeing from Singapore. There, with protection from China's Ming Dynasty, he expanded the small fishing settlement into the formidable Malacca Sultanate, which became the nucleus of development of the Malay Peninsula.\" c1500 CE \"Melaka then housed an urban population of 100,000, in which eighty different languages were spoken by Malays, Chinese, Arabs, Indians, and other ethnicities.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital - Malacca 2. 3. 4. Hamlets Hamlets along the coast."},{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital. “With regard to the capital of Awfat, the exceptional character of this site, which delayed and staggered its discovery, lies in the association of three poles: the city proper, particularly vast, the citadel and the necropolis. The typological affinities between these three poles, their complementary functionality, finally the connections allowed by epigraphy, allows us to see a multipolar site. Its necropolis and its tombs now allow to affirm that this site was the seat of the Walasma dynasty between 1285 and 1376.” 2. Towns/cities. “This political and urban heart now appears to be made up of a string of cities located in the middle floor of the escarpment of the central high plateau of Ethiopia, a few tens of kilometres from the Christian territories of the time These Islamic sites, located a day’s walk from each other on a north-south axis, present urban features well marked in the topography, n the density and organization of the habitat, or in reservoir-type developments. Witnesses of the existence of organized communities, all these cities also yield a large mosque and neighbourhood mosques, as well as vast distinctly Muslim cemeteries.” 3. Trade route settlements \"archaeological evidence attests to this gradual process of Islamisation in the interior, as from Zeila and the other Red Sea ports, camel caravans traversed the desert to the highlands. These caravans travelled between a chain of permanent settlements, situated on the hills which studded the Ogaden and Danakil desert plains and along the Arusi and Harar highlands. Once the 'mountain shoulders' of Shoa and southern Wollo were reached the loads were then transferred from camel to mules and donkeys\". 4. Villages [inferred]"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Sultan. \"One aspect of the fluidity of this Archipelago world was the way rulers themselves often moved from one region to another, creating new settlements and polities. This is a theme in many of the chronicles of royal houses. The Melaka line did not merely migrate from Palembang to Melaka to Johor, but established in Bintan (near Singapore), Singapore itself and Muar before choosing Melaka; after the Portuguese conquest, they went to Pahang, Bintan and Kampar (on Sumatra), before settling on the Johor river. ... In man cases a ruler just seems to arrive at a spot, and a settlement and kingdom form around him. ... In some instances monarchs are described as arriving in a territory, marrying the daughter of a prominent local and then being installed as ruler.\" People also moved \"from one sultanate to another.\" _Court government_ 2. Bendahara (Chief Minister) Bendahara (Chief Minister). Chief of the Exchequer chief tax collector who controlled Customs Officers. (R J Wilkinson. 'The Melaka Sultanate. 1935.) Harbour Master in charge of tax collection and enforcement of Harbour Laws. (Same reference?). \"Few Malay sultans, however, took a direct interest in daily administration. A feature of Malay states became a mutually advantageous partnership between the ruling dynasty with its magical aura of daulat (sovereignty), and an effective administrator who had the necessary military and economic support at any given time. The chronicle of the Melaka sultanate expressed the relationship symbolically in a compact between the ancestor of the sultans and the prototype of the powerful Bendahara line\". 2. Envoys In 1405 CE envoys sent by the Chief in Malacca arrived at the imperial court in China. 2. Police chief inferred 3. Guards \"Early Malacca was made up of two parts: an outer township where most of its people lived and an inner stockaded bazaar where the traders kept their stores, money and provisions. This, the real 'Mart,' was shut up at night and guarded or policed.\" Watchmen and police around the bazaar. 2. Chief of state tin industry inferred - could be the same as the chief administrator 3. Manager of tin mine inferred 4. Worker in a tin mine Tin industry was under state control. 2. Chief finance official probably the Bendahara? or Chief of the Exchequer, if different person 3. Manager of a mint inferred \"It has been assumed the Malacca coinage was issued during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah (1445-1459 A.D.), who first introduced coinage in Malacca, which in some way served as a model or source of inspiration to the origins of the Brunei coinage.\" 4. Mint worker inferred _Regional government_ 2. Malay rajah \"Traditionally, however, when war occurred, 'the Sultan gave orders through the Bendahara (Chief Minister) to the various Malay rajah and chiefs to rally and lead their men - fuedal retainers - who assembled their own arms and equipment.'\" 3. Malay chiefs \"The Sriwijayan mandala left a mark. From the Malay heartland on and behind the central and southern coast of eastern Sumatra, a Sriwijayan network of Malay-speaking centres developed through-out the Riau-Lingga archipelago of the so-called 'sea gypsies' to the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. The process of Malay acculturation in this extensive area was probably assisted by the centripetal influence of the great Sriwijayan court, where services by the datus, attracted to it from outlying centres throughout the mandala, took on the style of courtly hierarchy.\" .......... \"The fifteenth century Sultans of Malacca were the heirs to much of this cultural tradition, and Malay royal traditions, expressed in the concept of loyalty and court organization, moved out to northern Borneo and the Philippines. This far-flung Malay political culture was reinforced by the profession of Islam, a widely circulating Malay-language literature, and frequent marriage relationships across the seas.\""},{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Sultan \"Various southern Ethiopian populations, from the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden up to the Blue Nile, were thus converted to Islam. As a result, various Muslim sultanates were formed...\" \"The city of Zayla, which was the Somali gateway to the Arabian Peninsula, became the capital city of the multi-ethnic Adal Sultanate which flourished from 1415 to 1577 AD.\"Note: Harar was made capital of the Adal Sultanate. \"The three Muslim States of Ifat, Hadya and Fatajar occupied the strategic positions that provided footholds for further penetration of Islamic commerce and learning into the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia.\" First ruler Sultan Umar ibn Dunya-huz (1270-1285 CE) \"who was probably appointed by Emperor Yekuno Amlak\". _Court government_ Arabian style-government - wazir, departments, officials etc? 2. \"Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian\". 3. 4. _Regional government_ 2. Muslim settlements \"Further Muslim settlements have been identified in north-eastern Shoa (Ethiopia)\". Interior settlements that lined the caravan trade route from ports to highlands \"tended to cover and area less than 1,000 m2 and contained remains of houses built of wattle and daub.\" 2. Ethiopians \"Various southern Ethiopian populations, from the coast of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden up to the Blue Nile, were thus converted to Islam. As a result, various Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian and probably belonged to the Cushite family of the Sidamas.\" 2. Pastoralist groups Pastorialist Somali witnessed \"the rise of influential Muslim families/clan groups began as early as the tenth century, with the lineage ancestors within this 'elaborate system of clans and lineages' soon being transformed into Muslim saints [I. M. Lewis 1986:139].\" _Court government_ Arabian style government? \"Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian\". 2. Ibn Battuta mentions wazirs in Somali Mogadishu. 3. 4."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Sultan 2. Chief Minister 3. Malay rajah 4. Malay chiefs 5. Retainers 6. \"He conceded that since the days of the Melaka Sultanate 'no native ruler or chief in Malaya appeared to have maintained a force of trained Malay regulars' (except the Sultan of Johor who raised his own small regular army, Timbalan Setia Negeri [the country's loyal deputies], in 1885, based on a system of European organisation). Traditionally, however, when war occurred, 'the Sultan gave orders through the Bendahara (Chief Minister) to the various Malay rajah and chiefs to rally and lead their men - fuedal retainers - who assembled their own arms and equipment.'\""},{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Ruler? 2. Nobles? \"Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian\". \"The third war was the result of the preaching of the QadiSalih, a violent propagator of Islam, who gathered a large army of Moslem chieftains and their troops.\" Qadis - Islamic judges. 3. Officer \"The third war was the result of the preaching of the QadiSalih, a violent propagator of Islam, who gathered a large army of Moslem chieftains and their troops.\" 4. ? \"Ifat had an infantry of about 20,000 and cavalry of some 15,000.\" 5. Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Bendahara (Chief Minister). \"A feature of Malay states became a mutually advantageous partnership between the ruling dynasty with its magical aura of daulat (sovereignty), and an effective administrator who had the necessary military and economic support at any given time. The chronicle of the Melaka sultanate expressed the relationship symbolically in a compact between the ancestor of the sultans and the prototype of the powerful Bendahara line\". Chief of the Exchequer chief tax collector who controlled Customs Officers. (R J Wilkinson. 'The Melaka Sultanate. 1935.) Harbour Master in charge of tax collection and enforcement of Harbour Laws. (Same reference?)."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Arabian style government? \"Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian\". Ibn Battuta mentions wazirs in Somali Mogadishu."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"He conceded that since the days of the Melaka Sultanate 'no native ruler or chief in Malaya appeared to have maintained a force of trained Malay regulars' (except the Sultan of Johor who raised his own small regular army, Timbalan Setia Negeri [the country's loyal deputies], in 1885, based on a system of European organisation). Traditionally, however, when war occurred, 'the Sultan gave orders through the Bendahara (Chief Minister) to the various Malay rajah and chiefs to rally and lead their men - fuedal retainers - who assembled their own arms and equipment.'\""},{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Ifat had an infantry of about 20,000 and cavalry of some 15,000.\" \"Muslim sultanates were formed, and were dominated by a hereditary aristocracy which purported to be of Arab origin, while the mass of the population was Ethiopian\"."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":1395,"year_to":1444,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"It has been assumed the Malacca coinage was issued during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah (1445-1459 A.D.), who first introduced coinage in Malacca, which in some way served as a model or source of inspiration to the origins of the Brunei coinage.\""},{"value":"present","year_from":1445,"year_to":1511,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"It has been assumed the Malacca coinage was issued during the reign of Sultan Muzaffar Shah (1445-1459 A.D.), who first introduced coinage in Malacca, which in some way served as a model or source of inspiration to the origins of the Brunei coinage.\""},{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Ibn Fadl Allah, writing circa 1342-1349, reported that considerable quantities of gold were reaching the Muslim sultanate of Ifat from Damot (a province to the south of the Blue Nile) and that an ounce varied in value between eighty and one hundred drams.\" Are 'drams' a coin?"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In 1411 CE the King of Malacca and his entire court (his wife, son, ministers who totaled 540 persons) visited China and were entertained by the Chinese Emperor. The King was given presents including 100oz of gold, 500 oz silver, 400,000 kwan paper-money, 2,600 strings of copper cash, and silk."},{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“The ruins of Warq Amba, in Argobba, which undoubtedly witnessed the bitter struggles of Sayfa’Ar’ad and the princes we have just named against the Muslims of the southwest, lie a good day’s walk from Tschanno, to the right of the Awadi River; the debris of ancient buildings, with a necropolis, a mosque, a large reservoir for water, stretching for a length of almost two kilometres. Mr. Traversi, who discovered this ancient unknown dead city, saw there in the cemetery, the inscription of a sultan Ali, contemporary of Sayfa’Ar’ad; near the town in an antique vase shape, he found a small treasure of silver coins, but minted by Egyptian Sultans of the 13th and 14th centuries.”"}]}},"Q309272":{"seshat":["Mauretania"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":300000,"to":700000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Morocco: 750,000: 100 BCE; 1,000,000: 1 CE. This estimate may contain the population of the region outside of the Mauretania Kingdom polity, such as the mountain tribes. The population may have consisted mainly of urban centers on or close to the Mediterranean coastline - not much beyond the location of the city Fez. \"Mauretania was a long, narrow territory, - Iol and Volubis are 800 km apart and population in between was scant\". \"Ancient Mauretania, then, extended over 1,600km of coastline but with its populated areas never more than 150km inland, and, especially in the east, was limited to a thin coastal strip and a few small interior valleys.\" Other information \"In Roman times population was heaviest in a line extending almost due south from Tingis, at the Pillars of Herkles, to Volumbis, a strip of approximately 225 km.\" After this polity. \"This original territory of Mauretania consists of the area from Tingis at the Pillars of Herakles to Volubilis, 225 km to the south, and west 120 km to Sala on the coast. This creates a triangular region of approximately 15,000 sq. km bounded by the Rif on the east, the Atlas foothills on the south and southwest, and the Atlantic on the northwest, described by modern geographers as a peninsular. The district is a fertile coastal plain watered by several rivers flowing toward the Atlantic from sources in the mountains.\""}],"territory":[{"from":100000,"to":120000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Estimated using Google maps area calculator. Original territory had an Atlantic coastline: 15,000: km2 \"This original territory of Mauretania consists of the area from Tingis at the Pillars of Herakles to Volubilis, 225 km to the south, and west 120 km to Sala on the coast. This creates a triangular region of approximately 15,000 sq. km bounded by the Rif on the east, the Atlas foothills on the south and southwest, and the Atlantic on the northwest, described by modern geographers as a peninsular. The district is a fertile coastal plain watered by several rivers flowing toward the Atlantic from sources in the mountains.\" Expanded territory (this period): 1,600 km of coastline, no more than 150 km inland \"Ancient Mauretania, then, extended over 1,600km of coastline but with its populated areas never more than 150km inland, and, especially in the east, was limited to a thin coastal strip and a few small interior valleys.\" \"Mauretania was a long, narrow territory, - Iol and Volubis are 800 km apart and population in between was scant\". Expanded territory (this period): 1,000 miles in extent, everything west of the el-Kebir river (not sure where this is so have used Geacron maps for the eastern border) \"This was a vast, undefined areas, over 1,000 miles in extent, stretching from the western limit of Roman territory to the Atlantic. The term 'Mauretania' originally applied to the western half of this region, beyond the Muluccha River, but acquisitions by the Mauretanian kings, especially in the late second century BC, steadily extended the territory to the east. By the time of Juba II, 'Mauretania' generally denoted all of coastal North Africa west of the Roman provinces, although terminology is not consistent and the eastern portions were historically part of Numidia.\" \"With the fall of Carthage in 146 BC and the making of its territory into a Roman province, and then the reduction of the Numidian kingdom when Jugurtha was defeated in 105 BC, Mauretania came to be defined as everything west of the Ampsaga River (probably the modern el-Kebir), athough as long as the kingdom survived, it continued to overlap both eastern Mauretania and western provincial Africa; these ill-defined borders were a major cause of wars between Rome and the indigenous population. With the end of an independent Numidia in 46 BC, its lands were partitioned, the eastern portions becoming Roman and the western Mauretanian. Even at this time the territorial limits of Mauretania remained imprecise, as scattered Roman enclaves existed both in the east (near the boundary of Africa) and in the west (across from Spain).\" Double kingdom period After the Jugurthine was king Bocchus of Mauretania was given \"control of the territory from the Muluccha east to the Roman provincial boundary, although the eastern portions overlapped the continuing and reduced Numidian kingdom.\" Bocchus' acquisition of western Numidia allowed him to develop Iol as a second capital, creating a territorial duality to Mauretania that has lasted to modern times.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital Bocchus II, ruling from Iol, and Bogudes II, ruling from Volubilis, divided Mauretania between them and probably \"were of equal status, cousins or even brothers.\" \"The major city of eastern Mauretania was Iol, originally a Carthaginian outpost and later a royal seat of a native dynasty. Eventually, as Caesarea, it was the capital of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene.\" \"Far to the west lay the traditional Mauretanian capital, Volubilis. More isolated and less known than Iol, in large part owing to its inland location, its origins are obscure but it was to become a major trading center, especially with Roman Spain, and the western royal city of the client monarchy.\" 2. Provincial town 3. 4."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King at Volubilis King Bocchus had a royal court. 1. King at Iol (late first century BCE) Bocchus II, ruling from Iol, and Bogudes II, ruling from Volubilis, divided Mauretania between them and probably \"were of equal status, cousins or even brothers.\" _Court government_ 2. Treasurer/top administration official inferred 3. Manager of a Mint inferred 4. Worker in a Mint inferred Mauretania certainly had coinage during the reign of Bocchus II in the mid-first century BCE. _Regional government_ 2. Sufet \"In general, the period of the independent Numidian and Mauretanian kingdoms saw the evolution and entrenchment of a culture of mixed Libyan and Phoenician character, the latter element being culturally dominant though naturally representing only a minority of the population as a whole. ... the term sufet is known to have been used in at least thirty different towns as far apart as Volubilis in western Morocco and Leptis Magna in Libya.\" 3. 2. Vassal state \"Askalis, whose territory was localized in the vicinity of Tingis. Otherwise unknown, he is presented in Plutarch's account as one who had been deposed from the Mauretanian throne and was seeking a restoration. His position was supported by Sulla, which means, given Sulla's personal history, that he was probably a vassal of Bocchus I, whose recent death may have led to Askalis' overthrow. The issue is complicated by the fact that Askalis is not a North African name, but one that seems Greek, remindful of Askalos... It seems plausible that an adventurer from this city [Askalon] could end up as a petty dunast of Tingis at the other end of the Mediterranean. Tingis was itself a city with Hellenic and Phoenician roots, and northwest Africa had become increasingly topical in the Greek world since the second century BC. ... His claim to be king of all Mauretania is exaggerated, but Tingis seems virtually to have been an autonomous petty state.\" Askalis was deposed in a popular revolt? in 81 BCE. The Roman \"Sertorius, who prevented the restoration, ended up ruler of Tingis itself, the inhabitants already having shown their receptiveness to a foreign ruler. This was hardly 'all Mauretania,' as he claimed in an exaggeration he had perhaps learned from Askalis, but nevertheless, more than a single city was under his control.\" 2. Mountain tribes (autonomous?) \"The Mauretanian kingdom is generally considered to have developed more slowly than Numidia but this may be due to lack of information. Obviously the mountain massif of the Atlas remained as immune to Phoenician as it later did to Roman civilization but there was some development of sedentary life in fertile regions such as the Moulouya Valley and along the Atlantic coast. It was in the mountainous regions that individual tribes retained their identity into Roman times and even beyond.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Mauretania certainly had coinage during the reign of Bocchus II in the mid-first century BCE. This means a government building, a mint, was present, which presumably was run by a specialist worker. We might also infer that the court government had a finance official to manage taxation and revenue."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"A chieftain, Baga - the First Mauretanian known by name - was wealthy enough during the Second Punic War to give Massinissa [king of Numidia] an escort of 4,000 men across Mauretania to the Numidian border, when Massinissa was in the process of successfully seizing the throne of Numidia.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Tameanko, Marvin. \"Coins of ancient Mauretania portray a mixture of architectural styles\", The Celator, Vol. 5, No. 12, December, 1991. pp. 14-16.\" Mauretania certainly had coinage during the reign of Bocchus II in the mid-first century BCE. c1st century BCE: \"Lix (or Lixus) was a commercial city on the west coast of Mauretania Tingitana. The observe of the coin illustrated here depicts an Egyptian North African deity similar to the Greek god Hephaistos (Roman Vulcan). The reverse seems to be a distyle entrace, with large capitals, most likely part of a temple to the deity honored on this coin.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q102679":{"seshat":["Numidia"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":500000,"to":1000000,"year_from":-200,"year_to":-200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Using McEvedy and Jones numbers for Algeria as the basis of a range with their estimate as the high as some Berbers were independent of the Numidian Kingdom. Algeria according to McEvedy and Jones 1,000,000: 200 BCE 1,500,000: 100 BCE 2,000,000: 1 CE \"At the time of the fall of Carthage there were perhaps 100,000 Phoenicians and 500,000 Berbers in Tunisia plus another 2.5m Berbers in the rest of North Africa.\" The Carthage region and the majority of Morocco was not part of Numidia. Numidia and Mauretania: \"It should be stressed that to some extent the two kingdoms continued as merely geographical expressions, since within them a large number of tribes retained their identity well into Roman times, some even beyond, and political unity remained tenuous.\""},{"from":1000000,"to":1500000,"year_from":-100,"year_to":-100,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. Using McEvedy and Jones numbers for Algeria as the basis of a range with their estimate as the high as some Berbers were independent of the Numidian Kingdom. Algeria according to McEvedy and Jones 1,000,000: 200 BCE 1,500,000: 100 BCE 2,000,000: 1 CE \"At the time of the fall of Carthage there were perhaps 100,000 Phoenicians and 500,000 Berbers in Tunisia plus another 2.5m Berbers in the rest of North Africa.\" The Carthage region and the majority of Morocco was not part of Numidia. Numidia and Mauretania: \"It should be stressed that to some extent the two kingdoms continued as merely geographical expressions, since within them a large number of tribes retained their identity well into Roman times, some even beyond, and political unity remained tenuous.\""}],"territory":[{"from":500000,"to":600000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers \"The present-day Chaouia country is the ancient Numidia ... \" Chaouia is landlocked a Berber region in Algeria that borders Tunisia to its east. Two modern cities in the region are called Batna and Ain Beidna. The modern cities of Setif, Mila, Constantine, Souk-Ahras, Tebessa, Negrine and Biskra are just outside of and draw a circle around this core Berber speaking region. \"The kingdom of Numidia stretched from the river Molochath to the great Syrtis ... bordering on one side with the Mauretanian kingdom of Tingis ... and on the other with Cyrene and Egypt, and surrounding on the west, south, and east the narrow district of coast which formed the Roman province of Africa.\" Molochath = Moulouya river. Great Syrtis = Syrtis Major, or the Gulf of Sirte, off the coast of Libya. \"In addition to the old possessions of the Numidian chiefs, it embraced by far the greatest portion of the territory which Carthage had possessed in Africa during the times of its prosperity - including several important Old-Phoenician cities, such as Hippo Regius (Bona) and Great Leptis (Lebidah) - altogether the largest and best part of the rich coast land of Northern Africa.\" Great Leptis is the modern city of Khoms in Libya. Hippo Regis is the modern city of Annaba in Algeria. The eastern part of the Kingdom of Numidia was mostly desert, the western part was \"fertile and populous ... what was afterwards Mauretania Caesariensis and Sitifensis\". \"After the defeat of Carthage by Rome in the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), the Numidians expanded into Punic territory, with Dougga incorporated into the Numidian kingdom by c.150 BCE, leading to further development.