Polity Suprapolity Relations List
A viewset for viewing and editing Polity Suprapolity Relations.
GET /api/general/polity-suprapolities/?ordering=-finalized&page=2
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The Archaic Crete (7th-6th centuries) is divided in the following periods: Orientalizing or Daedalic or Early Archaic (710-600 BCE) and Archaic Archaic (600-500).<br>There was no capital city as Crete was divided into territorial entities, each one centered upon a city that served as the main political and economic centre of its well-defined region. Political, military and religious control was exercised by the Kosmoi, a board of 3 to 10 annually elected nobles. §REF§ Lembesi, A. 1987. \"Η Κρητών Πολιτεία,\" in Panagiotakis, N. (ed.), <i>Κρήτη: Ιστορία και Πολιτισμός</i>, Heraklion, 166-72. §REF§ §REF§ Lembesi, A. 1987. \"Η Κρητών Πολιτεία,\" in Panagiotakis, N. (ed.), <i>Κρήτη: Ιστορία και Πολιτισμός</i>, Heraklion, 166-72. §REF§ <br>No information could be found in the sources consulted regarding the polity's overall population, however the largest settlement, Knossos, is estimated to have housed about 4,000 people.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 4, "name": "Crete", "subregion": "Southeastern Europe", "longitude": "25.144200000000", "latitude": "35.338700000000", "capital_city": "Heraklion", "nga_code": "GR", "fao_country": "Greece", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 19, "name": "Southeastern Europe", "subregions_list": "Frm. Yugoslavia, Romania-Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece", "mac_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Europe" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 93, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "none", "polity": { "id": 74, "name": "GrCrEmr", "start_year": 824, "end_year": 961, "long_name": "The Emirate of Crete", "new_name": "gr_crete_emirate", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Between 824 and 962, Crete was ruled by Andalusian Arabs. The latter had taken the island from the Byzantines (who subsequently lost the control of the maritime trade routes in the Aegean specifically and the eastern Mediterranean generally), and made it into an emirate, with Khandax, i.e. modern-day Heraklion, as its capital. The surviving evidence for the organization of the emirate and the Cretan society of the period is, unfortunately, scanty, with almost no archaeology and few, contradictory written sources. The original Byzantine sources are biased against the Arabs, and quite a few modern scholars have taken these sources at face value, presenting the Arabs as uncivilized barbarians, overly concerned with piracy. In fact, based on what is known about Arabic civilization in the rest of the Mediterranean at this time, it is likely that the Emirate of Crete was similarly sophisticated in its culture and social organization, though to its prolonged animosity with the Byzantines, it almost certainly retained a strong militaristic character as well. In 962, the Byzantines regained control of the island. §REF§ (Christides 2011, 17) Vassilios Christides. 2011. 'The cycle of the Arab-Byzantine struggle in Crete (ca. 824/6-961 AD) in the illuminate manuscript of Skylitzes (Codex Martinensis Graecus Vitr. 26-2)'. <i>Craeco-Arabica</i> 9: 17. §REF§ §REF§ (Christides 1984) Vassilios Christides. 1984. <i>The Conquest of Crete by Arabs (ca. 824). A Turning Point in the Struggle Between Byzantium and Islam</i>. Athens: Akademia Athenon. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>A rough estimate of the island's population at this time is of 250,000 inhabitants. §REF§ (Papadopoulos 1948, 37) Ioannes B. Papadopoulos. 1948. <i>Η Κρήτη υπό τους Σαρακηνούς (824-961)</i>. Athens: Byzantinisch-Neugriechischen Jahrbücher. §REF§ 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. §REF§ (Christides 1984) Vassilios Christides. 1984. <i>The Conquest of Crete by Arabs (ca. 824). A Turning Point in the Struggle Between Byzantium and Islam</i>. Athens: Akademia Athenon. §REF§ <br><br/>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 4, "name": "Crete", "subregion": "Southeastern Europe", "longitude": "25.144200000000", "latitude": "35.338700000000", "capital_city": "Heraklion", "nga_code": "GR", "fao_country": "Greece", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 19, "name": "Southeastern Europe", "subregions_list": "Frm. Yugoslavia, Romania-Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece", "mac_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Europe" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 94, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "none", "polity": { "id": 66, "name": "GrCrGeo", "start_year": -1000, "end_year": -710, "long_name": "Geometric Crete", "new_name": "gr_crete_geometric", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The eleventh century BCE marks the beginning of radical changes in southern Greece generally as well as Crete specifically, largely resulting from the invasion from the North of the Dorians §REF§ (Whitley 1998, 27-39) J. Whitley. 