Polity List
A viewset for viewing and editing Polities.
GET /api/core/polities/
{ "count": 839, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/core/polities/?page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 132, "name": "IqAbbs1", "start_year": 750, "end_year": 946, "long_name": "Abbasid Caliphate I", "new_name": "iq_abbasid_cal_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "In 750 CE, following a revolt, Abbasid rulers took power from the Umayyad Dynasty under Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah. To secure his rule, Abu al-'Abbass al-Saffah sought to destroy the male line descending from Fatima and Ali, §REF§ (Zayzafoon 2005, 139) Lamia Ben Youssef Zayzafoon. 2005. <i>The Production of the Muslim Woman: Negotiating Text, History, and Ideology</i>. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. §REF§ and had about 300 members of the Umayyad family killed. §REF§ (Uttridge and Spilling, eds. 2014, 186) S. Uttridge and M. Spilling, eds. 2014. <i>The Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare</i>. London: Amber Books. §REF§ The last 80 Umayyads were tricked into attending a banquet with their hosts in Damascus and massacred there. §REF§ (Schwartzwald 2015, 24) Jack L. Schwartzwald. 2016. <i>The Collapse and Recovery of Europe, AD 476-1648</i>. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. §REF§ (One twenty-year-old prince, Abd al-Rahman, famously managed to escape this fate: he dodged assassins all the way to Spain, where he founded an Umayyad Emirate). The First Abbasid Caliphate Period ended in 946 CE when the Daylamite Buyids from northwestern Iran reduced the caliph to a nominal figurehead. Ironically, given the bloody manner in which the dynasty began, the final Abbasid caliph was rolled up in his own carpet and trampled to death by Mongol horsemen in 1258 CE. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 164) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ The zenith of the Abbasid period is considered to be the reign of Harun al Rashid (763-809 CE), whose rule is described in <i>The Thousand and One Nights</i>. §REF§ (Esposito, ed. 2003, 699) John L. Esposito, ed. 2003. <i>The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate eventually settled at Baghdad, but in the earlier years the central administration was run from Kufa (750-762 CE), Al-Raqqah (796-809 CE), Merv (810-819 CE), §REF§ (Starr 2013, xxxii) S. Frederick Starr. 2013. <i>Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§ and Samarra (836-870 CE). §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 53-54) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 106) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The Abbasid caliph, spiritual leader of the Sunni Muslim world and commander-in-chief of its army, left the day-to-day administration to his vizier and heads of the diwans in the complex bureaucracy.<br>The departments were divided into three main areas of responsibility: the chancery (<i>diwan-al-rasa'il</i>); tax collection (<i>diwan al-kharif</i>); and army administration (<i>diwan al-jaysh</i>). §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 60-66) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ Professional officials and soldiers were paid both in cash and in kind. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 250) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The task of organizing the 'collection and payment of revenues' fell to the Abbasid military. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 21) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ However, while it was a professional institution, it lacked a rigid hierarchy or a well-defined officer class. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 21) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ Below the caliph himself, the top military rulers were the provincial governors in Iraq, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, Western Iran and Khuzistan. In Iraq and Egypt, local government was divided into a hierarchy of districts, with subdivisions (<i>kura</i>, <i>tassuj</i> and <i>rustaq</i>) used for assessing taxation, which was passed to the governor. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 61) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Within the Abbasid Caliphate there were also relatively independent vassals, who were required to pay tribute to the central government at Baghdad. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 61) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The law code was based largely on <i>sharia</i> law and the <i>ijma' </i>(legal opinions of religious scholars). §REF§ (Zubaida 2005, 74-84) Sami Zubaida. 2005. <i>Law and Power in the Islamic World</i>. London: I. B. Tauris. §REF§ <br>The Abbasid state provided centres of medical care, built ornate public markets, often with drinking fountains, and furnished welfare for the poor. §REF§ (Pickard 2013, 431) John Pickard. 2013. <i>Behind the Myths: The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam</i>. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. §REF§ As paper technology diffused from China, libraries became a common fixture in the cities of the caliphate. In Baghdad, the Khizanat al-Hikma, or 'treasury of wisdom', became a refuge for scholars, providing access to a large collection as well as free lodgings and board. §REF§ (Bennison 2009, 180) Amira K. Bennison. 