\" Did not include area around Carthage. Wikipedia map of Numidia's greatest extent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidia#/media/File:Map_of_kingdom_of_numidia_ancient_algeria.png. This has an area of 562,548 in Google Earth Pro."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":50000,"to":100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Likely to have been Cirta. \"In 203 BC King Massinissa of Massyles defeted his rivals from Massaesyles to found Numidia, with its capital at Constantine (then called Cirta) and a population estimated at 100,000. This state eroded the highly tribalised nature of Berber society and attained a high degree of civilisation.\" \"Masinissa's capital would appear to have grown into a real city (though the population of 200,000 attributed to it under Masinissa's son must be a gross exaggeration). The archaeology is not well known but its urban aspect will have been almost entirely Carthaginian\"."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Power center / capital? 2. Other town - Hippo Regius 3. \"The main urban centers of ancient Numidia were Cirta (now Constantine) and Hippo Regius (now Annaba). Towns \"remote from the seat of the royal power, such as Great Leptis\". Cirta \"had access to the sea at Rusicade and Chullu. His other main seaports were Hippo Regius - called 'royal' to distinguish it from Hippo Diarrhytus, 'intersected by flowing water' (modern Bizerte), further east - and Thabraca (Libyan Tbrkn), halfway between the two.\" Small towns in the interior. Large number of agricultural villages. \"The settlement hierarchy in populated areas ranged from large port cities, provincial capitals, and inland population centers to villages, rural complexes, and isolated villas and farms. Between these extremes in size were found more specialized populated places: military outposts and camps, mines and quarries, and centers of intensive agricultural production, such as industrialized olive farms. Areas under tribal control were occupied by sedentary and pastoral groups living in oasis towns, hillforts, permanent villages, and seasonal encampments (Mattingly 1994: 17-49).\" Especially relevant to Roman period. Roman administration typically allocated land to \"self-governing urban centers. Coloniae were cities of the highest rank, followed by municipia and civitates ... Territories came in various sizes, but some were large and densely settled enough to contain dependent villages (vici). In truly vast city territories, for instance those belonging to Carthage and Cirta, further subdivisions were created and administered from semi-autonomous districts (pagi) and native towns (castella). Large estates could be found inside or outside of city territories, but the largest functioned as separate administrative and taxing districts. They were in many ways analogous to cities and their territories.\" Especially relevant to Roman period."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King / gld / melek. \"The states of Numidia and Mauretania were ruled by people to whom our sources give the title 'king' ... or occasionally 'chief' ... The indiegnous title, as wekk know from a Numidian inscription of the second century BC, was gld, presumably a cognate of the modern Berber title aguellid. The native rulers also applied to themselves the Phoenician royal title, melek.\" Hereditary kingship, initially brother to brother but other hereditary succession known. \"Numidia was beyond question, next to Egypt, the most considerable of all the Roman client-states. After the death of Massinissa ..., Scipio had divided the sovereign functions of that prince among his three sons, Micipsa, Gulussa, and Mastanabal in such a way that the firstborn obtained the residency and the state chest, the second the charge of war, and the third the administration of justice\". \"the Numidian kings owned Carthaginian-style estates.\" 2. Princes \"As his sons were not yet grown up, the reins of government were practically held by an illegitimate nephew of the king, the prince of Jugurtha.\" Jugurtha, a Numidian prince, had been \"introduced to the circles of the Roman aristocracy, had at the same time been initiated into the intrigues of Roman coteries, and had studied at the fountainhead what might be expected of Roman nobles.\" 2. Council of Nobles/Chieftains Jugurtha summoned a council of war to approve a peace treaty with Rome. Greek historian Appian wrote: \"There were many separate chieftains of the Numidians in Africa, but Syphax occupied the highest place of all, and was held in great honour by all the others.\" _Court government_ The king of Mauretainia, at the time of Jugurtha, is said to have \"received him at his court, uniting to Jugurtha's followers his own numberless swarms of horsemen\". Kingdom of Numidia likely also had a court. \"The organization of the Numidian kingdom is more obscure, in spite of the exhaustive studies of Camps and Gsell. It is difficult to add to their account of its history. The administrative and economic structures of the kingdom are more interesting, however, in part because they seem to have been extremely fragile.\" 2. Counsellor \"Now after the death of his two brothers Massinissa's eldest son, Micipsa, reigned alone, a feeble peaceful old man, who occupied himself more with the study of Greek philosophy than with affairs of state. As his sons were not yet grown up, the reins of government were practically held by an illegitimate nephew of the king, the prince of Jugurtha.\" \"Jurgurtha was ... a skilled and courageous rider and hunter; his countrymen held him in high honour as a clear and sagacious administrator\". Bomilcar was king Jugurtha's \"most confidential counsellor\". 2. Treasury At the time of Jurgurtha the royal treasury was \"still well filled with the savings of Massinissa”. The Numidian king was wealthy in gold and silver. Jugurtha's treasures \"were kept in the town of Suthul (afterwards Calama, now Guelma) difficult of access and still more difficult of conquest\". 3. Manager of mint inferred 4. Mint worker inferred \"Operating in the manner of Hellenistic kings, they founded capital cities, built monumental tombs, issued coinage, assembled armies\". \"The coins of Masinissa ... struck in bronze and lead and bearing his bearded portrait and initials in the Punic script, are very numerous, and evidently served as a circulating currency among the Numidians, or at least among the eastern Numidians.\" _Regional government_ 2. Sufet (Chief Magristrate of a town) \"The Numidian cities were governed in the manner of Carthage by magistrates who nevertheless had Berber titles and possibly Berber customs, while Berber made an increasing appearance alongside Punic in inscriptions in a Berber script.\" \"The towns of Cirta and Capsa ... had municipal institutions modelled on those of the Phoenicians, their chief magistrates bearing the Phoenician title sufet.\" 3. 4. 2. Chieftains Greek historian Appian wrote: \"There were many separate chieftains of the Numidians in Africa, but Syphax occupied the highest place of all, and was held in great honour by all the others.\" \"by the end of his reign Masinissa had apparently suppressed or subjected the independent chiefs and united all the Numidians under his rule.\" 2. Dependent / autonomous tribes \"In the south the free Gaetulian tribes of the desert began at Jugurtha's call a national war against the Romans.\" Numidia and Mauretania: \"It should be stressed that to some extent the two kingdoms continued as merely geographical expressions, since within them a large number of tribes retained their identity well into Roman times, some even beyond, and political unity remained tenuous.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Bomilcar was king Jugurtha's \"most confidential counsellor\"."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Scipio had divided the sovereign functions [among the princes] ... in such a way that ... the second the charge of war\". King Micipsa \"could raise a powerful army of infantry and cavalry, and a considerable force of war-elephants. There was even a small Numidian fleet, originally created by Masinissa.\" Likely the top officials were aristocracy/chiefs but it is hard to imagine a navy without specialist professional officers."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Numidian royalty's cultural links to the Graeco-Roman world \"is evident in their insignia, their coinage and their monuments\". \"Operating in the manner of Hellenistic kings, they founded capital cities, built monumental tombs, issued coinage, assembled armies\". At the time of Masinissa: \"Trade in other products was limited and the only coins issued were of bronze and copper.\" \"The coins of Masinissa ... struck in bronze and lead and bearing his bearded portrait and initials in the Punic script, are very numerous, and evidently served as a circulating currency among the Numidians, or at least among the eastern Numidians.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Excavations by a German-Tunisian team in the southern part of Dougga have revealed evidence of housing from the Numidian settlement. ... there were a number of late second-century BCE Italian wine amphorae as well as Italian Campana black-glossed wars, common from the second century BCE onward, indicating trade with Italy. Stratified bronze coins included three minted in Rome in 157 or 156 BCE.\" Italian merchant community at Cirta."}]}},"Q2022162":{"seshat":["Pergamon Kingdom"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":5500000,"to":5500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"territory":[{"from":66750,"to":66750,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared miles."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 5) Satrapy or Strategiai"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 5)King 4) Strategos Strategos was governor of satrapies. He was controller of taxation system. He had military power to some extent."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. financial managers."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q970799":{"seshat":["Wattasid Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":600000,"to":800000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"People. According to McEvedy and Jones Morocco as a whole had about 1.5 million people in 1500 CE. The Wattasids did not control the whole of Morocco. Notably in this period they did not have many parts of the coast, which may have been quite populous, or have control the hinterlands, which were dominated by nomadic tribes, but it might be reasonable to estimate that their core area, which contained the capital Fez, may have contained half of this total. \"The XVIth century witnessed a fundamental change in the circumstances of the Maghrib. By 1500, the reigning dynasties, the Wattasids in Morocco, the Zayyanids (or 'Abd al-Wadids) in Tlemsen, and the Hafsids in Tunis, no longer exercised more than a titular headship beyond the walls of their capital cities. The result was an anarchic decentralization in which the various towns, the peoples of the Aures, Kabyle, Rif, and Atlas mountains, and the tribes of the plains, led a more or less autonomous existence.\""}],"territory":[{"from":50000,"to":60000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Difficult to estimate, according to Google area calculator the area of the core Wattasid Kingdom was about 50,000-60,000 km2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattasid_dynasty#/media/File:Wattasids_-_Simplified_map.PNG Map on page 105 \"Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century\" shows the core area is bordered by the Atlas mountains to the south, east and north. In the 16th and 17th centuries the core area shown is broadly similar to the Wikipedia map but a bit further south."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Sultan The Wattasid ruler was a Sultan. A Sultan the 'Makhazen lands'. For the last three centuries of Berber rule in Morocco \"the main development was a centralized administrative system - the Makhzen - maintained without tribal support by standing armies of Arab and Christian mercenaries. It is to this age that the real distinction of Bled el Makhzen and Bled es Siba belongs - the latter coming to mean everything outside the immediate vicinity of the imperial cities.\" According to Wikipedia, Bled es-Siba or Bled Siba is an \"historical term in pre-colonial Moroccan history that refers to a lawless area that was out of the control of the Moroccan Sultans in the early 20th century\". _Central government_ 2. Vizier The Wattasids, who were previously a line of hereditary viziers, usurped the Merinids in 1465 CE. 3. Treasurer inferred 4. Manager of mint inferred 5. Mint worker inferred \"Known Wattasid coins include a few extremely rare gold coins and also square silver dirhams and half dirhams, still following the Almohad standard of roughly 1.5 grams.\" _Provincial government_ \"The XVIth century witnessed a fundamental change in the circumstances of the Maghrib. By 1500, the reigning dynasties, the Wattasids in Morocco, the Zayyanids (or 'Abd al-Wadids) in Tlemsen, and the Hafsids in Tunis, no longer exercised more than a titular headship beyond the walls of their capital cities. The result was an anarchic decentralization in which the various towns, the peoples of the Aures, Kabyle, Rif, and Atlas mountains, and the tribes of the plains, led a more or less autonomous existence.\" 2. Governors \"In 1525, al-Araj was in a position to occupy peacefully the city of Marrakech after the death of the last Wattasid governor.\" 3."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Wattasids, who were previously a line of hereditary viziers, usurped the Merinids in 1465 CE."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Known Wattasid coins include a few extremely rare gold coins and also square silver dirhams and half dirhams, still following the Almohad standard of roughly 1.5 grams.\""}]}},"Q153080":{"seshat":["East Francia"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"population":[{"from":3800000,"to":4000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"territory":[{"from":450000,"to":500000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":23000,"to":40000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q928":{"seshat":["Republic of the Philippines"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"population":[{"from":12000000,"to":12000000,"year_from":1950,"year_to":1950,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q467627":{"seshat":["Durrani Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":1792000,"to":1792000,"year_from":1772,"year_to":1772,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. 1,792,327: 1772 CE; 489,172: 1819 CE Inferred: the 1772 CE estimate is an approximation based on the modern day territory of the component territories of Pakistan, Indian Kashmir, and the former Iranian province of Khorasan. The second date reflects the loss of external territories by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Conquests including former territory of the Mughal and Maratha Empires in India, the Afsharid Empire of Persia, and the Khanate of Bukhara. In 1757 CE, the Durrani sacked Delhi and dealt a deathblow to the formerly powerful Moghul Empire. This resulted in the conquest of Punjab, the Sindh, and the Kachi plains. After 1809 CE, the East India company signed the Treaty of Amritsar with a Sikh Maharaja named Ranjit Singh. Following an agreement to halt expansion southward, Singh conquered Multan and the Kachi plains in 1818 CE, Kashmir in 1819 CE, and finally Peshawar in 1823 CE."},{"from":1790000,"to":490000,"year_from":1800,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. 1,792,327: 1772 CE; 489,172: 1819 CE Inferred: the 1772 CE estimate is an approximation based on the modern day territory of the component territories of Pakistan, Indian Kashmir, and the former Iranian province of Khorasan. The second date reflects the loss of external territories by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Conquests including former territory of the Mughal and Maratha Empires in India, the Afsharid Empire of Persia, and the Khanate of Bukhara. In 1757 CE, the Durrani sacked Delhi and dealt a deathblow to the formerly powerful Moghul Empire. This resulted in the conquest of Punjab, the Sindh, and the Kachi plains. After 1809 CE, the East India company signed the Treaty of Amritsar with a Sikh Maharaja named Ranjit Singh. Following an agreement to halt expansion southward, Singh conquered Multan and the Kachi plains in 1818 CE, Kashmir in 1819 CE, and finally Peshawar in 1823 CE."},{"from":489000,"to":489000,"year_from":1819,"year_to":1819,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers. 1,792,327: 1772 CE; 489,172: 1819 CE Inferred: the 1772 CE estimate is an approximation based on the modern day territory of the component territories of Pakistan, Indian Kashmir, and the former Iranian province of Khorasan. The second date reflects the loss of external territories by the beginning of the nineteenth century. Conquests including former territory of the Mughal and Maratha Empires in India, the Afsharid Empire of Persia, and the Khanate of Bukhara. In 1757 CE, the Durrani sacked Delhi and dealt a deathblow to the formerly powerful Moghul Empire. This resulted in the conquest of Punjab, the Sindh, and the Kachi plains. After 1809 CE, the East India company signed the Treaty of Amritsar with a Sikh Maharaja named Ranjit Singh. Following an agreement to halt expansion southward, Singh conquered Multan and the Kachi plains in 1818 CE, Kashmir in 1819 CE, and finally Peshawar in 1823 CE."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"3: 1766 CE; 1: 1779 CE. The Durrani ruled from the sparsely populated and rural Pashtun region of Afghanistan. As such, the settlement hierarchy was inverse to the majority of empires in that the large populated cities were underneath the power of a much smaller and extractive rural elite. After the death of the first Shah, internal conflict meant that effective control was limited to the city of Kabul and the surrounding countryside. 1766 CE 1. Kandahār(capital) 2. Provincial capitals (Sind, Punjab, Kashmir, Khosasan, Turkistan) 3. towns 4. Villages 1779 CE 1. Kabul"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Durrani empire was a loose confederation of tribes and principalities that evaded attempts to create or maintain central control. Military service was rewarded with the granting of autonomous land grants called Jegeirs that skimmed up to sixty percent of state revenues, with the remainder going to the maintenance of a large army. The local elites were mantained and largely autonomous if appropriate tribute was paid to the tribal elites. 1. Shah 2. Immediate dynastic family and tribe 3. Tribal chieftains and holders of Jageirs (land grants) 4. Subjugated provincial elites 5. Local administrations of conquered territory"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Army of the Durrani was organized under a hierarchical tribal confederacy. One third were regular troops largely made up of cavalry and some supporting artillery, with the remaining two thirds made up of irregular seasonal troops serving for a campaign. The standing army hierarchy is reflected below. They were paid in cash or with military fiefs in the rich provinces in India. Irregular troops were raised via a coercive levy imposed on subjected tribes, districts and chieftains, and these areas were required to equip the troops themselves. 1. Shah 2. Tribal commanders 3. Permanent soldiers (cavalry and artillery) 4. Irregular seasonal levies (calvary and infantry) The Army of the Durrani was organized under a hierarchical tribal confederacy. one third were regular troops largely made up of cavalry and some supporting artillery, with the remaining two thirds made up of seasonal irregulars serving for a campaign."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Caliphate 2. All Muslims In theory the Caliphate and governors were the head of the Sunni faith, but in practice local religious scholars (ulama) attracted the wider populace as definers of doctrine. Unlike the Orthodox or Catholic faith, the structure of the Islamic faiths were not clearly hierarchical as all were theoretically equal before Allah. 1. Ruler 2. Imam"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Duranni empire was based on the accretion of political power with-in a pre-existing authoritarian-tribal rule of the Abdali Pashtuns and the Shah as its unchallenged leader. It was not based on a defined permanent theory of statecraft, but rather a synthesis of of Islamic concepts of kingship. Governance took place in part through a loose council of Durrani Sadozai Chieftans. What short term Administrative post that did exist were given to members of the governing tribes. The Duranni were a nation in arms rather than bureaucrats."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The founder of the Dynasty himself had originally been the head officer of Nadir Shah's personal bodyguard and took the four thousand-strong horse cavalry he had commanded with him when he defected to Afghanistan. He also had access to the Turkish Shiite Qizilbash."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The coins produced at mints in the Durrani empire."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"At least eight currencies were being circulated in the region"}]}},"Q912043":{"seshat":["Jin"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":160000,"to":160000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"km^2 size of State of Jin by 5th c. bce Hsu: “An expansion of territory is a characteristic of all major states, and the four most powerful states of the Spring and Autumn period — Qi, Jin, Chu, and Qin - all expanded dramatically. Qi Huan Gong annexed 35 neighboring states to become the first ba. Jin Xian Gong took 17 states and subjugated 38, paving the way for Jin to lead the Zhou world for generations. Qin Mu Gong fUS-^ (659—621 B.C.) combined 12 other states to extend its territory in the west. During the reign of King Zhuang of Chu (613-591 B.C.), Chu annexed no fewer than 26 states, many of which were former important Zhou states, and thus became the main threat to the Zhou world.' Of 148 states that appear in the chronicles of the Spring and Autumn period,\" the number extinguished by these four major powers adds up to 1*”"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Capital city2. town3. feudal estates4. village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Ruler2. Court officials (Chancellor, Secretaries, etc)3. Provincial / commandery governors; military generals; local elite lineages4. town heads NB: unclear exactly how much administrative hierarchy there was at the local (town, village, etc) level, but the number 4 based on states during this period having short chains-of-command and less state penetration into the local levels relative to later periods after the ‘centralizing’ reforms of the Qi, Chu, and Qin (DH)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The following inferred from what has been inferred from contemporary polities: 1. Ruler 2. Minister of War3. GeneralsElite families in charge of chariot forces 4. Officer level5. Individual soldier"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"During the Spring and Autumn Period, the powerful states such as Qin and Chu set up a new administrative system of provinces and counties ... These governors in the provinces and counties comprised the first bureaucracy in Chinese history.\" \"in terms of administration, aristocratic politics was transformed into bureaucratic politics as the hereditary seigniors were replaced by professional bureaucrats.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inferred present for contemporary polities ."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Not until Warring States Period at the earliest: \"The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inferred absent. Coinage invented in Anatolia around time of the Spring and Autumn Period but such coins, even if they reached China, more likely would have been prized for precious metal content."}]}},"Q912052":{"seshat":["Early Wei Dynasty"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":90000,"to":90000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"km^2 Reference?"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"pre-reforms (fifth c bce): 1. Capital city 2. town3. feudal estates (?)4. village post-reforms (fifth c bce): 1. Capital city 2. Commandery capital3. County4. town5. village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Ruler _Central government_ 2. Prime Minister\"The most important codification of Chinese law is the Fa jing (Canon of Law), compiled during the Warring States period by the prime minister of the Wei state Li Kui (455-395 B.C.)\" 3. Chancellor, Secretaries, etcCourt officials (Chancellor, Secretaries, etc) 4. Assistants / Secretaries / scribes 4. Manager of state-run iron/bronze foundry inferred level 5. Worker in state-run iron/bronze foundry inferred level _Provincial government_ 2. jun (commanderies)Provincial / commandery governors; military generals \"At the onset of the Warring States period, Wei reorganized the whole guo - core as well as conquered territories - into a two-tier structure of jun (commanderies) and xian (which evolved from dependent districts to counties). As the jun and xian became standard administrative units in the Warring States period, strategists could evaluate the relative capabilities of various states in terms of their numbers of jun and xian.\" 3. xian (counties) 4. town heads 5. village-level chiefs"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. ruler2. chief officials (e.g. commandant)/Councilors; also in many states were elite troops under direct command of ruler 3. [Commandery Protector] 3. generals (jiang or jiang jun)4.“specialized officer corps” 5. Individual soldier"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Around 445 BC, Wei started the new wave of self-strengthening reforms by systematizing preexisting practices and introducing innovative institutions.\" \"In short, during Qin's early ascendance, all other great powers introduced various elements of self-strengthening reforms such as the mass army, national taxation, household registration, and hierarchical administration.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Wu Qi, a military general who arrived [in Chu] from Wei in 390 BC....