1998. 'From Minoans to Eterocretans: the Praisos region 1200-500 BC,' in <i>Post-Minoan Crete: Proceedings of the First Colloquium on Post-Minoan Crete held by the British School at Athens and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 10-11 November 1995</i>, edited by W.G. Cavanagh and M. Curtis, M. (eds), London: British School at Athens. §REF§ Overall, however, this period is relatively poorly understood, with no written sources and few archaeological finds. Most likely, Cretans mainly dedicated themselves to farming and pastoralism. Writing disappeared and artistic expression became more abstracted and geometrical. Things started to change in the eighth century, when trade routes were revitalized, and Cretans were able to capitalize on the island's premier location in the Eastern Mediterranean. And the trade in artefacts and products was accompanied by the exchange of new ideas and technologies. §REF§ Kostis Christakis, pers. comm., May 2016 §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Not much is known about either the island's population numbers at the time, or its political organization. In terms of population, very few settlements have been excavated, and none of these have yielded enough data for a credible estimate; in terms of political organization, it is likely that elite families were in charge but not much else could be said. §REF§ Kostis Christakis, pers. comm., May 2016 §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 4, "name": "Crete", "subregion": "Southeastern Europe", "longitude": "25.144200000000", "latitude": "35.338700000000", "capital_city": "Heraklion", "nga_code": "GR", "fao_country": "Greece", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 19, "name": "Southeastern Europe", "subregions_list": "Frm. Yugoslavia, Romania-Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece", "mac_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Europe" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 97, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 17, "name": "Hawaii1", "start_year": 1000, "end_year": 1200, "long_name": "Hawaii I", "new_name": "us_hawaii_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Hawai'i, also known as the Big Island, is the largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago. Recent estimates for the date of initial settlement by Polynesian voyagers have varied from 800 to 1250 CE, but the latest Bayesian model, based on palaeoenvironmental data and a carefully defined set of archaeological radiocarbon dates, suggests that the archipelago was first colonized between 1000 and 1100. §REF§ (Athens, Rieth and Dye 2014) J. Stephen Athens, Timothy M. Rieth and Thomas S. Dye. 2014. 'A Paleoenvironmental and Archaeological Model-Based Age Estimate for the Colonization of Hawai'i'. <i>American Antiquity</i> 79(1): 144-55. §REF§ Our 'Hawaii 1' designates the earliest phase of Hawai'i's prehistory, from around 1000 to 1200, before most of the changes characteristic of Kirch's 'expansion period', including a rapid rise in population, took place. §REF§ (Kirch 2010, 127) Patrick V. Kirch. 2010. <i>How Chiefs Became Kings: Divine Kingship and the Rise of Archaic States in Ancient Hawai'i</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>According to reconstructions of Hawaiki, the ancestral Polynesian homeland, ancient Polynesians recognized the authority of the <i>*ariki</i>, that is, the head of a lineage, who had both secular and sacred authority and was in charge of most, if not all, rituals. §REF§ (Kirch 2012, 45) Patrick V. Kirch. 2012. <i>A Shark Going Inland Is My Chief</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ However, a few thousand years separate Ancestral Polynesians from the earliest Hawaiians, and it is not clear how much the latter retained of the former's culture and sociopolitical organization. The earliest island-wide unitary kingdom on the Big Island emerged around 1580; §REF§ (Kirch 2010, 174) Patrick V. Kirch. 2010. <i>How Chiefs Became Kings: Divine Kingship and the Rise of Archaic States in Ancient Hawai'i</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ before then the Big Island was probably divided into several small, independent polities. §REF§ (Kirch 2016, personal communication) §REF§ <br>The founding population was probably about 100 people, due to the limited capacity of the canoes the first settlers likely used to reach the islands. §REF§ (Kirch 2010, 129) Patrick V. Kirch. 2010. <i>How Chiefs Became Kings: Divine Kingship and the Rise of Archaic States in Ancient Hawai'i</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ This population probably grew somewhat between 1000 and 1200, but no up-to-date estimates could be found in the literature — an estimate of 20,000 inhabitants for the entire archipelago around 1100 dates to 1985, when the earliest phase of human occupation was thought to have begun around 600 CE. §REF§ (Kirch 1985, 302) Patrick V. Kirch. 