2009. <i>The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Empire</i>. London: I. B. Tauris. §REF§ Each important city included an official called the <i>saheb al-sorta</i>, who was responsible for maintaining public order, and the <i>amir al-suq</i>, in charge of regulating the bazaar. §REF§ (Lambton 2011) Ann K. S. Lambton. 2011. 'Cities iii: Administration and Social Organization', in <i>Encyclopedia Iranica</i> V/6, 607-23; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii</a> (accessed 2 April 2017). §REF§ <br>The territory possessed by the caliphate was lost in dramatic fashion, shrinking from 11.1 million square kilometres in 750 CE, to 4.6 million around 850 CE, to just 1 million square kilometres half a century later as Egypt, Afghanistan and Central Asia were all lost. §REF§ Christopher Chase-Dunn 2001, personal communication. §REF§ Nevertheless, in 900 CE the core region of Abbasid control in the Middle East still had a substantial population of about 10 million people. §REF§ (Blankinship 1994, 37-38) Khalid Y. Blankinship. 1994. <i>The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd Al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads</i>. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. §REF§ Over 300,000 (or maybe 900,000) of these lived in Baghdad, §REF§ Christopher Chase-Dunn 2001, personal communication. §REF§ which by this date had probably outgrown Byzantine Constantinople.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 8, "name": "Southern Mesopotamia", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "44.420000000000", "latitude": "32.470000000000", "capital_city": "Babylon (Hillah)", "nga_code": "IQ", "fao_country": "Iraq", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 62, "name": "Mesopotamia", "subregions_list": "Iraq, Kuwait", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 484, "name": "IqAbbs2", "start_year": 1191, "end_year": 1258, "long_name": "Abbasid Caliphate II", "new_name": "iq_abbasid_cal_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Second Abbasid Period (1191-1258 CE) was mostly remarkable for the city of Baghdad which is usually estimated to have had about 1 million inhabitants at the time of the Mongol sack in 1258 CE.<br>With the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 CE \"the culture, science and learning for which Baghdad had been known for centuries simply disappeared in a period of a week.\" §REF§ (DeVries 2014, 209) Kelly DeVries in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. §REF§ The city was defended by a garrison of just 10,000 soldiers. §REF§ (DeVries 2014, 207) Kelly DeVries in Morton, N. John, S. eds. 2014. Crusading and Warfare in the Middle Ages: Realities and Representations. Essays in Honour of John France. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. §REF§ <br>In 1200 CE the Abbasids held Iraq and part of western Iran south of the Caspian, the territories holding perhaps 3.9 million inhabitants. The governance system was still Perso-Islamic with a vizier chief bureaucrat who oversaw government departments. §REF§ (Shaw 1976, 5) Stanford J Shaw. 1976. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808. Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The reign of al-Nasir (1180-1225 CE) was notable for being absolutely repressive \"the caliph's spies were so efficient and the caliph himself so ruthless that a man hardly dared to speak to his own wife in the privacy of his home.\" §REF§ (Bray 2015, xxi) Shawkat M Toorawa ed. 2015. Consorts of the Caliphs: Women and the Court of Baghdad. NYU Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 8, "name": "Southern Mesopotamia", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "44.420000000000", "latitude": "32.470000000000", "capital_city": "Babylon (Hillah)", "nga_code": "IQ", "fao_country": "Iraq", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 62, "name": "Mesopotamia", "subregions_list": "Iraq, Kuwait", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 107, "name": "IrAchae", "start_year": -550, "end_year": -331, "long_name": "Achaemenid Empire", "new_name": "ir_achaemenid_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Achaemenid Empire was established by Cyrus II 'the Great', who inherited the small kingdom of Persia (named after the capital city, Persis) in southwest Iran, a vassal territory of the larger Median Empire to the Northwest. From 553 to 550 BCE, Cyrus led his fellow Persians against Median hegemony (even though the Medes were ruled by his own relatives), establishing the Persians as the dominant group in Iran. His kingdom became known as the Achaemenid Empire after the legendary first King of Persia, Achaemenes, claimed to be an ancestor of the Great Cyrus himself (Achaemenid essentially translates to 'children of Achaemenes'). §REF§ (Briant [1996] 2002) Pierre Briant. [1996] 2002. <i>From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire</i>, translated by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. §REF§ <br>Capitalizing on these early victories, Cyrus II the Great continued his military domination, conquering the wealthy Lydian Kingdom in modern-day Turkey along with most of Asia Minor and the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom in Mesopotamia, as well as consolidating Persia's hold over much of central Asia as far as modern Pakistan. His son and heir, Cambyses II, continued this tradition, expanding Achaemenid rule into the large and wealthy kingdom of Egypt. After Cambyses II's death in 522 BCE, a noble Persian named Darius came to power after overthrowing an alleged usurper to the throne (Gautama, supposedly posing as Cyrus II's son Bardiya, more commonly known by his Greek name Smerdis). §REF§ (Shayegan 2006) M. Rahim Shayegan. 