\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.\" Different states had different types/shapes of metal objects used as a store of wealth; unclear if used as medium of exchange. Han, Wei, Zhao used ‘coin’ shaped like spade; knife-shaped coin used in Qi, Yen, and Zhao; cowrie-shaped coin used Chu; circular coin with hole in Qin, Zhao, and Zhou Unclear if coinage was always monopoly of state, or produced by large merchant groups/families Wei: spade-shaped token. true coins not introduced until state of Qin in late third c bce (right after this period)"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q229411":{"seshat":["Delhi Sultanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":2800000,"to":3200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"squared kilometers, calculated using Google area calculator and map of Sultanate at its height c.1320-1350 CE The Sultans began to cede territory for the rest of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, losing control of Bengal, the Deccan and the south."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":200000,"to":400000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"persons. \"Delhi in the thirteenth century had grown to be one of the largest cities of the Muslim world. A number of other cities had emerged as major urban centres during this period - Multan, Lahore, Anhilwara, Kara, Kambath, Sonargaon and Lakhnauti, to name a few\". Delhi became probably the largest city in South Asia. The population of Gaur, the principal city of Bengal, was estimated at 200,000 persons. Delhi would have a much bigger population than Gaur. . It received large numbers of immigrants from Central Asia and Persia, who were driven there by the Mongol invasions."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Delhi in the thirteenth century had grown to be one of the largest cities of the Muslim world. A number of other cities had emerged as major urban centres during this period - Multan, Lahore, Anhilwara, Kara, Kambath, Sonargaon and Lakhnauti, to name a few\". (6) Delhi - described in contemporary sources as the the largest city in the sub-continent. (5) Large cities/regional capitals - Lahore, Multan, Patan, Cambay, Kara. (4) Wilayat (larger provinces) (3) Shiqq/Sarkar (sub province) (2) Parganah (aggregate of villages)/Sadi (1) Village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":9,"to":9,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, were incorporated into the Turkish administration in India.\" 1. Sultan \"The insecurity that accompanied the throne resulted in frequent civil wars, military revolutions and large-scale massacres of royal families. In some cases, the sultan nominated his heir, or else the claimants to the throne were left to fight a war of succession.\" Sultan \"was in charge of the state's administration and of the army.\" 2. Advisory CouncilSultans \"took the opinion of an advisory council on all important matters dealing with the administration of the state. The advisory council was not a legally constituted body and the numbers of advisers varied according to the importance of the matters discussed and also according to the personal preferences of the monarch.\" _Central government_ 2. Wazir of the diwan-i-wizarat\"The wazir or prime minister was the most important officer, next only to the sultan. By the fourteenth century, the wazir, whose earlier duties were confined only to the military, had now become an expert on revenue affairs too, and was made responsible for the entire fiscal administration of the realm and all matters relating to income and expenditure. He was entrusted with powers to appoint revenue officials, organize and collect taxes, and largely control the state's expenditure.\" Next to Sultan, the chief executive office belonged to the wazir. Primarily he was one of the four departmental heads, the \"four pillars of state\" but his rank was a little above the others for he was the chief minister. As the Sultan's chief counselor, he had access to him at all times. 3. mustauf-i-mumalik (Auditor general) 3. Musharraf-I-mumalik (Accountant general)\"A separate auditor general was appointed for supervising expenditure and there was also an accountant general for inspecting the income. Both officers assisted the wazir in discharging his duties.\" 3. sadr-us-sadar or qazi-i-mumalik of ?? diwan-i-risalat (department for religion) what did the sadr-us-sadar lead if not the diwan-i-risalat? \"religious affairs and provide scholarships to academics and men of piety.\" 4. Khatib - u'l - khutaba of ?? diwan-i-risalat (department for religion) what did the sadr-us-sadar lead if not the diwan-i-risalat? \"junior qazis appointed to assist him\" \"A preacher of exceptional eloquence .. as leader of the diwan - i - risalat, he appointed the religion preachers and imans to lead prayers and manage the mosques the realm.\" He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen). 3. munshi-i-mumalik of diwan-i-insha (department for post)\"dealt with the entire state's postal correspondence. Groups of horsemen or runners were used to carry the correspondence across the kingdom. Sultans planted spies, called barids, in different parts of the kingdom to obtain information on people, events and occurrences.\" 3. Department for Revenue\"the sultan was assisted by a team of ministers who were individually responsible for various departments, such as revenue, public works, war, local and provincial governments, etc. The number, power and function of the ministers varied from time to time.\" 3. Minister for Public Works\"There were a number of other departments like the public works department, the agricultural department, the audit department and the department of slaves - each under the charge of a minister.\" 4. sub-official by type of public work inferred 5. On-site manager of a public work inferred 6. On-site worker on a public work inferred 3. Minister for Audit 3. Minister for Agriculture 3. Minister for War 3. Minister for the Royal Household\"looked after the personal comforts of the sultan and the requirements of the harem.\" 3. Wakil-i-dar of the department for slaves\"Firuz Shah Tughlaq had set up a separate department of slaves, many of whom were employed in royal workshops. The officer in charge of this was known as the wakil-i-dar, who other than being responsible for maintaining court decorum, also oversaw the seating arrangement of nobles at court.\" 4. sub-administrators for different types of workshop? inferred 5. Manager of royal workshop 3. Minister for Markets \"and another who controlled the markets.\" 3. Minister for Provincial Government\"a minister appointed as a link between the provincial and central governments\" _Provincial government_ \"the Delhi Sultanate was more like a conglomeration of nearly-independent principalities, jagirs and provinces, each ruled by a hereditary chief or zamindar, with their subjects looking more to their immediate governors who had absolute power in the provinces than the sovereign who was far away.\" 3. Iqtadar (or muqti or wali)\"The kingdoms of the various dynasties were categorized into a number of divisions called iqtas, each under an iqtadar, muqti or wali. Therefore, iqtas were territorial units allotted to nobles, performing civil and military duties, in lieu of salary.\" Main functions of an Iqtadar: \"collection of land revenue, which was payable to the central treasury, and the maintenance of law and order. Out of the total land revenue collected, a fixed share was given to the state, while the rest went towards the expenditure of governing the iqtas and the personal expenses of the iqtadars.\" \"In principle, the Iqtadars could be transferred within the kingdom.\" In all probability, the term \"wali\" was reserved for governors with extraordinary powers. The number of such governors was small and the major part of the sultanate was administered by governors with limited power. The muqti (fief holder) was appointed by the Sultan, and could be transferred and dismissed at will. Usually he maintained a body of troops consisting of both infantry and horsemen, out of his provincial revenues, and was responsible not only for the defense of his province, but also for the maintenance of law and order. 4. Provincial governor of a province\"Iqtas were divided into provinces that were further sub-divided into shiqs and parganas.\" Some Hindus became provincial governors. 5. shiqdar of a shiq\"The provinces were again divided into shiqs and parganas.\" 6. ? of a parganas is there someone at this level or is it just a term for a sub-division \"The provinces were again divided into shiqs and parganas.\" 7. Amils of a sub-division (number of villages) of a parganas 8. muqqaddam of a village (village headman)\"The village headman was known as the muqqaddam and the landowners as khuts. The village accountant or patwari assisted the officials in the discharge of their functions at the village level.\" \"The villages enjoyed a more-or-less autonomous status, with village republics managing their own affairs. The sultan did not usually interfere with the workings of local institutions.\" 9. patwari (village accountant) 8. Khutd (land owner) Khutd (village headmen). The headman of villages controlled the countryside and agricultural production. 3. Tribute paying (Hindu) states 4. _Note for later polities_ \"This new administrative structure of the Delhi Sultanate had a powerful impact on small states and principalities that were formed after its disintegration as well as on the Mughal administration that would come into existence in the sixteenth century.\""}],"military_levels":[{"from":8,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"1. Sultan. Sultan \"was the commander-in-chief of the army, but the ariz-i-mumalik was its captain for all practical reasons, and exercised a lot of influence on the state.\" \"The institution of slavery provided the basis for well-trained and loyal martial slaves (the mamluks) to the sultans.\" 2 Ariz-i mamalik.The Ariz-i-mamalik was the head of the army department (diwan-i-arz). He kept the iqtadar's (military assignee) muster-roll, recruited new troops and looked after the equipment and efficiency of fighting forces. He was, besides, the paymaster-general of army. 3. Khan.A khan's force contained at least ten maliks. 4. Malik.A malik had authority over ten amirs. 5. Amir.An amir commanded ten sipah-salars. 6. Sipah-salar.A sipah-salar directed ten sar khels. 7. Sar Khel.A sar khel had ten horsemen under him. 8. Horsemen."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Though the Delhi Sultans ruled independently in India, they perceived themselves to be part of the Islamic world that operated through the Caliphate of Baghdad. ... Most of the sultans included the name of the caliph in their khubta of Friday sermon, on the coins that they issued, and in the titles they assumed, which were all symptomatic of their humility to the caliph.\" 1. Caliph \"owed only nominal allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphs\". 1. Sultan 2. Advisory Council\"Since the sultans were expected to enforce the law of the Shariah, they were also obliged to take the opinion of the ulema.\" 2. Sadr-u's-sudur (minister of theological affairs).The Sadr-u's-sudur was a highly venerated official who not only enjoyed great prestige but also exercised much power. The offices of qadi-i-mumalik and sadr-u's-sudur were given to the same men because offices of a religious and legal nature were often concentrated in the hands of single individuals in the empire. He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen). 3. Khatib - u'l - khutaba.Subordinate to the Sadr-u's-sudur. \"A preacher of exceptional eloquence .. as leader of the diwan - i - risalat, he appointed the religion preachers and imans to lead prayers and manage the mosques the realm.\" He was officially presided over the ahl-i-qalam (men of pen). 4. Shaikh-u'l-Islam. The large number of sufis and faqirs under the patronage of the state were under a shaikh-u'l-Islam. Probably administration of hospices and tombs of saints and kings ultimately rested in the hands of shaikh-u'l-Islam, because in many cases derwishes were included among the beneficiaries. 4. Qadi.The provincial qadis (judges) also acted as sadrs in their respective areas. 5. Imam.Imams led prayers and managed the mosques of the realm. They were generally trained at a college in theology."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. qazi-i-mamalik (chief justice of kingdom) , wakil-i-dar (household officer)."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. ariz-i-mamalik, the head of the army department (diwan-i-arz). Payment of soldiers in cash was a measure adopted by Alauddin Khilji."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Coins minted in Delhi at the Mint. It was commercially prosperous, introducing standardised gold, silver and copper coinage."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Gold and silver coins from Mamluk kingdom, coins from Yemen and Europe."}]}},"Q11774":{"seshat":["Gupta Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":800000,"to":900000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. The polity's borders changed over the course of the fifth century CE, but it would appear that losses in the South-Eastern territories were compensated with gains in the North-West. The estimate, then, roughly corresponds with the combined areas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha for the earlier period, and Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and the northenmost Indian states for the later period. Based on maps found in Agrawal (1989) , Kulke and Rothermund (2004) and Stein (2010) . \"The Gupta Empire at its height controlled north and central India directly and exercised indirect control over south India. So the Gupta Empire was a smaller entity compared to the Maurya Empire.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"people. Pataliputra in 360 CE."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2. Capitals of border kingdoms 3. Big cities 4. Towns 5. Villages"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":9,"to":9,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. NB: Though many of the following codes are taken from a book about Harsha's empire in the seventh century, the author reconstructed the latter polity's administration based on what is known or inferred about Gupta administration, as well as smritis, contemporary general texts on law, conduct and polity; moreover, Gupta administration was taken as a model for seventh-century governments 1. King __Central government__ 2. Rahasi-niyukta\"In the inscriptions of the Gupta period we meet an officer called the rahasi-niyukta. [...] The kings gave oral orders which were taken down by rahasi-niyuktas or private secretaries, who passed them on for recording and execution to the appropriate departments.\" 2. Sarv-adhyaksha\"There appears to have been a general superintendent of the offices who with his various assistants carried out multiple liaison tasks. He maintained rapport among various departments, between the King and the departments, between the centre and the directly administered provinces, and between the centre and the various close and distant members of the mandala. South-Indian inscriptions mention an officer by the title of sarv-adhyaksha, over-all supervisor, whose duty was to convey orders of the central government to the provincial and district officers through 'carriers of royal commands'.\" 2. Central council of ministers\"While most members of the central ministry may also have been heads of departments such as army, revenue, public welfare, etc., some, esteemed for their experience, learning, or wisdom, may have acted only as mantrins or counsellors.\" 2. DauvanikaSuperintendent of pratiharas . 3. Assistants to the sarv-adhyaksha\"There appears to have been a general superintendent of the offices who with his various assistants carried out multiple liaison tasks.\" 3. Sandhi-vigrahikasAssistants to the heads of departments . 3. Maha-pratiharasHigh-ranking pratiharas. Officers of high status . 4. PratiharasLesser pratiharas. Officers of high status . 5. Scribes?\"The kings gave oral orders which were taken down by rahasi-niyuktas or private secretaries, who passed them on for recording and execution to the appropriate departments. [...] although we do not come across the designation in contemporary records, the familiar Gupta office associated with such tasks is very likely to have existed in Harsha's time as well.\" __Provincial government__ 3. UparikaRoyal officers in charge of core area 3. Border kings\"These border kings paid tribute and were obliged to attend Samudragupta's court. In contrast with medieval European vassals they were obviously not obliged to join Samudragupta's army in a war. Thus they were not real vassals but, at the most tributary princes. In subsequent centuries these tributary neighbours were called Samantas and rose to high positions at the imperial court thus coming closer to the ideal type of a feudal vassal.\" 4. VishayapatisOfficers in charge of smaller territorial subdivisions . 5. Ayuktakas\"Bigger cities had Ayuktakas at their head who were appointed by the governor.\" 6. Pustapala, nagarashreshthin, kulika \"These Ayuktas were assisted by town clerks (pustapala). The head of the city guilds (nagarashreshthin) and the heads of families of artisans (kulika) advised the Ayuktaka . 7. GramikaVillage headman . 8. Scribes and heads of peasant families"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King 2. Sandhivigrahika (minister of war and peace) 3. Mahabaladhikrta 4. Mahadandanayaka 5. Senapati"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. _Hinduism_ There are no official priestly hierarchies in Hinduism . However, several sources allude to the importance, at least for some branches of the religion, of the relationship between student and teacher or guru (e.g. ), which suggests that perhaps it would not be entirely inappropriate to say that there is indeed a Hindu religious hierarchy, and that it is composed of two levels. _Jainism_ NOTE: I have found two equally authoritative sources on Jain hierarchy: (1) 1. Arihants (ones who have conquered their inner enemies)2. Siddhas (Liberated Ones)3. Acharyas (who head the Order)4. Upadhyays (who teach the message)5. Sadhus (Monks/Seekers) (2) 1. Guru (teacher)2. Monks 2. Male figure (not specified by author whether a monk) in charge of nuns3. Pravartini or ganini (aides to the male figure in charge of nuns)4. Nuns _Buddhism_ \"Buddhist monastic communities replaced the caste system with one based on year of ordination. Previously ordained monks enjoyed rights and privileges higher in status than monks ordained later, and monks were categorically of higher status and privilege than nuns. In effect seniority and gender provided criteria for social status and increased access to 'pure' teachings and exemption from 'impure' duties.\" ."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The significant aspect of Gupta bureaucracy was that, since it was less organized and elaborate than the Mauryan administration of the third century b.c. (seen in Kautilya’s Arthasastra),it allowed several offices to be combined in the hands of the same person and posts tended to become hereditary. In the absence of close supervision by the state, village affairs were now managed by leading local elements who conducted land transactions without consulting the government. \"Similarly in urban administration, organized professional bodies enjoyed considerable autonomy. The law-codes of the Gupta period, which provide detailed information about the functioning of the guilds, even entrusted these corporate bodies with an important share in the administration of justice. With the innumerable ja ̄tis (which were systematized and legalized during this period) governing a large part of the activities of their members, very little was left for central government. Finally, the Gupta kings had to take account of the brahman donees, who enjoyed absolute administrative privileges over the inhabitants of the donated villages. Thus in spite of the strength of the Gupta kings, institutional factors working for decentralization were far stronger during this period. This Gupta admini tration provided the model for the basic administrative structure, both in theory and in practice, throughout the early medieval period.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Until today sixteen hoards of Gupta coins have been discovered in different parts of the country. All the coins, whether of gold, silver or copper, are of standard value, depict artistic taste and maintain uniformity in weight and value. [...] When Guptas came to power, they issued their own coinage while adhering to the Roman standard and Indo-Scythian types.\""}]}},"Q4461035":{"seshat":["Akkadian Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":450000,"to":1000000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Sargon undertook several campaigns both to crush internal rebellions and extend the territory of Akkad. As a result, his empire became huge as never before. To cite Hamblin: \"He created the largest empire the world had yet known, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, and encompassing most of modern Iraq and Syria, and over twice the size in population and land of contemporary Egypt. From another perspective, however, Sargon's empire was what we would call today a humanitarian disaster, for \"the god Enlil instructed [Sargon to conquer the world] and he showed mercy to no one\" c2200 BCE (actually later) 1,100,000 maximum extent - much larger than presented on current maps. Marhashi in the East is on the border with Afghanistan. Maximum extent estimated from Map 2. p.81 Foster (2016) Naram-Sin claimed conquests \"from Marhashi in the east as far as the Cedar Forest, presumably the slops of the Amanus or Lebanon; from the Mediterranean to the \"lands beyond the sea,\" perhaps as far as Oman, a claim fully justified by administrative documents from his reign (Chapter 3, part 6).\" \"This network of political, economic, and diplomatic interconnections, stretching from northern Syria to eastern Iran and the Indus Valley and Oman, not only corresponds well to the territorial claims of Naram-Sin (Chapter 1 part 4), but also demonstrates that the Akkadian Empire was indeed a historical reality and the world's first documented empire.\" \"The systematic destruction of city walls shows Akkadian determination to subjugate territory by removing a key symbol of social and political identity, not just to break resistance but to achieve imperial integration.\" \"As the Akkadians and their empire expanded, Akkad came to include the entire alluvial plain, along the Euphrates from a point north of Nippur to Sippar, where the alluvium begins, and along the Tigris at least as far as the Adheim River and perhaps further north.\" Liverani says Akkadian ruler Naram-Sin \"controlled the region of Elam, and not its broad confederation.\" The \"broad confederation\" would presumably include Marhashi. So although his military forces did conquer this region Akkad had no way to directly control it. So if it was ever part of an \"Empire\" it was through means of influence other than force (after the initial conquest and retreat). \"The kings of Awan continued to rule, and relations between Akkad and Awan (described in the inscriptions as subjugated by Akkad) are recorded on an Elamite treaty found at Susa. The agreement was between Naram-Sin and the king of Elam, who is recognised as a political and legal representative of Elam. However, it is true that, after these last attestations, the dynasty of Awan seems to have disappeared. Susa had an Akkadian official in power and Susiana began to be significantly influenced by Akkadian culture.\" second half third century, occupied Susiana. \"Despite the fact the Elamites had not been defeated for good, Rimush proclaimed that Enlil had given him 'all the land' (that is, the Mesopotamian alluvial plain) and 'all the mountains' (that is, the preriphery), from the Lower Sea to the Upper Sea.\""}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":20000,"to":40000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to Adams: \"For the Akkade period there are some curious findings. The villages become repopulated, most likely because of internal controls by means of a chain of police posts meant to guard the safety of the major trade routes. Yet in the south many larger cities dwindle or are abandoned outright (...)Umma, for instance, dwindled in area from more than 400 hectares to somewhere between 200 and 40 hectares, whole the substantial city of Umm-el-Aqarib to the south of it- possible ancient Kit-dingir-was totally abandoned.\" If we assume 50-200 inhabitants per hectare, then 200 inhabitants in a city of 40 ha is our lowest estimate for Umma, and 40,000 inhabitants for a city of 200 ha our highest. \"Map 1. Sumer and Akkad in the Akkadian period.\" names of cities in Sumer region, level with Agade \"location uncertain\" or below (i.e. Southeast toward Gulf): Eshnunna; Tutub; Sippar; Cutha; Mughan; Der; Babylon; Borsippa; Kish; Dilbat; Kazallu; Eresh; Marad; Nippur; Kesh; Tell el-Wilayah; Adab; Isin; Shuruppak; Zabala; Umma; Uruk; Larsa; Girsu; Lagash; Apishal; Mesag Estate; E-igi-il; Susa; Ur; Eridu. \"Adab was an Akkadian administrative center of major importance throughout the Akkadian period, perhaps one of the largest cities in the region, with extensive connections elsewhere (Map 2).\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital 2. Provincial capitalProvincial capitals built along international trade routes. \"Akkadian administrative centers and settlements have been identified in the Diyala region and Akkad, the Himrin Basin, Assyria, Sumer, southwestern Iran, and Syria.\" 3. Lesser administrative center\"Awal/Suleimeh was therefore a low-level center dedicated to revenue-gathering from the local population, rather than a seat for extensive local direct exploitation, as seen on the lower Diyala, in Babylonia, and in Sumer.\" 4. Village\"Passing through the region from city to city during the Akkadian period, one might have seen villages, towns, and manors surrounded by gardens, orchards, and fields, as well as considerable expanses of unihabited territory where nomadic people could move about freely and peaceably.\" 5. 1. City - c. 100 ha (e.g. Umma, Uruk)2. Large Town - 30 ha (Shuruppak, Adab)3. Town - 15 ha4. Village - 7 ha5. Hamlet - 2 ha"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King _Palatial government_ 2. Shaperum/majordomo\"The chief civil administrator was the shaperum, \"majordomo\" or \"steward of the royal household.