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Seshat: Global History Databank

✓ the most current and comprehensive body of knowledge about human history
✓ collects what is currently known about the social and political organization of human societies over time
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✓ founded in 2011 and thriving ever since

Seshat

General Variables

26

variables

in categories: Identity and Location, Temporal Bounds, Language, Religion, Supra-cultural relations
8849

datapoints

Alternative Name (Identity and Location)

Polity Peak Years (Temporal Bounds)

Polity Capital (Identity and Location)

Polity Language (Language)

Polity Religion (Religion)

Degree of Centralization (Temporal Bounds)

Succeeding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

Relationship to Preceding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

and 18 more... for 529 Polities

Social Complexity Variables

77

variables

in categories: Social Scale, Hierarchical Complexity, Professions, Bureaucracy Characteristics, Law, Specialized Buildings: polity owned, Transport Infrastructure, Special-purpose Sites, Information
20458

datapoints

Polity Territory (Social Scale)

Polity Population (Social Scale)

Settlement Hierarchy (Hierarchical Complexity)

Irrigation System (Specialized Buildings: polity owned)

Merit Promotion (Bureaucracy Characteristics)

Formal Legal Code (Law)

Road (Transport Infrastructure)

Postal Station (Information / Postal System)

and 69 more... for 506 Polities

Warfare Variables

49

variables

in categories: Fortifications, Military use of Metals, Projectiles, Handheld weapons, Animals used in warfare, Armor, Naval technology
17527

datapoints

Bronze (Military use of Metals)

Javelin (Projectiles)

Battle Axe (Handheld Weapons)

Sword (Handheld Weapons)

Horse (Animals used in warfare)

Small Vessels (canoes, etc) (Naval technology)

Shield (Armor)

Wooden Palisade (Fortifications)

and 41 more... for 373 Polities

Human Sacrifice

The deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
357

datapoints

was Absent: 248 BCE 130 BCE in Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

was Absent: 632 CE 661 CE in Yemen Hijaz

was Absent: 1069 BCE 761 BCE in Egypt - Thebes-Libyan Period

was Absent: 312 BCE 63 BCE in Seleucids

was Present: 3300 BCE 3101 BCE in Egypt - Dynasty 0

was Present: 2900 BCE 2687 BCE in Egypt - Dynasty II

was Absent: 750 CE 946 CE in Abbasid Caliphate I

was Present: 2250 BCE 2113 BCE in Akkadian Empire

and 349 more... coded for 323 Polities

CrisisDB

Power Transitions

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
OT Overturn
PA Predecessor Assassination
IE Intra-Elite
MR Military Revolt
PU Popular Uprising
SR Separatist Rebellion
EV External Invasion
EF External Inteference
3449

transitions

1041 CE 1044 CE in Hungary Kingdom - Árpád Dynasty: Samuel Aba Peter (Second Reign) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1520 CE 1566 CE in Ottoman Empire II: Suleyman I, the Magnificent Selim II, the Sot OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1817 CE 1818 CE in Imamate of Futa Toro: Mamadu Mamudu An Yusuf

411 CE 456 CE in Early Classic Tikal: Siyaj Chan K'awiil II ("Stormy Sky II") K'an Chitam ("Kan Boar") OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

584 CE 629 CE in Middle Merovingian: Chlothar II Dagobert I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1088 CE 1099 CE in Rome - Republic of St Peter II: Urban II (Odo of Lagery) Paschal II (Rainerius of Bieda) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1711 CE 1716 CE in Ethiopia Kingdom II: Yostos Dawit III OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

242 CE 270 CE in Sasanid Empire I: Shapur I Hormizd I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

and 3441 more... coded for 259 Polities

Crisis Consequences

Crisis periods are defined as periods of turmoil within a polity duration. We measure this turmoil by:
  1. tracking known destabilizing events such as major revolts, civil violence, and institutional reform; and
  2. following established scholarship which identifies such crisis periods
169

cases

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
PD Population Decline
PC Population Collapse
EP Epidemic
DM Elite Downward Mobility
EX Elite Extermination
UP Uprising
RV Revolution
SR Successful Revolution
CW Civil War
C+ Lasted a Century +
FR Fragmentation
CL Capital Loss
EC External Conquest
RA Ruler Assassination
RD Ruler Depose
CC Constitution Change
LC Labor Change
UL Unfree Labor Change
SF Suffrage
PG Public Goods Change
RC Religion Change

306 CE 324 CE in Roman Empire - Dominate: Civil Wars of Tetrarchy: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1193 CE 1260 CE in Ayyubid Sultanate: Decline and fall of Ayyubid dynasty: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

67 BCE 63 BCE in Yehuda: Hasmonean Civil Wars: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

455 CE 476 CE in Western Roman Empire - Late Antiquity: Collapse of Western Empire: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

540 CE 554 CE in East Roman Empire: Sixth Century Crisis & Justinian Plague: PD PC EP DM EX UP SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1065 CE 1105 CE in Khitan I: Natural Disasters: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

523 CE 535 CE in Northern Wei: Rebellions and Civil War: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1070 BCE in Egypt - New Kingdom Ramesside Period: Collapse of New Kingdom state: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

and 161 more... coded for 153 Polities

🇺🇸 US Political Violence Database

✓ coded for Date, Type, Subtype(s), Location(s), Fatalities, etc
1903

cases

July 1, 1871 riot (race) in Georgia (GA), Jackson: 2 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 1910 riot (labor) in New Jersey (NJ), Jersey City: 3 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Sept. 1, 1874 riot (political) in Louisiana (LA), New Orleans: 32 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

Aug. 1, 1917 riot (military) in Texas (TX), Houston: 20 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

July 1, 1865 riot (military) in Illinois (IL), Chicago: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

Sept. 1, 1998 terrorism () in Colorado (CO), Aurora: 5 were killed. Source(s):   The New York Times

April 1, 1952 riot (prison) in Michigan (MI), Michigan State Prison: 1 was killed. Source(s):

June 17, 1978 terrorism () in Rhode Island (RI), Warwick: 4 were killed. Source(s):   TVPDB: The Violence Project database of mass shootings in the United States (Version 7)

and 1895 more...

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