1985. <i>Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 33, "name": "Big Island Hawaii", "subregion": "Polynesia", "longitude": "-155.916989000000", "latitude": "19.528931000000", "capital_city": "Kona", "nga_code": "USHI", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "Oceania-Australia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 30, "name": "Polynesia", "subregions_list": "Polynesia", "mac_region": { "id": 8, "name": "Oceania-Australia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 12, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "none", "polity": { "id": 254, "name": "CnErJin", "start_year": 265, "end_year": 317, "long_name": "Western Jin", "new_name": "cn_western_jin_dyn", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Western Jin dynasty (House of Sima, Jin dynasty) briefly reunified China after the Three Kingdoms period, but was marked by political turmoil and internal rebellion. Sima Yan overthrew Cao Wei emperor Cao Huan in 265 CE and declared himself the Western Jin emperor.§REF§ (San 2014, 145) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)</a> §REF§ In its 280 CE conquest of Eastern Wu, Western Jin dynasty ended the Three Kingdoms period and reunified China.§REF§ (San 2014, 145) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)</a> §REF§ However, the central government was in almost constant turmoil because of internal conflict and corruption.§REF§ (San 2014, 145) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)</a> §REF§ A series of rebellions of princes against imperial authority known as the Revolts of the Imperial Princes (291-306 CE) weakened the central government and led to the Disorder of the Five Tribes (304-316 CE), a large uprising of northern nomadic tribes.§REF§ (San 2014, 146) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)</a> §REF§ In 316 CE, an imperial Jin prince fled south when a Xiongnu chief attacked the Western Jin capital of Luoyang. The prince went on to found the Eastern Jin dynasty in present day Nanjing.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§ §REF§ (San 2014, 146) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F)</a> §REF§<br>The territory of the Western Jin empire was close to the size of the Han empire.§REF§ (Theobald 2011a) Theobald, U. 2011a. “Chinese History- Jin Period Geography.” Chinaknowledge.de. <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-map.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-map.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VJ4ZVERD\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VJ4ZVERD</a> §REF§ We have estimated that Western Jin polity territory covered 4.5 million square kilometers in 300 CE.<br>Despite the political turmoil of the period, advancements made in agriculture, craftsmanship, architecture, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics.§REF§ (Theobald 2011b) Theobald, U. 2011b. “Chinese History- Science, Technology, and Inventions of the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties.” Chinaknowledge.de. <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-tech.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-tech.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/T5FAI5I6\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/T5FAI5I6</a> §REF§ Buddhism continued to spread throughout China, and Daoism was revived and seen as a more well-defined religion.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de<a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§ There were many writers, poets and artists from the time of the Jin and the period is often seen as the first period for traditional Chinese art.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Western Jin maintained many administrative structures of the Han. The empire was divided into provinces and semi-autonomous kingdoms.§REF§ (Theobald 2011a) Theobald, U. 2011a. “Chinese History- Jin Period Geography.” Chinaknowledge.de. <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-map.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin-map.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VJ4ZVERD\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VJ4ZVERD</a> §REF§ However the Western Jin operated as a neo-feudal society.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de<a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§ Military rulers governed with the support of relatives, and Confucian values gradually disappeared from the central government and the education system.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de <a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§ The weak central government struggled to control the non-Chinese tribes living in the empire.§REF§ (Theobald, 2000a) Theobald, U. 2000a. “Jin Dynasty (265-420).” Chinaknowledge.de<a href=\"http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html\">http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Division/jin.html</a> Accessed June 17, 2017. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/DTQ5UTD5</a> §REF§<br>The population of the Western Jin empire was recorded as 16.16 million in a 280 CE census.§REF§ (Graff 2002, 35)Graff, D A. 2002. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. Routledge. London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA</a> §REF§The population of Luoyang was 600,000 people in 300 CE.§REF§ (Graff 2002, 50 )Graff, D A. 2002. Medieval Chinese Warfare, 300-900. Routledge. London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/NUJQCRPA</a> §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-04T15:43:48.030844Z", "home_nga": { "id": 20, "name": "Middle Yellow River Valley", "subregion": "North China", "longitude": "112.517587000000", "latitude": "34.701825000000", "capital_city": "Luoyang", "nga_code": "CN", "fao_country": "China", "world_region": "East Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 58, "name": "North China", "subregions_list": "North China without Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang", "mac_region": { "id": 4, "name": "East Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 224, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 431, "name": "MlJeJe4", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1300, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno IV", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_4", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1300 CE. 'Jenne-jeno IV' refers to the period from 900 to 1300 CE. This roughly corresponds to the tail end of the region's 'urban prosperity' phase, and the beginning of the 'urban shake-up'. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ By this period, the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno had established long-distance trade networks and developed bronzeworking. Around 1000, they started working with brass, and the population continued to grow, reaching its peak between 1100 and 1200. They also produced an impressive corpus of terracotta figurines. However, in the 13th century, the population decreased rapidly, eventually leading to the abandonment of several sites, Jenne-jeno included, by 1400. The reasons for the decline are unclear, but they may include climate change, pandemic diseases such as plague, cultural upheaval deriving from the arrival of Islam and horses, and the emergence of the great West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 176-177) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>No population estimates could be found specifically for this period. However, the combined population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius had probably reached 10,000-26,000 people by 800 CE. The population continued to grow until 1200, and then rapidly declined in the 13th and 14th centuries. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-77) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city's very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized 'heterarchically' rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-08T14:01:23.818586Z", "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 188, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "none", "polity": { "id": 70, "name": "ItRomPr", "start_year": -31, "end_year": 284, "long_name": "Roman Empire - Principate", "new_name": "it_roman_principate", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Roman Principate (31 BCE-284 CE) refers to the first period of the Roman Empire, when the de facto ruler was termed the <i>princeps</i>, or 'leading citizen'. The period begins with the victory of the first emperor, Augustus (then Octavian) over his rival Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE and ends with the accession of Diocletian after the 'crisis' of the 3rd century CE (235-284 CE). §REF§ (Boatwright et al. 2012) Mary T. Boatwright, Daniel J. Gargola, Noel Lenski and Richard J. A. Talbert. 2012. <i>The Romans. From Village to Empire: A History of Rome from Earliest Times to the End of the Western Empire</i>. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>Retaining and solidifying many of the institutions, cultural forms, and economic base that had led to Rome's hegemonic position during the Republican period, the Empire became one of the largest, most long-lived, and most prosperous imperial states the world has ever known. Augustus established a dynasty lasting until the death of the Emperor Nero in 68 CE, after which followed a brief civil war between different potential successors. Despite repeated bouts of similar warfare during succession crises following the various dynasties that ruled the Principate, the Empire remained remarkably stable throughout this period. Rome was able to unite - and keep together - a huge swathe of territory encompassing all of western Europe, North Africa, Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean, most of Anatolia, and parts of the Near East. Integrating diverse regions into this single empire facilitated the spread of Roman institutions - notably its legal system, urban infrastructure, cultural forms, and political structure. It also promoted economic development by enabling the safe transport of goods and people to every corner of the empire. §REF§ (Bowman and Wilson 2009) Alan K. Bowman and Andrew Wilson. 