\" No comparable office existed in Sumer, so the Akkaddian word and concept were borrowed into Sumerian at this time.\" 3. Land registrar\"A key civil figure after the steward of the royal household was the land registrar, the man accountable for the extensive arable districts controlled by the royal household and used to maintain officialdom.\" 4. Surveyor\"The record keeping for accountable land and the surveying of subdivisions and plots fell to the land registrar and his staff of scribes and surveyors.\" 4. Scribes 2. Royal inspector\"Akkadian administrators expected beautifully written, summary ledgers, with easy to read and understand broad schemes of accounting, to be filed in every locality, read for examination by the royal inspector ... One may suppose that this person was an independent auditor who went from place to place to ensure that the king's interests and rights were being maintained.\" _Provincial government_ 2. Governors (called ensi in Sumerian)3. Majordomo4. Bureau for the acquisition of oils and aromatics5. Assistant inferred 4. Skilled artisan5. Assistant 3. Bailiff4. Scribes 4. Foremen 4. Recruiting officer5. Village headmen Royal household. 1. Majordomo or shaperum \"an exalted, trusted personage who held executive responsibility for the king's resources in land and buildings, specie, livestock, and personnel\". 2. Courtiers \"prepared and served their food and drink, dressed and groomed them, readied and maintained their transport animals and wagons, entertained them, served as their messengers and couriers, and did their confidential divination and secretarial work.\" \"There are no signs of an advisory cabinet. 3. Other officials: \"the registrar of land, chief, and subordinate scribes\" - possibly responsible tothe majordomo. At Mugdan was \"the seat of a manor that dominated the local countryside. ... This manor belong to members of the royal faily or royal household ... managed by a governor (ensi). Other local officials included the shaperum (majordomi) and a captain in command of a detachment of soldiers stationed there.\" Akkadian Empire: \"It was an entity put together and maintained by force, with provinces administered by officials sent out from the capital in the heartland. This is precisely what we see in the Akkadian period.\" Administrative documents from Adab show one of the governor's tasks \"was the management of arable land. In this capacity, he received various letters and petitions\" such as requests for irrigated land. Palace at Eshnunna \"had a special bureau that maintained records for the acquisition and distribution of oils and aromatics\" -- at least two levels here \"the records from Eshnunna reveal a large and complex agricultural operation involving hundreds of hectares, teams of professional plowmen, hundreds of draught animals, and thousands of sheep and goats. ... perhaps under the control of an Akkadian governor, who may have been a member of the royal family.\" \"A key civil figure after the steward of the royal household was the land registrar, the man accountable for the extensive arable districts controlled by the royal household and used to maintain officialdom.\" local administrators: \"the bailiff, the scribes who measured parcels of land and houses,the men in charge of apportioning irrigation water, the foremen of teams of working men and women, the commander of the local military unit, the recruiting officer for military service and public works, the mayor or headman of the town or village.\" \"first the king's governors, whom he appointed and who served at his pleasure, being dignitaries of political, military, and economic importance; second, the heads of the ancient cult centers, which in Sumer particularly, controlled considerable arable land; and third the notables, who received from the king's land office fields for their own support and for distribution as patronage to others.\" Hence a Sumerian poet wrote: \"The governors of cities, the managers of temples. The scribes who parcelled out the farmland in the steppe.\" Governor of a city or city-state was called ensi in Sumerian. Sargon appointed Akkadians - people with \"willingness to leave their own city and community, to enter the king's service, and to depend upon him for preferment\" - as ensi where he conquered. Under Akkad the ensi in Sumer did the same job as before but they could no longer be called kings. Ensi city governors \"responsible for upholding security and law and order in their cities. Maintenance of roads, canals, and major buildings was another of their duties.\" in centre: \"unlike the following Ur III period, the ensi were not yet governors, but were still rulers dependent on Akkadian support and approval.\" in periphery: \"On a political level, it was too vast and varied, with urban centres located in the middle of steppes, mountains and other areas ... Therefore, Akkad's interest was mainly commercial. This interest was secured through treaties with states too strong to be subdued (such as in the case of Elam), or through the appointment of a local ensi (such as the sankanakku of Mari). Another possibility was the creation of Akkadian strongholds in foreign territories, such as Naram-Sin's palace at Naga (Tell-Brak). This was probably not the only palace built by Akkadian rulers, and was possibly the most suitable way to keep a vast commercial network under control.\" Rimash created a royal domain out of 134,000 hectares of agricultural land near Lagash and Umma in Sumer and distributed it among his retainers. These individuals had no ties to the city-states or temples of Sumer. Discussion on local assembly / village headman or mayor Local assembly known as the ukken (Sumerian) and puhrum (Akkadian) \"limited to free citizens chosen or elected. In principle, all of them could voice opinions, but in practice key decisions, such as declaration of war, were made by a subgroup of elders who appointed a war leader in time of threat.\" \"The assembly had control over local land resources through approving major real estate transactions. It could also set prices, fines, taxes, undertake public works and other communal actions, and administer property, which originally included the temple before it evolved as a separate great household. In addition, the assembly exercised general control over administrative and governmental activity on the local level.\" -- however, \"no direct evidence for such an assembly exists in Akkadian sources, even among the many legal documents for the period\". \"records refer to a 'mayor' (rabianum), perhaps a headman of a tribe or settlement, who mediated disputes, was responsible for dealing with crime, and recruited men for labor and military service. Others mention multiple \"elders,\" who carried out many of the same functions. Still others refer to the 'town' or 'city,' local notables who oversaw such matters as the conduct of business and commerce; this suggests the existence of a city corporation or government. ... For a village or rural area, a mayor or elders might have sufficed, whereas a larger agglomeration with a market and several local institutions might have had a 'town' or 'city' board.\" Existence of assembly inferred from later Sumerian fictional literature."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King \"The king was supreme commander, the general the top field officer.\" 2. ShakkanakkumGeneral - shakkanakkum. 3. General in charge of smaller army divisions ( shagina ) -- not mentioned by Foster (2016) > Ensi governor -- not mentioned by Foster (2016); note below > Captain of local detachment -- when not in the field are governors part of the chain of command? > Individual soldier 4. Nu-bandanu-banda. \"The next command in rank was the nu-banda.\" Battalion, probably had 600 men. Colonel or major - nubanda. 5. UgalaUgala lead smaller unit of about 60. Captain - ugala. 6. Individual soldier At Mugdan was \"the seat of a manor that dominated the local countryside. ... This manor belong to members of the royal faily or royal household ... managed by a governor (ensi). Other local officials included the shaperum (majordomi) and a captain in command of a detachment of soldiers stationed there.\" Records from Umma \"booty officer(?), the son of a governor in Syria (in training?), equerry, royal commissioner, door attendant, recruiter, courier, cupbearer, minister, quartermaster(?), saperum wuth his clerk, quartermaster of garments(?), physician, porters, constable, an officer in charge of putting identification marks on (captured?) goods (? saper ZAG.SUS), an ass herder, and an assortment of foreigners.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King Naram-Sin may have been a high priest at the Eulmash temple in Agade. 2. Priests and Priestesses of eight sanctuaries \"listed in Naram-Sin's inscription recording his deification\" \"Naram-sin placed three of his daughters in key cultic positions. One of them, Tutanabsham, became high priestess of Enlil at Nippur; so important was this event that a year was named after it, which states that she was chosen by divination. A second, Enmenanna, became high priestess of the moon-god at Ur, successor to her great-aunt Enheduanna. A third, Shumshani, became high priestess of the sun-god at Sippar. Since these three sanctuaries are among the eight listed in Naram-Sin's inscription recording his deification, it is tempting to speculate that progeny or close relatives of Naram-Sin may have served in the other five, creating a network of family alliances linking Naram-Sin with the gods.\" 3. Sanga (leading administrator subordinate to local governor)4. Lay personnel (Stewards, weavers, herdsmen etc.)5. Lay personnel 3. Lesser priest?4. Professional cult singers, dream interpreters, performers of rituals Temples usually largest building in a Sumerian city. \"organized as manors, with an enclosed central complex for religious rites, as well as ancillary buildings, including staff residences, barns, and storage buildings. The leading cultic figure was a high priest or priestess, and the leading administrator was the sanga. The sanga had previously overseen the temple lands, gardens, herds, flocks, and other resources, but now, in Sumer at least, he was subordinate to both the local governor and the representatives of the king's household. ... Temple personnel numbered in the hundreds. There were stewards, herdsmen, building attendants, weavers, cultivators, and boatmen,as well as laborers, some of whom were dedicated to temple service by their families. ... such professionals as cult singers, dream interpreters, and performers of rituals.\" tablets that refer to the administration of the temple of Tishpak tell of boys and girls entering temple service, girls who learn singing in the temple conservatory. \"Akkadian ruler's assumption of the right to appoint high priestesses and other key cultic personnel.\" In governor's records at Lagash reference to high priestess of Ilaba, \"one of the patron deities of Agade\", who held over 400 hectares of arable land, which was administered by the local governor.\" \"The ancient city-states were reorganized into provinces, and the ancient temples were now dependent on the Akkadian king for support, renovation, dedications and gifts.\" in centre: north/south religious split. \"The new deification of the king and the role of the goddess of Akkad, Ishtar, characterised the north. On the contrary, the south was still centred on the authority of city-gods and of the supreme Sumerian deity, Enlil, god of Nippur. The kings of Akkad paid considerable attention to Enlil and Nippur.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Professional scribes, land registrars etc."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"However, Akkadian ensi sometimes served as military commanders if called upon by the king."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Monetary system did not existed in the Akkadian Empire Period."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Monetary system did not existed in the Akkadian Empire Period."}]}},"Q624887":{"seshat":["Neo-Babylonian Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":750000,"to":850000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (1) Babylon(2) regional capitals and vassal Levantine city-states. e.g. Jerusalem(3) smaller cities.(4) towns.(5) villages"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Two notable fragments exist which give some information about the administrative levels across the Neo-Babylonian empire. They are the Etemenanki cylinder and the Istanbul prism fragment, both dated to the reign of Nebuchadrezzar. Most debate concerns the heirarchy of officials; in particular, whether those appointed by Babylon have higher status that the regional kings. Private ownership does not seem to have been prominent in the Neo-Babylonian period. Instead temples and palaces owned land. Private ownership was enabled by leasing large tenancies to individuals who could then lease out smaller plots. State administration, therefore, worked on multiple levels. Official administration levels (1) King of Babylonia(2) Governors(3) City officers/ Officials in marginal cities(4) Village Headman The Babylonian empire conquered an area with pre-existing structures, many of which continued alongside Babylonian administration, such as vassal Levantine kings and local nobles within Mesopotamia. The Levantine kings appear to owe allegiance to the Babylonian kings, for example they paid in material goods towards Nebuchadrezzar's building projects, but are largely self-controlled."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels.(1) king(2) cult leaders(3) priests (4) regional religious leaders"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Mesopotamians did not use coinage (invented in Asia Minor in the seventh century B.C.E.) but employed various commodities as media of exchange and measures of value: occasionally gold, copper, and tin, but most commonly silver and grain. The value of goods entrusted to merchants was reckoned in weights of silver or volumes of barley, as was that of the commodities that the merchants brought back from their expeditions. Silver rings, coils of silver wire that could easily be cut into pieces, and other small units (often of 5 shekels weight) were regularly used in transactions, the requisite quantity of silver being weighed out to make a purchase or pay for a service.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Mesopotamians did not use coinage (invented in Asia Minor in the seventh century B.C.E.) but employed various commodities as media of exchange and measures of value: occasionally gold, copper, and tin, but most commonly silver and grain. The value of goods entrusted to merchants was reckoned in weights of silver or volumes of barley, as was that of the commodities that the merchants brought back from their expeditions. Silver rings, coils of silver wire that could easily be cut into pieces, and other small units (often of 5 shekels weight) were regularly used in transactions, the requisite quantity of silver being weighed out to make a purchase or pay for a service.\""}]}},"Q12557":{"seshat":["Mongol Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":25221806,"to":25221806,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Empire at its largest extent."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1)Capital in Mongolia 2) Regional capitals e.g. of Persia or Korea 3) Cities 4) Towns 5) Villages The basic economic unit of Mongols was the nomadic camp [ ayil ], \"normally consisting of a single extended family with its own tent ( ger ) and herds\"."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. “Patrimonial in nature, Mongol administration grew out of the ruler’s household.” Positions in the household such as ‘cook’ (ba’urchi) actually responsible for testing for poisoning, provisioning for retainers.Mongke: central secretariat in Mongolia. Titles: ‘chief judge’ ‘chief scribe’. “Khubilai’s orders to rulers of Annam and Korea made clear that was expected from dependent rulers; they had to pay court in person, register their populations, raise militia units, establish postal relay stations, and have a Mongol resident to take charge of affairs. Tributary rulers also had to send sons or younger brothers as hostages - another way to expand the ruler’s household into a system of control for a complex empire” 1) Khan. The Khan had sovereign power over the empire. 2) Royal household, containing chamberlains, stewards, quiver bearers, doorkeepers, grooms. There was strong overlap with his body guard, in terms of personnel. Both came form his retinue of military commanders. They travelled wherever the Khan went. Also Chinggis Khan appointed a chief judge ( yeke jarghuchi ) \"to supervise and coordinate the activities of the recently expanded administrative system\" Allsen says that both the household and the guard came from the nokod - companions or warrior commanders. 3) Dependent and tributary rulers, e.g of Annam and Korea. 4) Darugha or darughaci - “all-purpose Mongol official in conquered territory\" or provincial governor. They oversaw census taking, tax collection, military recruitment. Initially came from the Khan's retinue of commanders. 5) Local administrators - There is evidence that the Mongols absorbed the existing bureaucrats and structures in areas they conquered such as Persia."}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Khan. Both the personal guard and the tribal soldiers owed allegiance to the Khan. 2) Khan’s personal guard, or kesigten . The were appointed initially from the Khan's retinue. Chingis raised their strength to 10,000 men. made up of kebte’ul (night guards), qorchin (day guards) and turgha’ud (bodyguards). \"it was also a sort of military school which allowed the Khan personally to test the future leaders of his military forces.\" 3) Commander - regular army, larger unit “Chinggis adopted the decimal system of organization … creating military units whose notional size ranged from ten to 10, 000 although the larger units were never fully up to strength.” 4) Commander - regular army, smaller unit “Chinggis adopted the decimal system of organization … creating military units whose notional size ranged from ten to 10, 000 although the larger units were never fully up to strength.” 5) Soldier. Those men who had to serve through tribal obligations [all males under 60 had to serve in the army if mobilised] or local auxiliary troop employed in particular campaigns."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Khan - He was \"declared to have a mandate from Möngke Tengri (Everlasting Heaven). 2) The chief shaman - The office of beki, the highest religious authority. Instructed ‘to ride on a white horse, wear white raiment’ and ‘choose a good year and moon’. 3) Shaman. Inferred from there being a chief shaman."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In Persia \"the Mongols increasingly entrusted the day-to-day administration of government to Persian bureaucrats\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"e.g. in the Khan's personal guard."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Taxation within the empire moved from payment in kind to payment to cash, this encouraged expansion of the coinage."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Through trade and through tribute, for example from the Seljuks who paid partly in cash."}]}},"Q620765":{"seshat":["Kingdom of Lydia"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":250000,"to":250000,"year_from":-600,"year_to":-600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers At peak eastern border was at the Halys River. Core area of Lydia Turkish province of Usak. Lydia was an Empire of c250,000 km2 by late 7th century."}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":6000,"to":24000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Miletus 6,000-24,000 at a Seshat standard estimate of 50-200 persons per hectare. Archaic Miletus, pre-494 BCE: \"implied intra muros area 120 ha\". Unlikely to be the capital, Sardis. At its \"heyday (150 BC - AD 250)\" something above 5000. How large were the Greek cities along the coast of Asia Minor?"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. A very rough estimate."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Was a neo-Hittite polity. Hittite New Kingdom had [4-5] levels and it is reasonable to suppose that the Lydian Empire had at least as many as this. The tributary Greek city states may have had a number of government levels. 1. King rulers ruled from a Palace/citadel above Sardis. ? Manager of a government mint ? Mint worker"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. No data. Lydia was a neo-Hittite state and the New Kingdom Hittites had [6-7] levels including at the lowest levels Officers of 10, Officers of 100 and leaders of brigades of 1000. If Lydia inherited a similar system then there would be at least 5 levels King100010010Individual soldier"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. No data. There were likely a number of religious levels in the temples. Have not read anything to suggest the king was the top priest (as in New Kingdom Hittite) but there are no literary records from this period and this might have been the case. However, since Lydia was a neo-Hittite state, it may be reasonable to code [3-4] based on the 4 levels coded for the New Kingdom Hittites. Croesus built the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Rulers were likely helped by full time administrators. Production of Lydian coinage must have required mints and implies existence of bureaucrats making and implementing technical decisions. Alliances such as against Assyrians implies couriers who delivered messages and diplomatic staff who helped compose them."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"\"When Alyattes, father of Croesus the king of Lydians, was campaigning against Caria, he instructed his generals to bring their forces to Sardis on a day which he appointed.\" Account by Nicolas of Damascus. \"The Bronze Age army was an army of specialists and corvee soldiers. The army of the Early Iron Age was a 'military population' charged with enthusiasm, guided by the decisions of kin-based groups united in council and not by impositions from the state administration. Moreover, this army chose its charismatic leaders, who would return to their previous occupation once the danger was overcome.\""},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"\"When Alyattes, father of Croesus the king of Lydians, was campaigning against Caria, he instructed his generals to bring their forces to Sardis on a day which he appointed.\" Account by Nicolas of Damascus. \"The Bronze Age army was an army of specialists and corvee soldiers. The army of the Early Iron Age was a 'military population' charged with enthusiasm, guided by the decisions of kin-based groups united in council and not by impositions from the state administration. Moreover, this army chose its charismatic leaders, who would return to their previous occupation once the danger was overcome.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Lydian coinage. \"True coins started to be minted with a decade or two on either side of 600 BC, by Lydia to judge by their emblem of lion's head and paws, the first known were found alongside stamped weights at Lydia's martime outlet of Ephesus, a city-state where Anatolian and Greek traditions mingled around a famous shrine to Artemis.\" Lydia was one of a number of small kingdoms in Anatolia. It was well positioned in the riverlands of western Anatolia and had a rich supply of electrum, the natural alloy of silver and gold. Lydia is thought to be the birthplace of coinage."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":-600,"year_to":-600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"By the early 6th century BC, the east Aegean Greek towns bordering Lydia were issuing their own mainly silver coins, as was maritime Aegina. City-states in southern Italy were soon active too, ad in the late 6th century some on Cyrpus and coastal, metal-rich Populonia in Etruria followed suit, the latter with large units rather than small change.\""}]}},"Q854468":{"seshat":["Mutapa"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":180000,"to":180000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. Researcher estimate figured from a general map of largest extent provided in Hannaford. Other, general and more qualitative estimates of Mutapan territory of-course do exist, including one placing the polity’s territory throughout the Mid-Zambezi area, encompassing the area of the Zambezi Valley from Tete to Victoria Falls, and the southern tributaries thereof. Note also that much of modern-day Mozambican territory theoretically Mutapan was inhabited, as sub-polities and/or disputed territories by the Portuguese colonial establishment for much of the 16th century. “…an area that was once the heartland of the Mutapa state (1450-1884)79 and a hub of trade and cultural exchange. The area is often described as the middle Zambezi River valley, which includes the area of the river valley near Tete, Mozambique up to Victoria Falls. The Mutapa state also encompassed the corresponding tributaries on the south bank of the Zambezi, such as the Mazowe River and its branches.” “For most of the sixteenth century, Portuguese jurisdiction and extra-territorial privileges were primarily restricted to the major entrepots of Sofala, Mozambique, Sena, and Tete, with all operations in south central Africa under the supervision of the captain of Mozambique. Upon his appointment by the Portuguese crown, the captain paid the Mwene Mutapa a fee of about 3000 crusados in cloth and beads. In return he received a monopoly… and the right to appoint the other Portuguese officials in the area. These were the captains of Sena, Tete, and of the inland markets such as Masapa, Luanze, and Bokoto….”"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":4000,"to":4000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. This is an approximate estimation for the general populations of the multiple zimbabwes known to have been the capitals of the Mutapa. “Portuguese sources refer to Mutapa royal capitals as Zimbabwe. These capitals had an approximate population of 4,000. Archaeological evidence locates most Zimbabwe on the plateau south of the escarpment before the mid-seventeenth century.”"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. (1) Munhumutapa, or ‘kings.’ (2) House Leaders. (3) Headmen. (4) Vanyai. This is somewhat of an attempt to codify the much more complex nyai system and the indications of the other sources into a clear political hierarchy – it’s a bit more complicated than this suggests, as discussed in the sources below. In reality the vanyai seem to have been similar to the feudal clients of headmen, who might become essentially ‘fief holders’ (to use European terms), later rising to become their own headmen with clients of their own. In addition, a line of descendants from the original king of the kingdom occupied major positions in the polity, and were the pool from which future kings were legally supposed to succeed to the rule of the kingdom. “Kings with the title of Munhumutapa ruled the state with the assistance of numerous officers and vassals. The Munhumutapa was a powerful political, economic and religious leader whose ancestors were important for the well-being of the state….” “Under the arrangements… wealthy men were able to offer their sisters and daughters as wives to young men in exchange for labour. The young men, in turn, established a dependent relationship with their hosts, expanding their activities to become henchmen, guards, errand runners [& etc.]…. When this arrangement was replicated more widely, it formed a hierarchy growing in scale from village to district to provincial level. Lancaster’s account of the origins of Nyai identity resembles a similar notion where the services of ‘young men known locally as vanyai or kotakota’ became critical…. As they grew older, the vanyai could have been entrusted with lands on the periphery of their patron’s territory so that they in turn became headmen and slowly established themselves as leaders of their own vanyai…. The Mutapa dynasty appears to have arisen out of the nyai process…. As the Mutapa’s influence spread, so did the structures of society that became modelled along the lines of feudal clientelism.” “In historical/archaeological Shona states such as Mutapa (Lan 1987; Pikirayi 1993) and Torwa (Beach 1994), political succession followed the system of ‘houses’, which were basically lineages that descended from the founders of specific political entities. Available historical information makes it explicit that, from the early sixteenth century onwards, Mutapa kings were selected from the descendants ofNyatsimba Mutota, the founder of the state (Lan 1987; Mudenge 1988). Nyatsimba Mutota had many sons, each of whom was given a district to rule in the state. The lineages of these sons, over time, became houses of power (dzimba dzoushe in Shona: see Chirikure et al. 2012), from which future kings, provincial and district leaders were and are still being drawn. Upon the death of the founder, political succession rotated around these ‘houses’, starting from that of the first son to that of the youngest.”"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Possibly present, as comments by Mazarire clearly imply a military organization of some kind – though not necessarily a fully specialized one. Comments from Portuguese primary records analysed by Livneh seem to more clearly imply specialization, but the European pre-conceptions of the Portuguese documents these perceptions are sourced from may be distorting the reality of the situation. “Mutapa Gatsi Rusere, who succeeded to the throne in 1586, suffered a number of setbacks, among them the Maravi invasions led by Kapambo and Chikanda. These had fuelled divisions in the Mutapa army and subsequently led to a revolt by its high-ranking staff, including the general, or mukomohasha.” “When the Mutapa planned a military expedition, the account goes, he gathered his ‘mutumbus’, who are like dukes, marquises and barons, for a war council. The European titles would denote control over land, and high standing. These, accompanied by the ‘priest’, Simboti (Cimbote), and ‘war counsellors’ decided on the plan of the coming war. Then it was delivered into the hands of the three ‘generals’, who were responsible for carrying out the decisions.”"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Sources note major trading and political relationships between Mutapa and the Portuguese, and these would produce at least some presence of Portuguese goods and currency within the Mutapa territory, most likely. “…the Portuguese invaded the Mutapa state with 1,000 soldiers under Francisco Barreto in 1568 in support of a rival claimant to the throne, Mamvura, who was then prevailed upon to sign treaties accepting vassalage to the Portuguese. Meanwhile, despite these upheavals, the Mutapa state continued to thrive and became the hub in the interior for trade with the Indian Ocean in silk, ceramics, silver, and glassware, among other imports, in exchange for gold, ivory, skins and local cloth known as Machira, woven from local cotton. The Portuguese maintained their presence in the state, benefitting from working with several puppet Mutapas and maintaining vibrant trading stations at Dambarare, Luanze, Massapa and other places.”"}]}},"Q171203":{"seshat":["Benin Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":18000,"to":18000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers. The following quote seems to refer to the Nigerian state known today as Edo; the number provided is roughly equivalent to its size. “Roughly coterminous with the present-day Benin Division of the Mid-West State of Nigeria, the Benin kingdom was the area in which the Oba’s writ ran most strongly and consistently. It was not a single administrative unit, and its boundaries cannot be precisely drawn.”"}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":15000,"to":80000,"year_from":1786,"year_to":1792,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. “The population of Benin Division, which we equate with the Benin kingdom, was reckoned at about 292,000 in the 1952 census. Some 54,000 of these lived in the capital, Benin City, and the rest in several hundred compact villages, ranging in size from less than 20 to (in one case only) more than 6,000 souls. The great majority of villages had populations of less than 1,000; 400 or 500 may be taken as typical. Before 1897 Benin City probably had less than half its 1952 population. Even so, its urban, metropolitan character contrasted sharply with the small scale of village society.” “Landolphe, who spent more time in Benin kingdom than any other chronicler, observed that the houses in Benin City were well-constructed, and that the population of that metropolis might be as much as eighty thousand. Adams, at approximately the same time, wrote of an irregularly built town of about fifteen thousand people.” NB Adams and Landolphe are referred to in the same text (p332), giving us a timeframe for these observations: “Captain Landolphe, who traded at Gwato and Arebo between 1769-1792, realized his greatest profits in the ivory trade, although he also earned much from the slave commerce. […] Captain John Adams, in his journey between 1786-1800, was the last chronicler to witness the existence of the slave trade in Benin proper.” “Jacolliot's estimate of Benin City's population, in 1879, was fifty thousand”. “Benin City, indeed, appears to have been depopulated from time to time, as Nyendael and King reported, during and immediately after periods of civil strife. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that Benin was ever a large town, and, in times of relative peace and stability, its population could be counted in five digits.”"},{"from":50000,"to":50000,"year_from":1879,"year_to":1879,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. “The population of Benin Division, which we equate with the Benin kingdom, was reckoned at about 292,000 in the 1952 census. Some 54,000 of these lived in the capital, Benin City, and the rest in several hundred compact villages, ranging in size from less than 20 to (in one case only) more than 6,000 souls. The great majority of villages had populations of less than 1,000; 400 or 500 may be taken as typical. Before 1897 Benin City probably had less than half its 1952 population. Even so, its urban, metropolitan character contrasted sharply with the small scale of village society.” “Landolphe, who spent more time in Benin kingdom than any other chronicler, observed that the houses in Benin City were well-constructed, and that the population of that metropolis might be as much as eighty thousand. Adams, at approximately the same time, wrote of an irregularly built town of about fifteen thousand people.” NB Adams and Landolphe are referred to in the same text (p332), giving us a timeframe for these observations: “Captain Landolphe, who traded at Gwato and Arebo between 1769-1792, realized his greatest profits in the ivory trade, although he also earned much from the slave commerce. […] Captain John Adams, in his journey between 1786-1800, was the last chronicler to witness the existence of the slave trade in Benin proper.” “Jacolliot's estimate of Benin City's population, in 1879, was fifty thousand”. “Benin City, indeed, appears to have been depopulated from time to time, as Nyendael and King reported, during and immediately after periods of civil strife. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that Benin was ever a large town, and, in times of relative peace and stability, its population could be counted in five digits.”"},{"from":27000,"to":27000,"year_from":1897,"year_to":1897,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. “The population of Benin Division, which we equate with the Benin kingdom, was reckoned at about 292,000 in the 1952 census. Some 54,000 of these lived in the capital, Benin City, and the rest in several hundred compact villages, ranging in size from less than 20 to (in one case only) more than 6,000 souls. The great majority of villages had populations of less than 1,000; 400 or 500 may be taken as typical. Before 1897 Benin City probably had less than half its 1952 population. Even so, its urban, metropolitan character contrasted sharply with the small scale of village society.” “Landolphe, who spent more time in Benin kingdom than any other chronicler, observed that the houses in Benin City were well-constructed, and that the population of that metropolis might be as much as eighty thousand. Adams, at approximately the same time, wrote of an irregularly built town of about fifteen thousand people.” NB Adams and Landolphe are referred to in the same text (p332), giving us a timeframe for these observations: “Captain Landolphe, who traded at Gwato and Arebo between 1769-1792, realized his greatest profits in the ivory trade, although he also earned much from the slave commerce. […] Captain John Adams, in his journey between 1786-1800, was the last chronicler to witness the existence of the slave trade in Benin proper.” “Jacolliot's estimate of Benin City's population, in 1879, was fifty thousand”. “Benin City, indeed, appears to have been depopulated from time to time, as Nyendael and King reported, during and immediately after periods of civil strife. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that Benin was ever a large town, and, in times of relative peace and stability, its population could be counted in five digits.”"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Capital/cities, 2) towns, 3) villages. “The great majority of its inhabitants spoke Edo, the language of Benin City, with negligible dialect variations, but there were Ibo settlements on the eastern borders, Itsekiri and Ijaw lining the rivers in the south-west, and Yoruba villages on the north-west”. “The village was made up of a number of households containing simple, compound and patrilineally extended families.” “For administrative purposes the Oba’s domains were divided not into major provinces but into a large number of tribute units—single villages, village groups, and chiefdoms. Most of these ‘fiefs’ (as for convenience sake we may call them) served the Oba through the agency of one of his appointed counsellors of the Palace or Town orders, but other fief-holders included the hereditary Uzama nobles, the Iyɔba (Oba’s mother), Edaikɛn (Oba’s heir), non-titled palace retainers, and, it is said, some of the Oba’s wives.” In Benin City: “Within the wall the town was divided into two unequal parts by a long, broad avenue running approximately north-west to south-east. This spatial division corresponded to a Palace/Town dichotomy of great political significance. Ogbe, the smaller area to the south-west, contained the Oba’s palace (Ɛguae-Ɔba) and the houses of most of his Palace Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n’Ogbe). In Orenokhua, to the north-east, lived the Town Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n'Ore) and here, too, were located most of the wards of occupational specialists.”"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":8,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Oba (king), 2) Uzama or Uzama Nihinron (nobles/Kingmakers’ Council), 3) Eghaɛbho n'Ore or Eghaevbo n/Ore (town chiefs; from mid-fifteenth century) & Eghaɛbho n’Ogbe (palace chiefs), 4) Iwebo, Iweguae and Ibiwe (palace associations under direct control of the palace chiefs), 5) otu (three associations of freeborn palace retainers), 6) fief-holders, 8) onogie/enegie (chief, with authority over several villages in a chiefdom, 8) ɔdiɔnwere (sole village head) & ediɔn (fellow village elders); in Benin City, ɔdiɔnwere/hereditary chief/appointed leader.There were several levels of chieftancy by the time Ovonramwen was Oba (ie end of Benin Kingdom) – see chart. Broadly split into Uzama, Town Chiefs and the Palace Associations. “In precolonial Benin the political structure consisted of a com plex system of nonhereditary and hereditary titleholders, who along with members of the royal family played a decisive role in the administration of the kingdom. The highest rank was held by the seven Uzama or kingmakers, whose origins go back to the first dynasty of Benin kings. Among the nonhereditary titleholders were representatives of the general population, led by four powerful town chiefs, each of whom headed a complex hierarchy of other officials. Under the king's direct control were three great palace organizations, Iwebo, Iweguae, and Ibiwe. These palace associa tions were led by three high-ranking palace chiefs who supervised hundreds of subordinate titles.” “This long distance trade was controlled by various trading associations, each operating in a different direction. The most important of these associations was called Ekhangbo (ekhan, traders; Agbo, forest). It monopolized the route from Benin to Akure, which was the main base for trade in the north-east Yoruba country. Ekhangbo, and similar associations operating towards the east and north-east, were controlled by title-holders and other prominent men from Benin City. The Oba of Benin is said to have been a member of all of them. It was in the interests of the traders to uphold the integrity of the Benin polity in order to ensure a state of security in which trade could flourish. Competition for power and prestige in the state itself provided a major incentive to engage in this trade.” Many of the administrative sections were designed to balance each other out, so it’s not a strictly hierarchical structure. “But the strength of the state lay also in the structure of its central institutions and in the balance between competing power groups.” “In the village the predominance of community over kin-group interests was maintained through a three-tier age-grade organization (Bradbury, 1957: 32). The oldest man, subject to ‘citizenship’ qualifications, was in most villages the sole village head (ɔdiɔnwere). He and his fellow elders (ediɔn) made policy, controlled access to village resources, kept order, settled disputes, and mediated with the central authority. The elders directed the warrior and executive grade of adult men (ighele) and the grade of youths (iroghae) which performed ‘public works’. Supernatural sanction for their authority came from their access to the spirits of past elders of the village (ediɔn-ɛbho) and from their collective superiority in magic.” “In many villages, however, the ɔdiɔnwere’s authority was shared with and limited by that of a chief (onogie) whose office descended by primogenitary succession. Most enigie were descended from the immediately junior brothers of past kings, but some claimed lines going back beyond the incorporation of their chiefdoms into the state; and a few were descended from non-royal appointees of the Oba. The chiefdom might consist of one or several villages. In the central area round the capital and in the territory to the west of it there were few enigie, and here each village dealt directly with the central authority through its ɔdiɔnwere, though it might combine with neighbouring villages for certain purposes. To the north and east a much larger proportion of the population was included in chiefdoms. The more remote they were from Benin, the larger the chiefdoms tended to be and the greater their internal autonomy. The more distant enigie might control up to a dozen or more villages, some of which themselves had hereditary enigie. The more important enigie conferred titles on their ‘palace’ officials and on their agents in the subordinate villages. They had rights to game and tribute and they held courts for the settlement of disputes between their subjects. Having some of the attributes of kingship, they were the focus of rituals patterned on, though less elaborate than, those which took place at the Oba’s palace.” “From the point of view of his ‘subjects’ the fief-holder was their official sponsor through whom they could communicate requests, complaints, and disputes to the Oba. […] It must be stressed that the fief-holders were not the sole channel of communication between the Oba and his subjects. Some enigie had the right of direct access to the king. In the more distant vassal chiefdoms the Oba stationed his own agents to watch over his interests and convey intelligence to him.” In Benin City: “Within the wall the town was divided into two unequal parts by a long, broad avenue running approximately north-west to south-east. This spatial division corresponded to a Palace/Town dichotomy of great political significance. Ogbe, the smaller area to the south-west, contained the Oba’s palace (Ɛguae-Ɔba) and the houses of most of his Palace Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n’Ogbe). In Orenokhua, to the north-east, lived the Town Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n'Ore) and here, too, were located most of the wards of occupational specialists. There were forty or fifty of these wards, occupied by groups having special skills or duties which they performed, full or part time, primarily for the Oba. Each ward had its internal political organization, based on the grading of its male members, and headed by an ɔdiɔnwere, an hereditary chief, or an appointed leader.” Just outside Benin City: “Idunbhun-Ihogbe, for example, contained one section of the Ihogbe, priests of the past kings and of the living Oba’s Head. In the same area were located the villages of six of the Seven Uzama (Uzama n’Ihinrɔn), hereditary nobles and ‘kingmakers’. The seventh Uzama was the Oba’s eldest son and heir, the Edaikɛn, whose court was at Uselu, just outside the second wall to the north-west. In fact, as we shall see, no Edaikɛn was installed during the nineteenth century. Uselu also housed the court of the Oba’s mother, who ranked with the Town Chiefs rather than the Uzama. // “The hereditary Uzama and the two groups of Eghaɛbho, whose titles were non-hereditary, constituted three great orders of chieftancy which, between them, were responsible for the continuity and government of the state.” Role and importance of the Uzama changed over time: “The Uzama had not always been set apart from the management of the state, if reliance can be placed on traditions of a prolonged struggle waged by the early kings to assert their supremacy over them. […] But it is likely that they refer, also, to an historical decline in the power of the Uzama correlated, the evidence suggests, with the rise of the Eghaɛbho orders; and with a shift towards a doctrine of automatic primogenitary succession to the kingship. The successful assertion, by the kings of Benin, of the right to assign major administrative and judicial functions to counsellors appointed by themselves gave them considerable power vis-à-vis the Uzama. The rule of primogeniture, though ineffective in eliminating succession strife, made the Uzama's role as kingmakers more ceremonial than political. They continued to receive the new king’s installation fees and to inaugurate his reign, but they had no more effective voice in determining his identity than did the Eghaɛbho.” “The main palace buildings comprised three major divisions—Iwebo, Iwɛguae, and Ibiwe. These were the names of three associations (otu) of freeborn retainers that administered the royal court and participated in the government. […] First in rank were the Iwebo, who had charge of the Oba’s state regalia, including his throne and his ceremonial wardrobe and accoutrements. Unwaguɛ, as head of Iwebo, was head of the palace organization. // “The Iwɛguae division contained the Oba’s private apartments. Its chiefs were his household officers, and his cooks and domestics were chosen from its lower ranks. It also included his pages (emada, lit. ‘swordbearers’), boys and young men who had been given to the Oba by their fathers and who were bound in absolute service to him until, well into manhood, he saw fit to give them wives and send them into the world as free men. […] They also helped him to maintain direct contact with his subjects by arranging private audiences for people who wanted to see him, thus by-passing the official channels of communication through the fief-holders. […] The Ibiwe were the keepers of the Oba’s wives and children. […] Apart from these retainer duties the palace associations performed important political functions, which may be summarized as follows: // “(1) They were institutions for recruiting and training personnel for specific administrative, judicial, and ceremonial tasks and for the general exercise of royal authority. // “(2) They were organized into an elaborate system of grades and hierarchies which served to channel competition for power. // “(3) They were a powerful instrument of centralization and a force for stability in the state.” “The Town Chiefs // “There were two main orders of chiefs associated with Orenokhua, the Eghaɛbho n'Ore and the Ibiwe Nekhua. According to tradition, the former order was constituted by the twelfth Oba, Ewuare, who included in it two already existing titles, lyase and Esɔgban, and two others, Esɔn and Osuma, of his own creation. By the 1890s there were thirteen titles, of which eight had been added by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century kings.” “A Benin writer has described the Iyasɛ, with some truth, as ‘the prime minister and the leader of the opposition’. When the Oba wished to propose a new law, prosecute a war, or take important administrative action he was bound to seek the advice and approval of the Uzama and his Town and Palace Chiefs. After meeting separately to formulate their views, the three orders assembled with the Oba in a full council of state. The sole right to argue with or censure the Oba in public was held to lie with Town Chiefs and, more especially, with the Iyasɛ. When one of them died, the Oba sent his men to claim his lower jaw, ‘the jaw he had used to dispute with the Oba’. This act symbolized the ultimate supremacy of the king over the Edo. // “Except in this last symbolic act, it was difficult for the Oba to impose his will on the Town Chiefs.” “It should already be clear that the Oba of Benin was neither a mere ritual figurehead nor a constitutional monarch, but a political king, actively engaged in competition for power. His main political weapon lay in his ability to manipulate the system of Palace and Town offices. By making appointments to vacant titles, creating new ones, transferring individuals from one order to another, introducing new men of wealth and influence into positions of power, and redistributing administrative competences, the kings tried to maintain a balance between competing groups and individuals.” “The succession at Benin had a complicated history, but by the nineteenth century the principle of primogeniture was firmly established. According to tradition, it had been introduced in Ewuakpe’s reign, in the early eighteenth century, with the purpose of avoiding succession conflict (Egharevba, 1960: 40). This aim was not achieved, for two of the last three successions before 1897 involved civil war, and in the third it was avoided only because one candidate had secured overwhelming support.” “The Eghaevbo n'Ore, which seems to have replaced the Uzama Nihinron as the most effective check on the Oba's political power, was created by Ewuare, before the coming of the Europeans. Since the senior members of the Eghaevbo n'Ore transacted \"most of the day-to-day administration of the kingdom\", these men were probably the \"fetish priests\" or the \"ju-ju men\" which so impressed European visitors from the time of Pereira to that of Gallwey. In other words, both human sacrifices and \"fetish priests\" existed in Benin prior to the beginnings of the European slave trade, and prior to the great military victories of Ozolua and Esigie” “The introduction of the Onojie (village chiefs) prior to c. 1320 established a new variable in the relationship between dominant and subordinate segments of the population. The hereditary Onojie system provided an outlet for unsuccessful candidates for the central throne. The Onojie were provided with rural fiefs which provided a basis for tributary support and greatly expanded the burden upon the village Otu productive capacity (Egharevba I960, 1-5; Egharevba 1956). The development of the Onojie system as an intermediate administrative level between the village Odionwere and the palace established an extended state nobility. Also, the Onojie could establish their own appointed bureaucracy which further expanded the pressures on the village Otu to provide surplus non-commercial support. Tribute was thereafter funnelled from the Odionwere to the Onojie and subsequently to the Ogiso. Although the development of the Onojie system of village administration relieved pressures in the capital, it also resulted in new pressures on Otu production.” Some administrative change around the 1320s (if we accept later dates for the start of the Benin Empire), but not sweeping ones. “The emergence of the second dynasty in c. 1320-1347 did not, initially at least, fundamentally alter the political, social, and / or economic balance in the state. The former Igodo dynasty was replaced by the Ewekpa monarchy, which retained the existing political and economic relations between the palace and village Otu. Oba (King) Ewekpa, in fact, established a mutually supportive relationship with the existing bureaucracy and nobility (Coquery-Vidrovitch 1976, 92). Ewekpa also appointed part of the nobility to the position of hereditary Kingmakers' Council (Uzama Nihinron) (Egharevba I960, 9; Bradbury 1973, 55-60). The Ewekpa dynasty lived in the Uzama palace and was apparently dependent upon the allegiance and redistributive tribute funnelled through the Odionwere and Onojie. In this situation, therefore, no effective change was imposed upon the village gerontocracies and no increase in tribute demanded. In other words, it seems to have been a dynastic change with little material effect upon the existing social and economic patterns in the state.” If we accept later dates for the start of the Benin Empire: “Prior to c. 1320-1347, for example, the Ogiso (king) maintained a restricted intercursive power relationship dependent upon the support of the Uzama and village Onojie and Odionwere.30 The relationship provided limited opportunity to expand exploitative demands on the village Otu without raising the protesting voice of the Onojie and Odionwere. The effective opposition of the Edion (elders), Odionwere (senior elders), Onojie (village chiefs), and Uzama Nihinron (Kingmakers' Council) could, theoretically at least, combine to prevent such an imposition. In fact, tradition recalls that the last Ogiso in the first dynasty was removed from office because he attempted to govern without the advice and consent of the councillors and advisors. Therefore, it is possible to suggest that the combined influence of the Odionwere, as the highest-ranking Otu representatives, the Onojie, as the recognised heads of the collective Odionwere, and the Uzama, as selected representatives of the Onojie acting as kingmakers, combined to form an influential and powerful segment of the society.