2006. 'Bardiya and Gaumata: An Achaemenid Enigma Reconsidered'. <i>Bulletin of the Asia Institute</i> (n.s.) 20: 65-76. §REF§ Darius I, who also took the title of 'the Great', was a powerful ruler who inaugurated several military, administrative, and economic reforms, §REF§ (Cook 1983) J. M. Cook. 1983. <i>The Persian Empire</i>. London: J. M. Dent and Sons. §REF§ though is most well known for leading the Persian army to defeat at the hands of a coalition of small Greek city-states during the famous Persian Wars of the early 5th century BCE. Despite the fact that Darius' son and heir Xerxes I (the Great) also failed to conquer the Greek Aegean and lost a decisive battle to the same outnumbered coalition of Greeks, the Achaemenid Empire remained intact. §REF§ (de Souza 2003) Philip de Souza. 2003. <i>The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC</i>. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. §REF§ <br>In 330 BCE, Darius III became the twelfth and final emperor in the Achaemenid line when he succumbed to the conquests of Alexander the Great and his invading Macedonian army (twelfth not including the alleged usurper Bardiya/Smerdis nor the short-lived Artaxerxes V, who declared himself emperor for a brief moment after Darius III was killed as Alexander was completing his conquest). §REF§ (Kuhrt 2001, 94) Amelie Kuhrt. 2001. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 550 - c. 330 BCE): Continuities, Adaptations, Transformations', in <i>Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History</i>, edited by Susan Alcock, Terence D'Altroy, Kathleen D. Morrison and Carla M. Sinopoli, 93-123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Alexander became the ruler of all the territory formerly held by the Persians, incorporating it into the massive, though short-lived, Macedonian Empire and bringing an end to the great Persian Achaemenid Empire.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Achaemenid Empire was one of the largest empires in the pre-modern world, stretching nearly 6 million square kilometres across the Near East, Central Asia, the Indus Valley, Middle East, and into Egypt at its greatest extent. §REF§ (Broodbank 2015, 583) Cyprian Broodbank. 2015. <i>The Making of the Middle Sea</i>. London: Thames & Hudson. §REF§ It was a massive, multi-ethnic society made up of Medes, Persians, Lydians, Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Sogdians, and numerous other cultural-ethnic groups; indeed, Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Aramaic, hieroglyphic Egyptian, and Greek were all used in royal and provincial communication. §REF§ (Shahbazi 2012, 135) A. Shapour Shahbazi. 2012. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE)', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History</i>, edited by Touraj Daryaee, 120-41. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ Between the Great rulers Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I, the Persians had stitched together an empire out of the centres of the oldest civilizations from Anatolia to Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Persepolis and the grand Pasargadae were large ceremonial and ritual centres in the heartland of Persia, while Susa in western Iran was the major administrative capital. At its peak under Darius I, the empire covered a huge swathe of diverse territory from the eastern Mediterranean all the way to the Indus Valley, incorporating navigable seas and rivers, protected ports and fertile agricultural land as well as rough mountainous passes. This territory held a population of between 17 and 35 million people. §REF§ (Wiesehöfer 2009) Josef Wiesehöfer. 2009. 'The Achaemenid Empire', in <i>The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium</i>, edited by Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel, 66-98. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 637, "name": "so_adal_sultanate", "start_year": 1375, "end_year": 1543, "long_name": "Adal Sultanate", "new_name": "so_adal_sultanate", "polity_tag": "POL_AFR_EAST", "general_description": "The Adal Sultanate was one of the earliest Islamic Sultanates in the Somali region. The Adal, which was part of the Walasma Dynasty, was originally established in the late 9th or early 10th centuries based at the costal port city of Zelia on the Gulf of Aden. §REF§ (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library</a> §REF§<br> During this time the dynasty was under the confederation of a larger Ifat Sultanate. It was not until the last quarter of the 14th century that the Adal became a powerful Sultanate that controlled vast swaths of territory from the Harar reigion to the Gulf of Aden up through present-day Eritrea. §REF§ (Tamrat 2008, 149) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list</a> §REF§<br>The Adal Sultanate was frequently in conflict with the Christian kingdoms in Ethiopia, most notably from the 14th through the 16th centuries. The most powerful leader of the Adal Sultanate was Ahmād Ibrāhīm al Ghāzī also known as Ahmad Gurey (1506-1543). Gurey titled