2009. 'Quantifying the Roman Economy: Integration, Growth, Decline?', in <i>Quantifying the Roman Economy: Methods and Problems</i>, edited by Alan K. Bowman and Andrew Wilson, 3-86. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ It was during this period that Rome built some of its greatest structures: the Pantheon, the Coliseum, the imperial <i>fora</i> (market squares) in the heart of Rome, and many others. The Principate overall produced so much wealth and so many cultural achievements that the great 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon proclaimed the Empire at its peak in the 2nd century CE to be 'the period in the history of the world, during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous'. §REF§ (Gibbon [2003] 1869, 53) Edward Gibbon. [2003] 1869. <i>The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>, edited by Hans-Friedrich Mueller. New York: Modern Library. §REF§ <br>In the late 3rd century CE, beginning after the end of the Severan Dynasty, the Principate nearly collapsed in the face of internal warfare and pressure from external foes, including the Sassanid Persian Empire and nomadic tribes from Germany and eastern Europe. Rome briefly lost control over parts of France, Britain, and southern Spain and suffered several significant losses in battle to the Sassanids. Under first the Emperor Aurelian (r. 270-275 CE) then Diocletian (r. 284-305), however, all territory was recovered and a series of administrative and economic reforms inaugurated a second phase of the Roman Empire, which we refer to as the Dominate (denoting the increasing centralization of authority and the development of a large bureaucratic apparatus).<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Nominally, there was no change in political organization between the Republican period and the Principate. The first princeps, Augustus, kept all Republican institutions and offices, including the Senate, intact. There was clear practical change in the power structure, however, as Augustus, and all emperors after him, asserted personal control over almost the entire Roman army and were granted unprecedented legislative, religious, and judicial powers to shape politics and Roman society at large. Whereas a defining principle of Republican governance was that no individual should be able to hold multiple offices simultaneously, amassing power in several domains (military, legislative, religious, and so on), emperors broke this tradition and drew their authority from numerous offices, titles, and the authority they carried. §REF§ (Noreña 2010) Carlos Noreña. 2010. 'The Early Imperial Monarchy', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies</i>, edited by A. Barchiesi and W. Scheidel, 533-46. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>The Roman emperor was also generally one of the wealthiest people in the Principate, controlling huge agriculturally productive estates throughout the Empire, particularly in North Africa and Egypt. §REF§ (Kehoe 2007) Dennis P. Kehoe. 2007. <i>Law and the Rural Economy in the Roman Empire</i>. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. §REF§ In this period, state revenues were split between the 'public' treasury (<i>aerarium</i>) and an imperial treasury (<i>fiscus</i>) under the direct control of the emperor. §REF§ (Adkins and Adkins 1998, 45) Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins. 1998. <i>Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ The Principate had a fairly limited reach, particularly outside of Italy, but the state did have some significant expenses which it met by collecting tax from the Empire's vast territory and large population, taking in rents from the imperial estates. In addition to paying the salaries of imperial officials - a relatively small expense as only limited central authority was exerted in the provinces (mainly the provincial governors and their retinue) - the emperor was responsible for financing a professional citizen army, the major state expense along with public works projects such as roads, aqueducts, and temples. The costs of these public works, though, were split between the personal fortune of the emperors who acted as patrons, particularly in Italy, and that of wealthy patrons in the provinces, who financed much of the urban growth in these regions. Further, beginning in the later Republican period and continuing throughout the Empire, the imperial state provided grain at reduced prices to citizens living in Rome; another considerable expense. §REF§ (Duncan-Jones 1994) Richard Duncan-Jones. 