// “After c. 1374-1401, however, the Ewekpa dynasty under Oba Ewedo managed to establish clearly-defined paramount authority and reduced the influence of the Odionwere, Onojie, and Uzama. The Oba retained ultimate control of state decision-making and initiatives for policy and, conversely, limited the authority of the other fractions and strata in the state hierarchy.”"}],"military_levels":[{"from":8,"to":8,"year_from":1440,"year_to":1800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1440CE–1600CE: 1) Oba, 2) Iyase (General Commander), 3) Ezomo, Edogun and Enogie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 4) Okakuo I (Metropolitan and Village regiments) and Ekegbian (Royal Regiment), 5) Okakuo II (Azukpogieva) (Metropolitan and Village regiments) and Iyoba Queen Mother’s Own Regiment (Royal Regiment), 6) Olotu Ivbiyokuo (Metropolitan and Village regiments), 7) Platoon commanders, 8) Iyokuo (The Warriors). 1600CE–1800CE: 1) Iyase (Commander-in-Chief, 2) Ezomo, 3) Ologbosere, Edogun and Enigie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 4) Imaran, Ekegbian and Okakuo I (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 5) Okakuo, Queen Mother’s own regiment and Okakuo II (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 6) Olotu (Metropolitan Regiment) and Olotu Iyokuo (Village Regiment), 7) Platoon commanders, 8) Ivbiyokuo (The Warriors). 1801CE–1897CE: 1) The War Council, 2) Iyase and Ezomo, 3) Edogun and Ologbosere, 4) Imaran, Ekegbian and Enigie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 5)Okakuo, Wueen Mother’s own regiment and Okakuo I (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 6) Olotu Iyokuo (Metropolitan Regiment) and Okakuo II (Village Regiment), 7) Olotu Iyokuo (Village Regiment), 8) Platoon commanders, 9) Ivbiyokuo (The Warriors). “The Ezɔmɔ’s position was unique. Though third in rank in its order, this was one of the great offices of state, and its holder most nearly approached kingly status. The wealth and prestige of successive Ezɔmɔ, remarked by many European visitors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was derived from their function as war captains, in which respect only the Iyasɛ equalled them. It was the Ezɔmɔ who took charge of most national campaigns, and their military activities enabled them to accumulate many slaves, subjects, and fiefs. However, this role had little to do with their Uzama status. They were directly responsible to the Oba, and there is no evidence that they regularly used their power in the interests of their order.”"},{"from":9,"to":9,"year_from":1801,"year_to":1897,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1440CE–1600CE: 1) Oba, 2) Iyase (General Commander), 3) Ezomo, Edogun and Enogie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 4) Okakuo I (Metropolitan and Village regiments) and Ekegbian (Royal Regiment), 5) Okakuo II (Azukpogieva) (Metropolitan and Village regiments) and Iyoba Queen Mother’s Own Regiment (Royal Regiment), 6) Olotu Ivbiyokuo (Metropolitan and Village regiments), 7) Platoon commanders, 8) Iyokuo (The Warriors). 1600CE–1800CE: 1) Iyase (Commander-in-Chief, 2) Ezomo, 3) Ologbosere, Edogun and Enigie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 4) Imaran, Ekegbian and Okakuo I (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 5) Okakuo, Queen Mother’s own regiment and Okakuo II (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 6) Olotu (Metropolitan Regiment) and Olotu Iyokuo (Village Regiment), 7) Platoon commanders, 8) Ivbiyokuo (The Warriors). 1801CE–1897CE: 1) The War Council, 2) Iyase and Ezomo, 3) Edogun and Ologbosere, 4) Imaran, Ekegbian and Enigie (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 5)Okakuo, Wueen Mother’s own regiment and Okakuo I (Metropolitan, Royal and Village regiments respectively), 6) Olotu Iyokuo (Metropolitan Regiment) and Okakuo II (Village Regiment), 7) Olotu Iyokuo (Village Regiment), 8) Platoon commanders, 9) Ivbiyokuo (The Warriors). “The Ezɔmɔ’s position was unique. Though third in rank in its order, this was one of the great offices of state, and its holder most nearly approached kingly status. The wealth and prestige of successive Ezɔmɔ, remarked by many European visitors in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was derived from their function as war captains, in which respect only the Iyasɛ equalled them. It was the Ezɔmɔ who took charge of most national campaigns, and their military activities enabled them to accumulate many slaves, subjects, and fiefs. However, this role had little to do with their Uzama status. They were directly responsible to the Oba, and there is no evidence that they regularly used their power in the interests of their order.”"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1) Oba, 2) Eghaevbo n'Ore, 3) priest of Okhuahie, 4) Ihogbe, 5) Odionwere. However, religion and state were very closely linked, so it’s likely there were many more levels not captured in the scholarship. It’s also unclear how strict and set this hierarchy was. “The Iwebo palace association is in charge of the regalia and belongings of the king. Many craft guilds are affiliated with this society and throughout Benin's history they have worked primarily for the king. They have been allowed to execute commissions for other clients only with his approval. Benin's bronze casters, ivory carvers, weavers, costume makers, and leather workers are some of the guilds controlled by the Iwebo. Leopard hunters (Fig. 13), royal drummers, hornblowers, executioners, astrologers, and high priests accorded with important ritual functions also belong to this palace association. The second palace society of the Iweguae is responsible for personal duties for the king. It comprises all the personal attendants to the Oba, such as his sword bearers and guards, but also diviners, healers, priests caring for his ancestor shrines, and other ritual specialists.” “The senior Igele only went to war in major conflict, leaving minor raids to the younger men. Above them come in some groups a rank called Igbama which are \"Junior Elders.\" ... These are the heads of families, seniors in the small divisions of the village, who have in some cases performed a promotion ceremony to free themselves from the obligations of communal labour, but who are not yet admitted to the full clan council. Finally come the Edion, the Elders, the grave and reverend seniors of the village, the repositories of customs, the village tribunal of justice, at the head of who is the Odionwere or senior Elder.... In most groups he is the administrative as well as religious head of the village.” “The Eghaevbo n'Ore, which seems to have replaced the Uzama Nihinron as the most effective check on the Oba's political power, was created by Ewuare, before the coming of the Europeans. Since the senior members of the Eghaevbo n'Ore transacted \"most of the day-to-day administration of the kingdom\", these men were probably the \"fetish priests\" or the \"ju-ju men\" which so impressed European visitors from the time of Pereira to that of Gallwey. In other words, both human sacrifices and \"fetish priests\" existed in Benin prior to the beginnings of the European slave trade, and prior to the great military victories of Ozolua and Esigie” Just outside Benin City: “Idunbhun-Ihogbe, for example, contained one section of the Ihogbe, priests of the past kings and of the living Oba’s Head. In the same area were located the villages of six of the Seven Uzama (Uzama n’Ihinrɔn), hereditary nobles and ‘kingmakers’. The seventh Uzama was the Oba’s eldest son and heir, the Edaikɛn, whose court was at Uselu, just outside the second wall to the north-west. In fact, as we shall see, no Edaikɛn was installed during the nineteenth century. Uselu also housed the court of the Oba’s mother, who ranked with the Town Chiefs rather than the Uzama. // “The hereditary Uzama and the two groups of Eghaɛbho, whose titles were non-hereditary, constituted three great orders of chieftancy which, between them, were responsible for the continuity and government of the state.” Nineteenth century: “The use of magical protection, albeit pre-scientific in Benin world view, was considered part of the preparations for war. Its psychological potency for the warriors explains why they had to seek the services of ‘traditional doctors’ before any campaign. The priest of Okhuahie was responsible for the state army. The Ewaise, a guild of ‘traditional doctors’ who controlled the shrine of Osun-okuo (war medicine) also played a prominent role.”"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“The Eghaevbo n’Ore constituted the civil authority of the state and the Eghaevbo n’Ogbe was the palace bureaucracy.” “During the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great (ca.1440-1473), the political, among other reforms which he introduced, transformed the character of the kingdom of Benin. The four central political institutions of the state were firmly established. These were the institutions of the Oba, the Uzama, the Eghaevbo n’Ore and Eghaevbo n’Ogbe that constituted the state council. The Eghaevbo n’Ore, that is, the Town Chiefs constituted the civil authority while the Eghaevbo n’Ogbe, the Palace Chiefs constituted the palace bureaucracy. The Uzama were the elders of the state (the Senate in contemporary parliament?) while the Oba was the king.”"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“Some enigie held official positions in the state military organization.” “Nor was there any concentration of military offices in oneorder. There were two alternative commands, one led by Ezɔmɔ (Uzama) assisted by Ologbose; the other by Iyasɛ with Edogun (Ibiwe Nekhua) as his second-in-command. Their warriors were recruited by the fief-holders on the Oba’s instructions.” Specifically taking about period 1440CE–1600CE: “Finally, the army high command was constituted by four officers: the Oba as Supreme Military Commander, Iyase as General Commander, Ezomo as Senior War Commander, and Edogun as a war chief and commander of the royal troops.” Specifically referring to 1801CE–1897CE period: “The top four military officers in Benin Army were the Iyase, the Ezomo, the Edogun and the Ologbosere. Three were all hereditary positions except the Iyase whose role in the state was first political.”"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The following quote suggests that the main form of currency was cowrie shells. “The reign of Oba Esigie witnessed the increasing monetisation of the enclave economy (cowries), and provided the opportunity for the development of \"institutionalized mechanisms of exploitation\" (Belasco 1980, 81-82). The palace control of cowries and the elite domination of commercial development in the administrative and economic enclaves provided the final element in the emergence of the dual economy. The capital and commercial centres had developed highly sophisticated and well-organised monetary exchange systems. However, the vassal villages in the empire remained relatively static, with little circulation of either commercial consumer goods or currency forms (cowries or manillas).”"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The following quote suggests that the main form of currency was cowrie shells. “The reign of Oba Esigie witnessed the increasing monetisation of the enclave economy (cowries), and provided the opportunity for the development of \"institutionalized mechanisms of exploitation\" (Belasco 1980, 81-82). The palace control of cowries and the elite domination of commercial development in the administrative and economic enclaves provided the final element in the emergence of the dual economy. The capital and commercial centres had developed highly sophisticated and well-organised monetary exchange systems. However, the vassal villages in the empire remained relatively static, with little circulation of either commercial consumer goods or currency forms (cowries or manillas).”"}]}},"Q4083686":{"seshat":["Bengal Sultanate"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":144000,"to":144000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":1350,"year_to":1350,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":150000,"to":150000,"year_from":1450,"year_to":1450,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null},{"from":200000,"to":200000,"year_from":1500,"year_to":1500,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_levels":[{"from":8,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"religious_levels":[{"from":1,"to":1,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q28411":{"seshat":["Avar Khaganate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":1200000,"to":1200000,"year_from":600,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"in squared kilometers This description of territorial area suggests a much more extensive area than typical maps of the Avar kingdom, including the 'Baltic Sea', making the estimate about 2,750,000 km2.\"At the end of the sixth century the domain of the Dacian Avars extended from the Volga River to the Baltic Sea, and they exacted enormous tribute from the Byzantine Empire. In 626 the Avars invaded Byzantine territory and lay siege to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. Although unsuccessful, they extended their dominion over the Bulgars and Slavs formerly controlled by Byzantium. To the west the Avars controlled the Hungarian Plain and moved into territory that formed part of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire.\" Most other maps do not include the Baltic Sea region. This map extends the eastern border only to the Don river. 1,200,000 km2.http://worldhistorymaps.info/images/East-Hem_600ad.jpg"},{"from":2750000,"to":2750000,"year_from":600,"year_to":600,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":"in squared kilometers This description of territorial area suggests a much more extensive area than typical maps of the Avar kingdom, including the 'Baltic Sea', making the estimate about 2,750,000 km2.\"At the end of the sixth century the domain of the Dacian Avars extended from the Volga River to the Baltic Sea, and they exacted enormous tribute from the Byzantine Empire. In 626 the Avars invaded Byzantine territory and lay siege to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. Although unsuccessful, they extended their dominion over the Bulgars and Slavs formerly controlled by Byzantium. To the west the Avars controlled the Hungarian Plain and moved into territory that formed part of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire.\" Most other maps do not include the Baltic Sea region. This map extends the eastern border only to the Don river. 1,200,000 km2.http://worldhistorymaps.info/images/East-Hem_600ad.jpg"}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital \"The Avars were centralized\". 2. Town \"They lived in networks of small settlements built close together.\" 3. Settlements"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King \"The Avars were centralized\". \"The Avars have left lots of grave goods, suggesting that they had an aristocracy\". \"Yet another reason for thinking that the leadership core of the European Avars was an element or remnant of the Rouran is the fact that the Avars are closely associated with the westward transmission of a number of items of military technology that had long been familiar in China and its adjacent steppe zone - but were unknown in the Mediterranean world, Europe, and the western steppe before the Avars' arrival in those parts.\" \"The Avars ruled over the indigenous, Romanized population of Pannonia and over such German peoples as the Gepids and Lombards, as well as Bulgars and Slavs, wherein, according to Tivader Vida, 'political power was unambiguously reserved for the Avar elite.' (Curta, 2008, p. 15).\" 2. Councillors Avar kaghan had councilors who could be Kutrighur in origin. 2. Officials \"the later Byzantine use of the same term (logades) to describe graded officials within the Avar Empire that succeeded the Huns\" 3. Lesser officials 2. Governors Avar governors. 2. Banates 3. Zupanik, leader of zupania - autonomous Slavic administrative unit \"According to Klaic ... zupanias were established as autonomous Slavic administrative units only where the Avars were in hegemony. Above them was banates, whose governor was of Avaric origin. We have no [sic] any data or sample case to help us imagine ethnic origin of zupans, but if the zupanias were organized according to any tribal criteria, Klaic would be exactly right. However, these were geographical units, whose governors might be both Avars and Slavs, preferably the former. ... Governor of zupa would be something like zupanik.\" \"The Avar power, having been in warfare with all surrounding states and nations for 250 years, seems to have lost its authority over bans and zupans of Bosnia, coincidedly with its weakening in the last decades, if not earlier. Sudden collapse of this state at the end of the 8th century left Bosnian begs with Avaric and Bulgaric origin stateless. According to N. Klaic, well before the Franks' coming and declining the Avar state, Bosnian begs were de facto independent.\" 4. Slavic tribal leader 3. Tribal leaders Avars themselves may have been made up of two tribes, the Var and Chunni, of the same origin and language as those who joined later who adopted the name 'Avars'. \"The ethnic composition of the Avar state was not homogenous. Bayan was followed by 10,000 Kutrighur warrior subjects already at the time of the conquest of Gepidia. In 568 he sent them to invade Dalmatia, arguing that casualties they may suffer while fighting against the Byzantines would not hurt the Avars themselves. A little later, fleeing from the Turk supremacy, 10,000 further warriors of the tribes Tarniakh, Kotzager (= ? Kutrighur) and perhaps Zabender (= ? Sabir) joined the Avars. It is probable, even if the sources do not say so explicitly, that these tribes joined the Avars in the Carpathian basin, and not on the Pontic steppe.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"The Avar kaghan had councilors. \"the later Byzantine use of the same term (logades) to describe graded officials within the Avar Empire that succeeded the Huns\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Byzantine gold coins have been found in some Avar burial assemblages."}]}},"Q219":{"seshat":["Bulgaria - Early"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":250000,"to":250000,"year_from":700,"year_to":700,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Map of state covering 681-720 CE (c250,000 km2 google area calculator), and territory acquired 720-830 CE (c580,000 km2 google area calculator - assuming no territory from earlier period was lost), and 830-850 CE. Expansion under Omurtag who \"established his influence, if not his sovereignty, over a vast territory stretching east from the Lower Tisza River in the southern fringes of the Carpathian basin to the Dniester River in the Black Sea steppes.\" \"we have little evidence relating to attempts at expansion in the Ukrainian steppe.\" An inscription shows they campaigned as far as the Dnieper River. Simeon the Great (r.893-927 CE) was emperor of both the Bulgarians and the Greeks. Expanded into Macedonia second quarter of the ninth century."},{"from":500000,"to":500000,"year_from":800,"year_to":800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers Map of state covering 681-720 CE (c250,000 km2 google area calculator), and territory acquired 720-830 CE (c580,000 km2 google area calculator - assuming no territory from earlier period was lost), and 830-850 CE. Expansion under Omurtag who \"established his influence, if not his sovereignty, over a vast territory stretching east from the Lower Tisza River in the southern fringes of the Carpathian basin to the Dniester River in the Black Sea steppes.\" \"we have little evidence relating to attempts at expansion in the Ukrainian steppe.\" An inscription shows they campaigned as far as the Dnieper River. Simeon the Great (r.893-927 CE) was emperor of both the Bulgarians and the Greeks. Expanded into Macedonia second quarter of the ninth century."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":1,"to":2,"year_from":681,"year_to":800,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital - perhaps not until after 800 CE 2. Town 3. Village? \"To Georgiev, Pliska was not the first capital of Bulgaria. Until the mid- or late eighth century, that role was played by the region of the ancient city of Marcianopolis (Devnia) or the Late Roman fortress near the modern village of Ezerovo\". Other scholars: \"the Bulgar rulers did not have any fixed residence, but travelled from one residence to another. Pliska became the main residence only in the early 800s, while a new and fixed residence was established ca. 893 in Preslav.\"."},{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":801,"year_to":864,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital - perhaps not until after 800 CE 2. Town 3. Village? \"To Georgiev, Pliska was not the first capital of Bulgaria. Until the mid- or late eighth century, that role was played by the region of the ancient city of Marcianopolis (Devnia) or the Late Roman fortress near the modern village of Ezerovo\". Other scholars: \"the Bulgar rulers did not have any fixed residence, but travelled from one residence to another. Pliska became the main residence only in the early 800s, while a new and fixed residence was established ca. 893 in Preslav.\"."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King \"Although the evidence eludes us, there can be no doubt that he also acquired the role of the supreme lawgiver. Omurtag could then convincingly present himself as the ultimate source of authority - political, religious and judicial - in the realm. None of his nobles held a position that even approached his\". Ruler transition not always father to son. Accord to John the Exarch, a Bulgarian writer and translator born in the mid-ninth century, succession could be lateral, older to younger brother, then sons of elder brother. \"there was a kind of noble class in Bulgaria that was perhaps divided into an inner circle around the Khan himself and his family and an outer circle including, for example, the holders of minor offices.\" 2. Kavhan Around 813 CE an inscription records \"the names and titles of the state and army's (saract) two chief officials, the kavhan and the ichurgu-boila\". 3. Administrators The Bulgarian \"state and church administrations were similar to those of the empire, as was the tax system\". \"literacy was central to Omurtag's regime, for recording and publicizing the services extracted from the nobility.\" After 880 CE: \"The new alphabet also facilitated the production of important secular texts such as a legal code, Zakon Sudnni Liudim; and without an alphabet it is difficult to imagine how the Bulgarian state could have carried out administration in the Slavo-Bulgarian language.\" 2. Provincial governors Omurtag places provincial governors in Pannonia. 2-3. Provincial level First half of the ninth century CE: \"The inventories record the highly complex organization of the Bulgar military, several of the titles of its officers, their responsibilities within the core area of the state and its 'outer' provinces, and the general division of two levels of authority exercised by the members of the upper social class of boilas and the lower nobility, the bagaines.\" 4. Clan leader. Clan was the basis of the social system."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. _Tangrism_ 1. King The Bulgarian king's leadership was \"divinely-sanctioned\". \"Although the evidence eludes us, there can be no doubt that he also acquired the role of the supreme lawgiver. Omurtag could then convincingly present himself as the ultimate source of authority - political, religious and judicial - in the realm. None of his nobles held a position that even approached his\". Omurtag \"actively promoted the cult of Tangra, with its close association with the ruling dynasty, into the official ideology of the Bulgar state.\" Construction of a building complex at Madara (2nd quarter of ninth century?) contains shrine and ruler's residence. Ceremonial sacrifices carried out here. \"It is certainly no mere coincidence that the title kana sybigi, emphasizing the notion of a 'mandate' granted to the khan by a divine entitity, becomes clearly visible during this period.\" In the Responsa \"the Pope indicates that the khan exercised priestly authority. Thus, in a time of drought he used to command his subjects to pray to summon the rain.\" Was this still true after the conversion to Christianity? 