himself as imām and declared jihad on Christian Ethiopia. During his rule, he was supplied with military supplies from the Ottoman Empire which helped his army conquer over three-quarters of Ethiopia and even defeat early attacks from the Portuguese. His farthest inland campaign reached south-eastern Sudan. In 1543, imam Ahmad was mortally wounded in battle by Ethiopian and Portuguese forces at Lake Tana whom defeated the imam’s army. After the imam’s death the Adal Sultanate disintegrated and was absorbed into different kingdoms. §REF§ (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Adal Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FM8D55XW/library</a> §REF§<br>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 2, "name": "East Africa", "subregions_list": "Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, So Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 872, "name": "tn_aghlabid_dyn", "start_year": 800, "end_year": 908, "long_name": "Aghlabid Dynasty", "new_name": "tn_aghlabid_dyn", "polity_tag": "OTHER_TAG", "general_description": "", "shapefile_name": "Aghlabid Dynasty", "private_comment": "", "created_date": "2024-04-30T13:35:38.451828Z", "modified_date": "2024-04-30T13:35:38.451849Z", "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Maghreb", "subregions_list": "From Morocco to Libya", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": null }, { "id": 879, "name": "in_ahmadnagar_sultanate", "start_year": 1490, "end_year": 1636, "long_name": "Ahmadnagar Sultanate", "new_name": "in_ahmadnagar_sultanate", "polity_tag": "OTHER_TAG", "general_description": "", "shapefile_name": "Ahmadnagar Sultanate", "private_comment": "", "created_date": "2024-05-06T10:03:30.630491Z", "modified_date": "2024-05-06T10:03:30.630504Z", "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 36, "name": "Central India", "subregions_list": "Deccan, etc", "mac_region": { "id": 9, "name": "South Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": null }, { "id": 639, "name": "so_ajuran_sultanate", "start_year": 1250, "end_year": 1700, "long_name": "Ajuran Sultanate", "new_name": "so_ajuran_sultanate", "polity_tag": "POL_AFR_EAST", "general_description": "The Ajuran Sultanate originated in the mid-sixteenth century as a leading clan of confederated states which included the Muzzafar Dynasty of Mogadishu. The Ajuran Sultanate controlled the Shabelle valley in southern Somalia all the way to the Kenyan border. §REF§ (Mukhtar 2003, 35) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list</a> §REF§ The Sultanate’s capital was the Indian Ocean port city of Marka, which allowed for lucrative trade connections with other parts of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India and China. §REF§ (Njoku 2013, 40) Njoku, Raphael C. 2013. The History of Somalia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/U9FHBPZF/library\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/U9FHBPZF/library</a> §REF§ The Ajuran leader was known as the imam or emir. Below the imam were a number of governors and viceroys that helped maintain the Sultanate. By the 18th century internal resistance to Ajuran rule by various clan alliances led to the Sultanate’s decline which ultimately allowed for other kingdoms to rise in its place. §REF§ (Mukhtar 2003, 35) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2003. Historical Dictionary of Somalia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Mukhtar/titleCreatorYear/items/J8WZB6VI/item-list</a> §REF§ Within the literature consulted, there has been no mention of population numbers for this polity.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 2, "name": "East Africa", "subregions_list": "Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, So Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 371, "name": "IrAkkoy", "start_year": 1378, "end_year": 1501, "long_name": "Ak Koyunlu", "new_name": "ir_ak_koyunlu", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": null, "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 508, "name": "IrAkKoy", "start_year": 1339, "end_year": 1501, "long_name": "Ak Koyunlu", "new_name": "ir_ak_koynlu", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Ak Koyunlu were a loose confederation of nomadic Turkman tribes that ruled in Iran between 1339-1501 CE. §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ They formed an alliance with the Timurid Emirate (1370-1526 CE) until Uzun Hasan (r. c1453-1478 CE) declared himself an independent sultan. §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) Quiring-Zoche, R. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ Their rule was ended by the Safavids in 1501 CE. §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ <br>The initial Ak Koyunlu government system was not complex; the sultan, a member of the Bayandor clan, was the head of a confederation §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) QR Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ and obliged to attend and abide by the decisions of a powerful council of Amirs (kengac) and tribal chiefs (boy kanlari). This collective \"determined military matters and the recurrent issue of succession to the sultanate\". §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ However, by Qara Otman (c1398 CE) the Ak Koyunlu had gained \"at least a rudimentary bureaucratic apparatus of the Iranian-Islamic type.