1994. <i>Money and Government in the Roman Empire</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Scheidel 2015) Walter Scheidel. 2015. 'State Revenue and Expenditure in the Han and Roman Empires', in <i>State Power in Ancient China and Rome</i>, edited by Walter Scheidel, 150-80. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Garnsey and Saller 1987) Peter Garnsey and Richard P. Saller. 1987. <i>The Roman Empire: Economy, Society, and Culture</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ <br>The Emperor was assisted by his directly appointed <i>consilium</i> (advisory council), which was often made up of freedmen (manumitted slaves) and personal slaves. §REF§ (Noreña 2010, 538) Carlos Noreña. 2010. 'The Early Imperial Monarchy', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies</i>, edited by A. Barchiesi and W. Scheidel, 533-46. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Harries 2010) Jill Harries. 2010. 'Law', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies</i>, edited by Alessandro Barchiesi and Walter Scheidel, 637-50. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ The Senate, not the emperor, formally retained ultimate executive power and could override or critique the emperor's actions, but in practice this was quite rare and could be dangerous to the critic. §REF§ (Harris 2010) W. V. Harris. 2010. 'Power', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies</i>, edited by Alessandro Barchiesi and Walter Scheidel, 564-78. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ This centralized exercise of power by the Emperor, though, did not extend to the provinces, where the focus of imperial administration was squarely on securing revenue (cash and in-kind tax and rents on imperial properties) and maintaining peace, both internally and against potential external enemies, notably the powerful Persian Empires to the East. Roman provinces were governed by fairly autonomous officials (<i>procurator</i>, <i>curator</i>, <i>praefectus</i>, <i>proconsul</i>, etc.) and priests (<i>flamen</i>, etc.). §REF§ (Talbert 1996) Richard J. A. Talbert. 1996. 'The Senate and Senatorial and Equestrian Posts', in <i>The Cambridge Ancient History</i>, edited by Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin and Andrew Lintott, 324-43. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Ando 2013) Clifford Ando. 2013. <i>Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ Urbanization was also encouraged throughout the Empire; provincial cities were administered as 'mini-Rome's, with local urban equivalents of the Senate and most administrative, judicial, and religious magistracies. Roman cultural and infrastructural achievements were widely mimicked, with aqueducts, temples, theatres, bathhouses, and material culture (for example, particular ceramic forms, a culture of communal feasting, and the habit of publicizing achievements with inscribed stone tablets) adapted by numerous provincial towns and cities. §REF§ (Wilson 2011) Andrew Wilson. 2011. 'City Sizes and Urbanization in the Roman Empire', in <i>Settlement, Urbanization, and Population</i>, edited by Alan K. Bowman and Andrew Wilson, 161-95. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ This was true across the Empire, though particularly salient in the west, whereas Roman settlements in the East tended to retain many of their pre-Roman urban forms and cultural traditions. §REF§ (Boatwright 2000) Mary Taliaferro Boatwright. 2000. <i>Hadrian and the Cities of the Roman Empire</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Ando 2013) Clifford Ando. 2013. <i>Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ <br>By the mid-2nd century CE, the city of Rome had reached over one million inhabitants, a significant feat for an ancient urban settlement. The population of the entire Empire is estimated at between 50 to over 60 million. §REF§ (Scheidel 2009) Walter Scheidel. 2009. 'Population and Demography', in <i>A Companion to Ancient History</i>, edited by A. Erskine, 234-45. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ Estimating the number of state employees is an extremely difficult task, but one scholar has supposed that if the imperial government at its largest extent in the 4th century CE 'had somewhat over thirty thousand functionaries', then before this time a figure of 10,000-12,000 might be reasonable. §REF§ (Lendon 1997, 3) J. E. Lendon. 1997. <i>Empire of Honour: The Art of Government in the Roman World</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 1, "name": "Latium", "subregion": "Southern Europe", "longitude": "12.486948000000", "latitude": "41.890407000000", "capital_city": "Rome", "nga_code": "IT", "fao_country": "Italy", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 18, "name": "Southern Europe", "subregions_list": "Iberia, Italy", "mac_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Europe" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 214, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "uncoded", "polity": { "id": 35, "name": "KhMekBA", "start_year": -1200, "end_year": -501, "long_name": "Bronze Age Cambodia", "new_name": "kh_cambodia_ba", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Provide a descriptive paragraph detailing the key features of the polity, which will help understanding the codes below.