2. Priest? 3. ? _Shamanism_ Shamanism was \"also discernible in the khanate in the pre-conversion period.\" _Christian levels (next period)_1. King In the Responsa \"the Pope indicates that the khan exercised priestly authority. Thus, in a time of drought he used to command his subjects to pray to summon the rain.\" Was this still true after the conversion to Christianity? 1. Patriarch With Boris I's conversion \"Bulgaria was made part of the Byzantine church and was denied the right to have its own, Bulgarian, patriarch or to appoint its own bishops.\" Under Byzantine occupation from 1018 CE \"the Patriarchate, which during the period of the western Bulgarian Empire had had its seat successively at Vodena, Prespa, and finally at Ochrida, was reduced to the rank of an Archbishopric.\" 2. Bishops \"Under Boris I, the Bulgarians became Christians and the Ecumenical Patriarch agreed to allow an autonomous Bulgarian Archbishop at Pliska.\" Bishoprics. 3. Clergy \"the vast majority of the new clergy, especially its upper echelons, were Greek.\" \"Despite the fact that the Bulgars venerated numerous deities, the proto-bulgarian inscriptions, which express the official ideology of the state, refer explicitly to only one god ... This could suggest that the warrior aristocracy stood closer to henotheism, a term meaning belief in, and possible worship of, multiple gods, one of which is supreme. By failing to specify his name, the khans had evidently tried to make this god recognizable to many different peoples. Thus, for the Greek-speaking populations of the khanate, the anonymous god invoked in the title of the Bulgar ruler as the provider of his divine mandate ... is very likely to have been the Christian god. There is good reason to believe that in the mind of the khan and his nobles this god was Tangra. While originally this Turkic name designated the physical sky, Tangra/Tangri eventually emerged as a sky-god and supreme divine being of many Central and Inner Asian nomads. ... The qaghan was not merely a head of state but a divinely appointed ruler, whose heavenly status was especially emphasized in the Orkhon inscriptions. ... There are two direct references to Tangra as a Bulgar deity in the sources. One is found in an Ottoman manuscript where it is stated that the name of god in Bulgarian was 'Tangri' ... The other is in a badly-damaged inscription (carved on a marble column) which commemorates a sacrifice made by Omurtag 'to the god Tangra'... The inscription was found at the rocky cliff of Madara, a site that is commonly associated with the Tangra cult.\" \"the late eight/early ninth century marked the period of transition to henotheism and totemism (i.e. the existence of an intimate, 'mystical' relationship between a group or an individual and a natural object), both of which were incapable of furnishing a principle of spiritual (and political) unity, proved to be persistent and strong among the masses.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"Top officials may have been nobles who were also military commanders. Around 813 CE an inscription records \"the names and titles of the state and army's (saract) two chief officials, the kavhan and the ichurgu-boila\". \"Dukum was an experienced military military commander and administrator\". \"literacy was central to Omurtag's regime, for recording and publicizing the services extracted from the nobility.\""},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"Top officials may have been nobles who were also military commanders. Around 813 CE an inscription records \"the names and titles of the state and army's (saract) two chief officials, the kavhan and the ichurgu-boila\". \"Dukum was an experienced military military commander and administrator\". \"literacy was central to Omurtag's regime, for recording and publicizing the services extracted from the nobility.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"Top commanders appear to have been nobles who were also officials. Around 813 CE an inscription records \"the names and titles of the state and army's (saract) two chief officials, the kavhan and the ichurgu-boila\". \"Dukum was an experienced military military commander and administrator\". Khan was surrounded by a warrior aristocracy."},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":true,"disputed":false,"note":"Top commanders appear to have been nobles who were also officials. Around 813 CE an inscription records \"the names and titles of the state and army's (saract) two chief officials, the kavhan and the ichurgu-boila\". \"Dukum was an experienced military military commander and administrator\". Khan was surrounded by a warrior aristocracy."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"the kingdom used mainly Byzantine currency\"."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Communities of Byzantine captives \"established north of the Danube in the aftermath of Krum's campaigns in Thrace\" used Byzantine coins. \"the kingdom used mainly Byzantine currency\"."}]}},"Q179293":{"seshat":["Castile Kingdom"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. MonarchyRoyal AssemblyCuria/Corte(Representative Assembly)Town"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\" In 1163, (Fernando) acting as regent for his nephew Alfonso VIII and seeking allies in Castile, he reopened the mint in Palencia and armed its bishop’s right to half the mint revenue.\""}]}},"Q2086556":{"seshat":["Kakatiya Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":100000,"to":100000,"year_from":1200,"year_to":1200,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":83000,"to":83000,"year_from":1300,"year_to":1300,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"religious_levels":[{"from":0,"to":2,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. There are no official priestly hierarchies in Hinduism . However, several sources allude to the importance, at least for some branches of the religion, of the relationship between student and teacher or guru (e.g. ), which suggests that perhaps it would not be entirely inappropriate to say that there is indeed a Hindu religious hierarchy, and that it is composed of two levels."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q202687":{"seshat":["Songhai Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":250000,"to":300000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"largest_settlement":[{"from":15000,"to":15000,"year_from":1492,"year_to":1492,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King when the Zuwa dynasty was replaced in the mid-15th Century, the Songhay kings had the title \"sii (short for sonyi)\" kings called dias until c1335 CE. After that titles were sunni or shi. _Central court_ Central bureaucracy inferred not present because it was established by Askia Muhammad Toure at the beginning of the next Songhai period. However it is probable that there was a large court and institutions such as state farms (which was true for the subsequent Songhai period and may be inferred present for this one). \"The Songhay empire, like that of Mali before it thus involved a gigantic effort of state enterprise in production and trade as well as in military operations and civil government.\" 2. Head official of the court 3. Lesser official 4. Scribe 3. State farms manager (possibly 4. if responsible to an official from the court) State farms \"were spread right across the empire, to supply the government and the garrisons, but the largest concentration was still to be found in the well-watered inland delta\" - a lot of this grain went to the towns, desert caravans and salt mines. 4. Lower-level official _Provincial government_ 2. Governor army commander and provincial governor had dual powers? Askiya Muhammed Toure before his coup vs Sii Baru in 1493 CE was an army commander and provincial goveror. Sii Ali Beeri (or Sunni Ali) conquered \"neighboring chiefs and kings, took over their territories\" 3. District 4. Village \"Sudanic societies were built on small agricultural villages or herding communities, sometimes but not always integrated into larger tribal and linguistic groups.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":0,"to":0,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. After 1493 CE Askiya Muhammad Toure made Islam the official state religion\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"After 1493 CE Askiya Muhammad Toure \"supported by Mande clans ... created a standing army and a central bureaucracy.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":null},{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":true,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q1196201":{"seshat":["Tuyuhun"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"territory":[{"from":200000,"to":200000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers \"The Tuyuhun Khanate was situated in an area west of Tao He River (now Tao He River in Gansu Province), east of Bailan (now the area of Dulan and Barun, Qinghai Province), north of Gansong (now Songpan, Sichuan Province) and south of Qinghai Hu Lake (now Qinghai Hu Lake, Qinghai Province). It had an area of more than two hundred thousand square kilometers.\" \"The territory of administration of the Tu yu hun state reached an extension of about 3000 li east and west and more than a thousand li south and north. This corresponded to much of present-day Qing hai and the northwestern part of Si chuan.\" Based in Amdo Qinghau, the Tuyuhun \"at times extended its sphere of influence into eastern Turkestan and even Afghanistan.\""}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"The Tribe of Tuyuhun were a nomadic people. Although they had built cities, they did not live in houses in the cities. They lived in tents. They had the meat of the cattle they raised and cheese made from the milk of their cattle for food.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Initially the Tuyuhun was perhaps a more simple tribal state: \"established a tribal state around Lake Koko Nor in the present Qinghai province at the beginning of the fourth century\". This state presumably became stronger and more centralized with time. The Tuyuhun lived in felt tents and later in houses. \"Gradually they incorporated the local Tibeto-Burman Di and Qiang people.\" 1. Ruler \"The early history of the Tuyuhun is more reminiscent of a military operation, and although it seems to have introduced a new dynastic lineage and military elite into Amdo Qinghai it did not necessarily introduce a new ethnic group. In any case, it did not eradicate the earlier ethnic groups in the region, but only temporarily increased the local ethnic diversity.\" _Court government_ 2. Administrative departments inferred \"Their administration was based on the Chinese model and made use of Chinese writing.\" 3. The Tuyunhun economy was a mix of nomadism and agriculture \"and profitable commercial links with both the Chinese and with Central Asia.\" The latter implies tax on trade.\" The Tuyuhun \"relied on rich families and merchants to meet their financial needs\". 4. \"The migration took place a few decades after the fall of the Han dynasty of China (late third century AZ) from the context of the Xianbei tribes that later founded the Northern Wei state of the Tabgach (Tuoba). The development may have been conditioned by personal or tribal controversies; in any case, it did not involve a centrally controlled political expansion.\" \"The Tribe of Tuyuhun were a nomadic people. Although they had built cities, they did not live in houses in the cities. They lived in tents. They had the meat of the cattle they raised and cheese made from the milk of their cattle for food.\" After the Tang defeated the Tuyuhun in a battle the Tang army got \"tens of thousands of cattle.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Their administration was based on the Chinese model and made use of Chinese writing.\""}]}},"Q1137403":{"seshat":["Yue Kingdom"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":80000,"to":120000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers \"Yue kingdom ... located in what is today northern Zhejiang and southern Anhui Provinces\". \"The territory of Yue was located in the northern part of the modern province of Zhejiang, in the southern parts of the Hangzhou Bay.\""}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King \"the royal family of Yue fled to Fujian after their kingdom was annexed by the state of Chu in 306 BC.\" 2. Chieftain Some organization at the tribal level: \"The dynasty lived on in the person of Yao 搖, who was chieftain of the Min tribes of Yue 閩越 in the late 3rd century BCE.\" 3. 4."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Generic Baiyue reference: \"The earliest exposition of Chinese martial arts theory appears in the historical novel Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue (ca. 100 CE). A short passage describes the sword fighting skills of the Maiden of Yue, who was said to have been selected by the King of Yue (497-465 BCE) to train his army against the Kingdom of Wu. In the passage the Maiden of Yue describes the interaction of yin and yang, and of internal and external attributes, as being amoung the key principles of all hand-to-hand combat, and these ideas have continued to be central to martial arts practice in general down to the present day.\""}]}},"Q140446":{"seshat":["Zagwe"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"territory":[{"from":40000,"to":50000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"in squared kilometers \"Map 7: The Zagwe period.\" The shaded area is landlocked, bordered along the east by a mountain range, along the west by a river and ends in the north at about the modern Eritrean border. Approximates about 40,000-50,000 km2. Not a large territory. Controlled the capital Adefa (Roha) and the towns/cities Lasta, Angot and Tigra \"and perhaps some part of Begemder.\" Controlled highland regions of Eritrea, Amharaland, Bagemder and areas north of Lake Tana and northern Shewa."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":3,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. King \"the Zagwe seem to have followed the Agaw laws of inheritance, that implied a certain degree of matrilineality, with power passing to brothers and then to nephews of the king, and consequent terminological uncertainty.\" _Court government_ 2. \"The Amharic language developed as a court language during the Zagwe period. Several books were also translated into the Geez language. There are also Geez engravings in the walls of the churches of Lalibela.\" A fine inscribed metal processional cross and texts written by/for Zagwe kings \"are probably the earliest authentic feudal deeds transmitted to us. Although some survive only in copies, they attest to the existence of a sophisticated administration which demonstrates substantial continuity with the protocols known from Aksumite inscriptions.\" 3. 4. _Regional government_ 2. Chiefs \"Agaw local chiefs held key political and military positions\" within the former Aksum polity."}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. At least three possible more associated with Christian church.' 1. Priest king Historian Abu Salih (Abu I-Karim) said that the Zagwe claimed to be Israelites from the family of Moses and Aaron, that they possessed the Ark of the Covenant and were priests. 2. Bishops. 3. Other church positions."}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"A fine inscribed metal processional cross and texts written by/for Zagwe kings \"are probably the earliest authentic feudal deeds transmitted to us. Although some survive only in copies, they attest to the existence of a sophisticated administration which demonstrates substantial continuity with the protocols known from Aksumite inscriptions.\" \"Agaw local chiefs held key political and military positions\" within the former Aksum polity. \"The Amharic language developed as a court language during the Zagwe period. Several books were also translated into the Geez language. There are also Geez engravings in the walls of the churches of Lalibela.\" \"The Zagwe rulers gave continuity to Aksumite state structure, Christianity, and the use of the Geez language.\""}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Agaw local chiefs held key political and military positions\" within the former Aksum polity."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The Zagwe dynasty produced no coinage\"."}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q841364":{"seshat":["Ayutthaya"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"largest_settlement":[{"from":155000,"to":155000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. 1700 CE: 150,000. 1750 CE: 160,000."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. . 1. AyutthayaThe capital. 2. \"Great cities\" ( mahanakhon )Including \"the old northern cities\" and \"ports around the head of the gulf\". 3. Tributary centresFor example, \"the port cities down the peninsula which simultaneously looked southwards to the Malay world\", as well as urban centres in \"the interior states of Khmer, Lao, Lanna, and Shahn\". 4. VillagesInferred from the fact that most of the population would likely not have lived in cities (RA's guess)."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Ranks and titles were conferred on the bureaucratic and military nobility until the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, a rank and title usually being associated with an office. The chaophraya were highest on the list, the equivalents of cabinet ministers, generals, and the governors of the most important provincial cities. On a descending scale came phraya , phra , luang , and khun .\" Presumably the king should be added to this hierarchy--RA's guess. 1. King 2. Chaophraya 3. Phraya 4. Phra 5. Luang 6. Khun"}],"military_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"Ranks and titles were conferred on the bureaucratic and military nobility until the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, a rank and title usually being associated with an office. The chaophraya were highest on the list, the equivalents of cabinet ministers, generals, and the governors of the most important provincial cities. On a descending scale came phraya , phra , luang , and khun .\" 1. Chaophraya 2. Phraya 3. Phra 4. Luang 5. Khun"}],"religious_levels":[{"from":6,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Somdet Phra Sangharat (Supreme Patriarch) 2. Chao kana yai (Sangha general governors.There were three. 3. Phraracha kana\"[T]he heads of monks in the capital and important provinces\". 4. Phra khru\"The head monks of the lesser provinces\". 5. Abbots 6. Ordinary monks"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The administration was divided into four main sections. The first looked after the palace and capital including collecting rice from the royal land, guarding the royal person, keeping the peace, running the royal household, and adjudicating disputes in the capital and the core kingdom ( ratchathani ). The second looked after military affairs, and managed relations with the outlying great cities and tributary states. The third carried out royal trade, oversaw the foreign communities, and looked after the main treasury. The fourth contained the Brahmans who care of ritual, astrology, and record keeping\" ."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Contemporary European accounts also sometimes refer to what appear to be highly organized command hierarchies. The Siamese army command in the 1680s, for example, was described by Gervaise as consisting of a 'commander-in-chief, a deputy general, several captains with their lieutenants and some subalterns.' In actuality, members of the nobility through ad hoc appointments led Southeast Asian armies. These men were usually personal favorites of the ruler or one of his relatives, or were outlying lords obligated to bring local levies to participate in campaigns. One reason for this was the concern that otherwise a regular officer class on a permanent footing would become part of the court and ministerial politics that plagued early modern Southeast Asian states.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"According to a seventeenth-century Dutch source, \"The Siamese money is made of very fine silver, has the proper weight, is cast in round shape and is minted with the king's seal. The common people are very curious about such seals, so that one has great trouble in paying it out, for out of ten pieces they sometimes do not want to take a single one, not because the silver alloy is not good, but because the seal of the king is not according to the rule. There are three kinds of coins, namely ticals, maas, and foeanghs, which in Netherlands money are worth 30, 7 1/2, and 3 3/4 stuiver. Usually the Siamese make their accounts in catties of silver, each of which is worth 20 tayls of 6 guilders, or 48 reals of 50 stuiver each. Each tayl is worth 4 ticals, each tical 4 maas or 8 foeangs. Only these coins are used in trade and for payment.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Chinese sycee money, Japanese silver coins and even European and American money, were readily accepted for international trade\" . Admittedly it is not clear whether Van Dongen here is referring to both Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin, or only the latter."}]}},"Q130654":{"seshat":["Dutch Empire"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"largest_settlement":[{"from":200000,"to":240000,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inhabitants. Van Leeuwen and Oeppen estimate for the population of Amsterdam to have fluctuated between about 200,000 and 240,000 between 1680 and 1795 CE."}],"settlement_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels.1. The Hague (seat of central bureaucracy) :\"The Hague became the bureaucratic center\" :2. Amsterdam (wealthiest city) ::\"The power resources of Amsterdam were extensive, situated in the province of Holland that was, in turn, superior among the other northern Netherland provinces. However, Amsterdam was not the center of a kingdom, and the city itself actually held little institutional power within the Republic.\" \"When the interests of the various provinces conflicted, those of Holland and Amsterdam tended to prevail, provided they were in agreement.\" ::3. Dordrecht and Utrecht :::4. Leiden ::::\"The Republic became a state in which the bureaucratic center (The Hague) was different from the economic and financial center (Amsterdam). Nor did it coincide with a traditional center (Dordrecht or Utrecht), or with a cultural center (Leiden with the first university).\" ::::5. Other major cities (Rotterdam, Haarlem, Delft, Gouda) :::::\"Many of the provincial taxes came from the cities, and particularly from the \"traditional\" six large cities (Amsterdam, Leiden, Haarlem, Delft, Dordrecht, and Gouda) and from the rising Rotterdam and The Hague.\" :::::6. Towns (inferred) ::::::7. Villages (inferred) __colonial possessions__ :2. Major colonial centres (e.g. Batavia) ::\"The administration of the VOC in Asia was in the hands of the Governor-General in Batavia, who, together with a number of other high-ranking VOC officials, made up the Raad van Indië, also known as the Hoge Regering or High Government. Each of the members of this council had his own portfolio: bookkeeping, the law, military matters and shipping. [...] Apart from being the Company’s political and judicial headquarters, Batavia functioned as the main transshipment and repair workshop for shipping within Asia and for traffic with Europe.\" ::3. Lesser colonial centres (e.g. Dejima)"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":7,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels.1. States-General :2. Advisory body to the States-General ::\"The stadtholder, who originally deputised for the king, now became merely an elected provincial official. Except for the States-General, in which the representatives of the Provincial States met with one another at periodic intervals, and their advisory body, the State Council (Raad van State), the Republic of the United Netherlands had no central state institutions.\" ::3. Burgomasters :::\"The actual government of the Dutch cities was performed by two, three, or four burgomasters with seven or more aldermen, elected by the \"vroedschap,\" a council whose members were chosen for life by cooptation.\" :::4. Lesser administrative functionaries, e.g. tax collectors (inferred) __in the colonies__ :2. Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and West Indies Company (WIC) boards (e.g. Lords XVII) ::\"Initially, the VOC had no fewer than seventy-two directors, later reduced to sixty. The Amsterdam chamber had twenty directors, Zeeland had twelve and the other chambers each had seven. From among their number, twice or three times a year each chamber selected a number of representatives for the main board of the Company, the Heren XVII or the Lords XVII. This board met once a year, four consecutive years in Amsterdam and then two consecutive years in Zeeland. Amsterdam sent eight directors to these meetings, Zeeland sent four and the other chambers each sent one. Zeeland and the small chambers were each permitted in turn to send one extra representative. This arrangement shows that the VOC’s status as a centralised company was limited and that it was in principle an association of six local companies.\" ::3. Governor-Generals \"The administration of the VOC in Asia was in the hands of the Governor-General in Batavia, who, together with a number of other high-ranking VOC officials, made up the Raad van Indië, also known as the Hoge Regering or High Government. Each of the members of this council had his own portfolio: bookkeeping, the law, military matters and shipping. [...] [I]n practice, the High Government in Batavia operated autonomously and their actions were not always approved afterwards by the directors back home. [...] What was relevant for the VOC region was also applicable to the administration of the WIC settlements in Africa and the New World. Increasingly, the administration was made up of a director or governor, assisted by a number of senior Company officials. Important matters first had to be submitted to the Company directors, but in practice the director or governor had a lot of freedom to manoeuvre because applying for permission or approval from the Netherlands took several months and in many instances there was no time for this.