\" §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ in addition to support from more tribes, and better relations with Christian sedentary people.<br>In the second half of the fifthteenth century, the complexity of state institutions increased another step with the conquest of eastern Iran. §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ Uzun Hasan maintained the existing administrative system as well as their officials. §REF§ (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation</a> §REF§ Woods (1998) notes that there is evidence of an attempt to standardize and regularize administrative and financial procedures. §REF§ (Woods 1998, 108) J E Woods. 1999. The Aqquyunlu. Clan, Confederation, Empire. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, { "id": 113, "name": "GhAshnE", "start_year": 1501, "end_year": 1701, "long_name": "Akan - Pre-Ashanti", "new_name": "gh_akan", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The gold-producing region between the Comoé and Volta rivers has been inhabited by Akan-speaking people since the 13th century CE. This region has seen the emergence of various autonomous states, including Bono, Djomo, Akwamu, Fante, and Asante. Later in its history, the founders of the Ga and Ewe states arrived from what is now Nigeria. §REF§ (Fage et al. 2017) Fage, John D., Ernest Amano Boateng, Donna J. Maier, and Oliver Davies. 2017. \"Ghana.\" Encyclopedia Britannica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3</a>. §REF§ In 1471, Portuguese sailors reached this stretch of coast and quickly established trade with the coastal Akan states, exchanging European goods for gold. §REF§ (Fage et al. 2017) Fage, John D., Ernest Amano Boateng, Donna J. Maier, and Oliver Davies. 2017. \"Ghana.\" Encyclopedia Britannica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3</a>. §REF§ Trade routes soon connected the coast to the Niger bend region, along which descendants of the former Bonda and Kumbu kingdoms founded the Akyerekyere and Akumu-Akoto kingdoms respectively. The Portuguese referred to this latter kingdom as the 'Acanes', which is the source of the name Akan. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>In 1701, the Asante rebelled against the dominant Denkyira state and formed a confederacy of Akan states who accepted Asante rule. This confederacy began to conquer the surrounding polities, and by 1764 the Greater Asante controlled an area nearly the size of present-day Ghana. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>Europeans continued to be drawn to the Ghanaian coast in search of gold and, by the 19th century, the British were the strongest European power in the region. In 1827, British-led troops defeated an Asante army at Katammanso. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ In 1831, the British and Asante signed a peace treaty that allowed trade in all ports, and by 1844 the British gained control over criminal matters in the areas around trade forts. By 1872, the British had complete control of the coast, and when they did not recognize Asante sovereignty, the Asante attacked. The British were victorious, and after another war in 1895, the Asante king and chiefs were exiled. The entire region was declared a British territory in 1901. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>During the pre-Asante period, each Akan state consisted of a single kingdom ruled by an <i>omanhene</i>, which literally translates to 'state-chief'. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ This king came from a royal clan, and was elected by various officials, most notably the <i>ohemmaa</i> ('queen-mother'), who was a senior woman of the clan. The king was a sacred person who could not be observed eating or drinking; nor could he be heard to speak or be spoken to. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>After 1701, political organization within the region became far more bureaucratic and specialized. Kumasi became the capital of the union of Asante states and the seat of the empire. Appointed officials began to replace those wielding hereditary authority, and a treasury partly operated by literate Muslims was created. §REF§ (McLeod 1981) McLeod, M. D. 1981. The Asante. London: British Museum Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RS692TAZ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RS692TAZ</a>. §REF§ However, while bureaucrats ran many of the day-to-day operations of the empire, the authority of the king was still absolute. §REF§ (Arhin 1986, 165-66) Arhin, Kwame. 1986. \"The Asante Praise Poems: The Ideology of Patrimonialism.\" Paideuma, no. 32: 163-97. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/87N692IT\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/87N692IT</a>. §REF§ <br>Population estimates are not available for the pre-Asante period. The population of the entire Asante union in 1874 is estimated at three million people. §REF§ (Obeng 1996, 20) Obeng, J. Pashington. 1996. Asante Catholicism: Religious and Cultural Reproduction among the Akan of Ghana. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/P8MFGRGQ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/P8MFGRGQ</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 7, "name": "Ghanaian Coast", "subregion": "West Africa", "longitude": "-0.217920000000", "latitude": "5.573135000000", "capital_city": "Accra", "nga_code": "GH", "fao_country": "Ghana", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } } ] }