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 17, "name": "Cambodian Basin", "subregion": "Siam", "longitude": "103.866700000000", "latitude": "13.412500000000", "capital_city": "Angkor Wat", "nga_code": "KH", "fao_country": "Cambodia", "world_region": "Southeast Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 41, "name": "Mainland", "subregions_list": "Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, south Vietnam", "mac_region": { "id": 10, "name": "Southeast Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 223, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 430, "name": "MlJeJe3", "start_year": 400, "end_year": 899, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno III", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_3", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1400 CE. 'Jenne-jeno III' refers to the period from 400 to 900 CE. This roughly corresponds to the region's 'urban prosperity' phase. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Though subsistence strategies remained largely unchanged, a number of important transformations occurred: the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno grew in number, established long-distance trade networks, and developed more sophisticated metalworking techniques. §REF§ (McIntosh and McIntosh 1981, 1) Roderick J. McIntosh and Susan K. McIntosh. 1981. 'The Inland Niger Delta before the Empire of Mali: Evidence from Jenne-jeno'. <i>Journal of African History</i> 22 (1): 1-22. §REF§ §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Between 400 and 800 CE, Jenne-jeno grew from 25 to 33 hectares. Population density was likely high, and a conservative estimate puts the population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius at 10,000-26,000 people around 800 CE. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-75) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city's very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized 'heterarchically' rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": null, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 41, "year_from": 1191, "year_to": 1250, "description": "to Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad §REF§(Marsot 1985, 21)§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-03-25T14:04:09.759660Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "supra-polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "nominal allegiance", "polity": { "id": 367, "name": "EgAyyub", "start_year": 1171, "end_year": 1250, "long_name": "Ayyubid Sultanate", "new_name": "eg_ayyubid_sultanate", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Ayyubid Sultanate was established in Egypt by Saladin (Ṣalāḥ-al-dīn), a member of the Kurdish Ayyubid family who had risen to prominence in Syria in the service of a local ruling dynasty, the Zangids. §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 24 February 2017). §REF§ In 1168-69 CE, the Zangid prince Nur al-Din placed Saladin's uncle, Shirkuh, in command of a military expedition to Egypt (at that time under Fatimid rule) to take control of the country and expel the invading Frankish Crusaders. §REF§ (Lev 2010, 218) Yaacov Lev. 2010. 'The Fatimid Caliphate (358‒567 / 969‒1171) and the Ayyūbids in Egypt (567‒648 / 1171‒1250)', in <i>The New Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 2. The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries</i>, edited by Maribel Fierro, 201-36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 290) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Saladin accompanied him and was appointed vizier of Egypt by the Fatimid caliph when Shirkuh died in 1169. §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 24 February 2017). §REF§ <br>Saladin, however, did not have the local dynasty's interests at heart. He immediately set about undermining its power and the Ismaili (Shi'a) Islam professed by its elite in favour of a new Sunni order, in theory loyal to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. §REF§ (Lev 2010, 210-11) Yaacov Lev. 2010. 'The Fatimid Caliphate (358‒567 / 969‒1171) and the Ayyūbids in Egypt (567‒648 / 1171‒1250)', in <i>The New Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 2. The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries</i>, edited by Maribel Fierro, 201-36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ We begin our Ayyubid Sultanate polity in 1171, when the last Fatimid caliph, Al-Adid, died and Saladin progressed from vizier to sultan in Egypt. §REF§ (Lev 2010, 210) Yaacov Lev. 2010. 