\" :::4. Court of Justice ::::\"Apart from being home to the Governor-General and Council, Batavia was also the residence of the Court of Justice (Raad van Justitie). Although the president of the Court was also a member of the Council, all other members were appointed by the Lords XVII. The Court of Justice dealt with all civil and criminal cases involving the Company and its servants, including their families and slaves, as well as cases between Company people and free citizens or Asians. [...] The authority of the Court of Justice in Batavia covered the Company’s entire chartered territory. Cases that could not be resolved in the various local Courts of Justice were transferred to the Court of Justice in Batavia.\" ::::5. Local boards of aldermen :::::\"Non-Company issues fell under the responsibility of the local Board of Aldermen (Schepenbank).\" :::::6. Indigenous rulers ::::::\"Outside its capital, VOC workers were also needed to implement the Company’s plan to stimulate the production of coffee and sugar, which could not be supplied by the free market. The VOC did not cultivate the coffee plantations itself. It was unable to assemble enough free workers to grow coffee plants and was unwilling to buy slaves on a large scale for this purpose. Instead, the VOC managed to interest the Javanese ruling elites in and around Bandung in taking on the coffee bean cultivation.\" ::::::7. Assistant roles (inferred)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":15,"to":15,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"In January 1668 the States-General therefore asked the Council of State to formulate an opinion 'on the subject of [military] rank. [...] The Council of state recommended that the order of rank should be established as follows: 1. general or chief of the army; 2. field-marshal; 3. general of the cavalry and infantry; 4. general of the artillery; 5. lieutenant-generals of the cavalry and infantry; 6. sergeant-majors of he army; 7. commissaries-general of horse; 8. colonels of foot and of horse; 9. lieutenant-colonels of foot and of horse; 10. majors of foot and of horse; 11. rittmasters and captains; 12. captain-lieutenants (i.e. a lieutenant who takes charge of a company in the absence of the commander); 13. lieutenants; and 14. cornets and ensigns. [...] The States-General failed to heed the advice of the Council of State until almost three years later, when on 23 March 1761 the recommendations were adopted almost unamended. A transitional arrangement was struck to lessen the pain somewhat for the majors, rittmasters, lieutenants and cornets of the cavalry.\" NB Additional level corresponds to soldiers."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"absent","year_from":1648,"year_to":1672,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The government measures introduced in July 1673 meant that the company commanders were no longer forced to commit fraud in order to be able to maintain their units, as had been the case at the time of Maurits and Frederik Hendrik. The captains and rittmasters were transformed from suppliers and leaders of mercenaries into professional officers employed by the state.\""},{"value":"present","year_from":1673,"year_to":1795,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The government measures introduced in July 1673 meant that the company commanders were no longer forced to commit fraud in order to be able to maintain their units, as had been the case at the time of Maurits and Frederik Hendrik. The captains and rittmasters were transformed from suppliers and leaders of mercenaries into professional officers employed by the state.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"The country inherited the monetary system from the Burgundy–Habsburg administration in the Low Countries. The national parliament attempted to regulate the money circulation by supervising the minting of coins, by deciding which foreign coins were admitted in the country and by setting the rate at which the coins would circulate.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Implied by the following quote. \"The country inherited the monetary system from the Burgundy–Habsburg administration in the Low Countries. The national parliament attempted to regulate the money circulation by supervising the minting of coins, by deciding which foreign coins were admitted in the country and by setting the rate at which the coins would circulate.\""}]}},"Q157727":{"seshat":["Ifat Sultanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1.Capital :“With regard to the capital of Awfat, the exceptional character of this site, which delayed and staggered its discovery, lies in the association of three poles: the city proper, particularly vast, the citadel and the necropolis. The typological affinities between these three poles, their complementary functionality, finally the connections allowed by epigraphy, allows us to see a multipolar site. Its necropolis and its tombs now allow to affirm that this site was the seat of the Walasma dynasty between 1285 and 1376.” :2. Cities ::“This political and urban heart now appears to be made up of a string of cities located in the middle floor of the escarpment of the central high plateau of Ethiopia, a few tens of kilometres from the Christian territories of the time These Islamic sites, located a day’s walk from each other on a north-south axis, present urban features well marked in the topography, n the density and organization of the habitat, or in reservoir-type developments. Witnesses of the existence of organized communities, all these cities also yield a large mosque and neighbourhood mosques, as well as vast distinctly Muslim cemeteries.” ::3. Towns (inferred) :::4. Villages (inferred)"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“The ruins of Warq Amba, in Argobba, which undoubtedly witnessed the bitter struggles of Sayfa’Ar’ad and the princes we have just named against the Muslims of the southwest, lie a good day’s walk from Tschanno, to the right of the Awadi River; the debris of ancient buildings, with a necropolis, a mosque, a large reservoir for water, stretching for a length of almost two kilometres. Mr. Traversi, who discovered this ancient unknown dead city, saw there in the cemetery, the inscription of a sultan Ali, contemporary of Sayfa’Ar’ad; near the town in an antique vase shape, he found a small treasure of silver coins, but minted by Egyptian Sultans of the 13th and 14th centuries.”"}]}},"Q844910":{"seshat":["Pandya Dynasty"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Three levels specifically mentioned in the consulted sources. Towns and Hamlets inferred due to the presence of capital, cities and villages. :1. Capital : “The Pandya dynasty was centered in the city of Madurai on the extreme southern coast of India.” ::2. Cities :: “From 7th to the 13th century, their capital was Madurai. Other important cities in the kingdom were the port cities, Kanyakumari, Kottalam and Suchindram.” :::3. Towns (inferred) ::::4. Village :::: “The relief very likely represents a local legend associated with the village Govindaputtur on the northern bank of the river Kollidam (Coleroon) in Tamil Nadu. An ancient Saiva shrine, it was visited by Appar and Sambandar, two important Saiva saints who may have lived in the seventh century. Both recorded the local tradition of a cow attaining salvation at Govindaputtur by adorning the Sivalinga of the local temple known as Tiruvijayamangai.” :::::5. Hamlet (inferred)"}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":6,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Four levels specifically mentioned in the consulted sources. Officers and soldiers inferred due to the presence of defence minister, general, and the Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants) whose exact place in the hierarchy seems unclear. Possible that more levels were present. King seems likely to have been at the top of the hierarchy, based on comparison with other South Asian polities. :1. King “The first two rulers of the early medieval line were Kadungon (560-90) and his son Maravarman Avanishulamani (590-620). The latter is credited with ending Kalabhra rule in the area and reviving Pandya power.” ::2 Defence Minister :: “The Sivakasi copper plate inscription mentions the name of a minister who was also the secretary in charge of defence and foreign affairs.” :::3.Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants) ::: “Similarly, Srivaramanangalam copper plate grant of King Nedunjadiayan also mentions an official known as Gajaadhyaksha (overseer of elephants). Navy was an essential part of the military might of the Pandyas. Pandya kings made several naval campaigns against the kings of Ceylon.” ::::4. General :::: “His son Rajasimha formed an alliance with the Chalukyas and challenged the Pallava king Nandi Varman II. The later was under siege when one of the Pallava generals rescued him by killing the Pandya generals.” :::::5. Officers (inferred) ::::::6. Soldiers (inferred)"}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“Recently one gold coin was published as an issue of the early Pandyas. The coin has two fish on one side and the legend ‘Sri Varaguna’ingrantha characters on the other side. This is assigned to Varaguna II (862-880 AD).”"}]}},"Q307066":{"seshat":["Eastern Zhou"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"settlement_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Inferred from contemporary polities. 1. ruler2. chief officials (e.g. commandant)/Councilors; also in many states were elite troops under direct command of ruler 3. [Commandery Protector]NB: not sure if the Protectors were superior to the generals or on the same level (DH) 3. generals (jiang or jiang jun)4.“specialized officer corps” 5. Individual soldier"}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"uncoded","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"Unknown. \"The earliest minted form of currency was the bu, a coin cast of bronze in the form of a miniature double-pronged digging stick or hoe, complete with hollow socket. They are particularly densely concentrated in the vicinity of the Eastern Zhou capital of Luoyang and in the states of Han, Zhao, and Wei.\" Different states had different types/shapes of metal objects used as a store of wealth; unclear if used as medium of exchange. Han, Wei, Zhao used ‘coin’ shaped like spade; knife-shaped coin used in Qi, Yen, and Zhao; cowrie-shaped coin used Chu; circular coin with hole in Qin, Zhao, and Zhou Unclear if coinage was always monopoly of state, or produced by large merchant groups/families Wei: spade-shaped token. true coins not introduced until state of Qin in late third c bce (right after this period)"}]}},"Q1108445":{"seshat":["Kievan Rus"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"settlement_levels":[{"from":2,"to":3,"year_from":1000,"year_to":1000,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital town 2. Subordinate town 3. Village ? Russian annals mention 24 towns in the 9th and 10th centuries, 86 in the 11th century and 206 in the twelfth century."}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":5,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Prince \"Although the evidence is not completely conclusive ... there are strong indications that the contractual relationship between prince and people went back to the earliest times, when a Viking chief was invited to come and rule in Northern Russia and he settled in Novgorod. Rurik's successors moved their capital to Kiev, but at least in Novgorod the essential equality between the contractual partners remained a prominent feature all through the history of Novgorods independence.\" 2. Druzhina 2. Lieutenant (posadnik) \"During the prince's absence his responsibilities could be entrusted by him to a lieutenant, the posadnik. This official is mentioned once in the Expanded Pravda (art. 114)\". Town officials. The posadnik (lieutenant) was head of local government in the prince's absence. Posadniki mentioned \"as early as in 977\" CE. Decimal system used. \"desiatskie, sotskie and tysiatskie (Latin: decanus, centenarius, millenarius) ... Pavlov-Sil'vanskii ... regarded the decimal system of the organization of Kievan society as an ancient remnant of a system common to several other Aryan (Indo-European) peoples.\" 3. desiatskie ? 4. sotskie ? 5. tysiatskie ? 'thousandmen' (tysiatskie) involved in town government. this first appeared 1089 CE. 'hundredmen' (sotskie) and 'tenmen' (desiatski) probably also \"involved within a hierarchical structure.\" Kievan Rus was ruled by a Grand Prince who ruled over smaller territories of 'local princes' and boyars who were landowning nobles. Towns were governed by a veche, or assembly. \"During the early Kievan period the prince and his entourage (druzhina) constituted a separate element in the political make-up of the principality, against which the general assembly of the people formed the main counterweight.\" \"The boundaries of the federation were uncertain, and its internal politics were riven by ceaseless discord. At first, no principle of succession to the thrones of Kiev and the other cities seems to have been established, and rival claimants to the thrones were a chief cause of domestic unrest and civil strife.\" \"Most authors assume that the veche of the Kievan era grew out of the tribal or popular assemblies of the Eastern Slavs of the preceding centuries. ... Common sense seems to support this position, but ... the evidence is not abundant.\" \"There is ample evidence that veche meetings took place in Kiev, Novgorod and most of the other principal cities during the 11th and 12th centuries. The situation is much less clear in respect of the 10th and the first half of the 11th centuries.\" \"The modest amount of evidence from the earliest period offered by the chronicles and other sources, suggests the following. Town veches may have had different origins, depending on the origin of the town itself. The town as a gradually urbanized tribal centre may have been the dominant type, but in Kievan times this type was merging or had already merged with other types of towns (such as those which were specifically founded as military or administrative centres, or which originated as multi-ethnic trading centres). The subsequent fate of the veche, the urban assembly, depended on a variety of factors, such as the power of the local prince, the town's standing in the region (regional capital or not), the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the area, the general cultural level, etc. Accordingly, the veche could atrophy, or it could become the dominant political agent; it could be an infrequent occurrence, or a regular event.\""}],"religious_levels":[{"from":3,"to":4,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Bishop Capital town had a bishop (only open to monks), who had an \"entourage.\" 2. Priest Priests 3. Deacons 4. Towns had priests and deacons. Woman who prepares the Eucharist bread. Healer Hospitals Hostels Refuges for wayfarers. \"In 988, Vladimir the Great adopted Orthodox Christianity, and proceeded to have baptized the entire population.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"before sending a baliliff to a foreign merchant the claimant must submit the case to the alderman of the foreign merchants' guild ... a foreign merchant with a claim against a local resident must seek the aid of a local official (the bailiff, detskii, or the tiun ...); in cases between a foreign and a local merchant, the court will apply the lex loc ...\" Tenth century Smolensk Pravda.\" 15th century so after this period: \"The expansion in economic activity led to the increased use of money in every day life. Government officials who formerly had been paid in kind were now put on money salaries, more and more of the taxes were collected in cash, and, most important, many of the peasants' obligations to their seigniors were converted into money payments, especially in the regions where trade was most active.\" The veche had a chairman which could be a bishop, usually as mediator, occasionally the prince if the discussion wasn't about relations between him and the populace. Decisions by consensus."}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"In the pre-Kievan era cattle and furs had served as mediums of exchange and foreign coins had also been used. In the Kievan centuries metallic money came into general use. Coins were minted from the first half of the eleventh century on into the first quarter of the next century. Small silver bars were also used, and foreign coins had wide circulation.\""}]}},"Q160440":{"seshat":["Crimean Khanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"settlement_levels":[{"from":3,"to":3,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. 1. Capital \"Haji Girei established his capital at Bakhchisarai on the Crimean peninsula\". 2. Town \"A smaller Tatar population sedentarized in the towns and villages of the Crimean peninsula. Large numbers of Genoese, Greeks, Armenians, Georgians, and Karaim Jews resided in the largest Crimean towns (Kaffa, Evpatoriya, Azov)\". 3. Village"}],"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":5,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. \"the khanate's governmental structures and institutions often followed the Ottoman model.\" 1. Khan \"Haji Girei established his capital at Bakhchisarai on the Crimean peninsula but continued to lay claim to the title of 'Great Khan of the Great Horde, of the Crimean Throne, and of the Kipchak Steppe,' thereby asserting his sovereignty over the Pontic steppe and the forest-steppe from Moldavia to the Volga and as far north as Seversk and the upper Don.\" 1. Kurultay Tribal council? \"the Tatar tribes, who chose the khans in the kurultay and constantly forced them to negotiate their policies.\" _Court government_ 2. Treasury \"A smaller Tatar population sedentarized in the towns and villages of the Crimean peninsula. Large numbers of Genoese, Greeks, Armenians, Georgians, and Karaim Jews resided in the largest Crimean towns (Kaffa, Evpatoriya, Azov) as subject millets and paid the cizzje capitation tax into the khan's treasury; taxes and duties on their trade yielded even greater revenue.\" 3. 4. 5. 2. \"the Crimean Khanate ... was transformed by the incorporation of forms of political and social organization borrowed from the Ottomans. Tatar customary law (yasa, tore), for instance, coexisted with sharia law and Ottoman state law (kanun), while the khanate's governmental structures and institutions often followed the Ottoman model. Ottoman central government of this era had a grand vizier, chancellor, land registry official, treasurers, and many sub-clerks. _Provincial government_ 2. Beys If as Ottoman, a provincial ruler. 2?. Mirzas does this mean prince? \"Over time the weakening of the khans' authority over their beys and mirzas encouraged the growth of a separatist spirit in the khanate.\" 2. Rulers of four clans \"The four clans who had invited him [first khan Haji Girei] to rule over them nomadized across the southern edge of the steppe, just above Perekop and the Black Sea and Azov coasts. By the end of the century there were about 200,000 souls in their domains (ulusy), rising to 500,000 by 1550.\" The Khans recruited \"the support of the Shirin clan, whose bey held the rights to a share of Kaffa's tolls, and by pitting the Shinins, the khan Haji Girei, and the Genoese against each other. Khan Mengli Girei was spared his life and restored to the throne after pledging vassalage to the sultan.\" 3. (Sub-) Tribal leaders \"Among the khanate's most interesting characteristics is its peculiar political organization. As heir to the empire of the 'greatest ruler of the East,' Genghis Khan, the Crimean Khanate retained steppe institutions and practices throughout its existence. In particular, the khans' political authority was limited by the most powerful elements in society, the Tatar tribes, who chose the khans in the kurultay and constantly forced them to negotiate their policies.\""}],"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"the Crimean Khanate ... was transformed by the incorporation of forms of political and social organization borrowed from the Ottomans. Tatar customary law (yasa, tore), for instance, coexisted with sharia law and Ottoman state law (kanun), while the khanate's governmental structures and institutions often followed the Ottoman model. Ottoman central government of this era had a grand vizier, chancellor, land registry official, treasurers, and many sub-clerks."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"In 1484 Khan Mengli Girei \"led Crimean Tatar forces in their first joint operation with and Ottoman army - to retake the fortresses of Kilia and Akkerman from the Moldavians.\""}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"the khan remained sovereign over his own domains, minting his own coins, and collecting his own tribute from the Poles, Muscovites, and other nomadic peoples of the Kipchak steppe.\""}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q2365048":{"seshat":["Adal Sultanate"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"administrative_levels":[{"from":4,"to":7,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Four known levels, but might be more. Needs confirmation by an expertKing “It appears that at that stage there were two contending political factions in Adal, with different views about relations with Christian Ethiopia. The Walasma king Muhammad (c. 1488-1518) led the moderate party, which apparently favoured a policy of coexistence. This was strongly opposed by the militant group led by his general, Mahfūz, who preferred to continue the old tradition of conflict, and who actually aimed at the effective restoration of Muslim control over the eastern frontier provinces of Ifat, Fetegar, Dawaro, and Bali.” General/imām/amīr/garad “ Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr, and garad.” Governors “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.” Chiefs “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.”"}],"military_levels":[{"from":5,"to":8,"year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"levels. Five known levels, but might be more. Needs confirmation by an expert King - “It appears that at that stage there were two contending political factions in Adal, with different views about relations with Christian Ethiopia. The Walasma king Muhammad (c. 1488-1518) led the moderate party, which apparently favoured a policy of coexistence. This was strongly opposed by the militant group led by his general, Mahfūz, who preferred to continue the old tradition of conflict, and who actually aimed at the effective restoration of Muslim control over the eastern frontier provinces of Ifat, Fetegar, Dawaro, and Bali.” General/imām/amīr/garad - “ Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr, and garad.” Cavalry - “Reference has already been made to the campaigns of Fanu’el in Adal which ended up in the Christian army’s being routed by the followers of Garad Abun, among whom Ahmad was still a junior cavalry officer.” Knights - “Among the defiant troops who fought against Abū Bakr, there was a young man, Ahmad Ibrāhīm al Ghāzī, who was originally a knight in the service of Garad Abun.” Army Soldiers - “There seems to be no doubt now that the new Walasma rulers of the Harar plateau began to annex extensive Somali tribal areas to the east and south-east. The Somali interior of the Horn was used by them as an inexhaustible source of manpower for their growing army, which was always kept active in the perennial frontier clashes with the Christian empire.”"}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr and garad.”"}]}},"Q849623":{"seshat":["Oyo"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"bureaucrats":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Contexts that could shed light on the dynamics of social structure and hierarchies in the metropolis, such as the royal burial site of Oyo monarchs and the residences of the elite population, have not been investigated. The mapping of the palace structures has not been followed by systematic excavations (Soper, 1992); and questions of the economy, military system, and ideology of the empire have not been addressed archaeologically, although their general patterns are known from historical studies (e.g, Johnson, 1921; Law, 1977).\" Regarding this period, however, one of the historical studies mentioned in this quote also notes: \"Of the earliestperiod of Oyo history, before the sixteenth century, very little is known.\" Law does not then go on to provide specific information directly relevant to this variable."}],"military_officers":[{"value":"unknown","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"\"Contexts that could shed light on the dynamics of social structure and hierarchies in the metropolis, such as the royal burial site of Oyo monarchs and the residences of the elite population, have not been investigated. The mapping of the palace structures has not been followed by systematic excavations (Soper, 1992); and questions of the economy, military system, and ideology of the empire have not been addressed archaeologically, although their general patterns are known from historical studies (e.g, Johnson, 1921; Law, 1977).\" Regarding this period, however, one of the historical studies mentioned in this quote also notes: \"Of the earliestperiod of Oyo history, before the sixteenth century, very little is known.\" Law does not then go on to provide specific information directly relevant to this variable."}]}},"Q217196":{"seshat":["Crown of Castile"],"tier":"exact","vars":{"bureaucrats":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"military_officers":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}],"coins_indigenous":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“In León, Alfonso VI (1065–1109) initiated the kingdom’s rst large-scale denarial coinage probably a er his conquest of Toledo in 1085.”"}],"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":null}]}},"Q791787":{"seshat":["Early Sultanate of Aussa"],"tier":"loose","vars":{"coins_foreign":[{"value":"present","year_from":null,"year_to":null,"uncertain":false,"disputed":false,"note":"“The Maria Theresa dollar, known as the thaler in Austria, was first minted in Vienna in 1751 and named after the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. It was 80 percent pure silver. In the late 18th century, Arab traders probably introduced the Maria Theresa thaler to Ethiopia and, by the mid-19th century it had become the most widely acceptable form of currency. Before 1935, the coinage of Menelik II and Halie Selassie failed to dislodge the thaler. During the Italian-Ethiopian War (1935-1936), there were some 50 million thalers in circulation."}]}}}}