'The Fatimid Caliphate (358‒567 / 969‒1171) and the Ayyūbids in Egypt (567‒648 / 1171‒1250)', in <i>The New Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 2. The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries</i>, edited by Maribel Fierro, 201-36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ He nevertheless suppressed his ambitions until his old Zangid overlord Nur al-Din died in 1174, after which he launched a successful campaign of military expansion into the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, as well as a brief 'holy war' on the Crusader states along the Levantine coast. §REF§ (Lyons and Jackson 1982, 201) Malcolm Cameron Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson. 1982. <i>Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 25 February 2017). §REF§ <br>A succession crisis followed Saladin's death in 1193, and a devastating famine in 1200 reduced parts of the population to cannibalism. §REF§ (Lev 2010, 226) Yaacov Lev. 2010. 'The Fatimid Caliphate (358‒567 / 969‒1171) and the Ayyūbids in Egypt (567‒648 / 1171‒1250)', in <i>The New Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 2. The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries</i>, edited by Maribel Fierro, 201-36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ However, Saladin's brother, al-'Adil, declared himself sultan in 1200 and managed to impose some degree of internal stability on the empire, §REF§ (Humphreys 1977, 125-26) R. Stephen Humphreys. 1977. <i>From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193‒1260</i>. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. §REF§ which was split into the kingdoms of Egypt, Damascus, Aleppo and Mosul. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 291) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The reign of al-'Adil's son, al-Kamil, from 1218 to 1238 CE, was also a relatively stable and prosperous period in Egypt, §REF§ (Werthmuller 2010, 48) Kurt J. Werthmuller. 2010. <i>Coptic Identity and Ayyubid Politics in Egypt, 1218‒1250</i>. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. §REF§ although he faced opposition from Ayyubid princes in Syria and Palestine. §REF§ (Hamblin 2005, 753) William J. Hamblin. 2005. 'Egypt: Ayyubid Dynasty, 1169-1250', in <i>Encyclopedia of African History, volume 1: A-G</i>, edited by Kevin Shillington, 752-54. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. §REF§ <br>As-Salih Ayyub, the sultan who came to power in 1240 CE, §REF§ (Keenan 1999, 287) James G. Keenan. 1999. 'Fayyum Agriculture at the End of the Ayyubid Era: Nabulsi's <i>Survey'.</i> <i>Proceedings of the British Academy</i> 96: 287-99. §REF§ attempted to enhance his power at the expense of other Ayyubid princely lines by purchasing many more Turkish Mamluks (high-ranking slave soldiers) than his predecessors. §REF§ (Levanoni 1990, 124) Amalia Levanoni. 1990. 'The Mamluks' Ascent to Power in Egypt'. <i>Studia Islamica</i> 72: 121-44. §REF§ They served him as a military and governmental elite. §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 25 February 2017). §REF§ §REF§ (Levanoni 1990, 124) Amalia Levanoni. 1990. 'The Mamluks' Ascent to Power in Egypt'. <i>Studia Islamica</i> 72: 121-44. §REF§ The Mamluks' increasingly powerful position proved to be the downfall of the Ayyubid Sultanate when, after Salih-Ayyub's death in 1249, one faction (the Bahriyya Mamluks) assassinated his son Turanshah and seized the throne. §REF§ (Levanoni 1990, 137) Amalia Levanoni. 1990. 'The Mamluks' Ascent to Power in Egypt'. <i>Studia Islamica</i> 72: 121-44. §REF§ The Ayyubid dynasty hung onto power in Syria until 1260, when the Mamluks defeated the invading Mongols at 'Ayn Jalut and gained popular recognition of their right to rule as 'saviours of Islam'. §REF§ (Northrup 1998, 248) Linda S. Northrup. 1998. 'The Baḥrī Mamlūk Sultanate, 1250‒1390', in <i>The Cambridge History of Egypt, Vol. 1: Islamic Egypt, 640‒1517</i>, edited by Carl F. Petry, 242-89. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ However, we end our Ayyubid period with the assassination of Turanshah, the last Ayyubid sultan of Egypt.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Ayyubids made use of the pre-existing Fatimid bureaucratic system to administer Egypt, §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 246) I. M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ and ruled via a Turkish and Kurdish 'military aristocracy', including some slave (Mamluk) regiments. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 291) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Lev 2010, 210, 213) Yaacov Lev. 2010. 'The Fatimid Caliphate (358‒567 / 969‒1171) and the Ayyūbids in Egypt (567‒648 / 1171‒1250)', in <i>The New Cambridge History of Islam, vol. 2. The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries</i>, edited by Maribel Fierro, 201-36. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ This was funded by the distribution of <i>iqta's</i> ‒ rights to tax revenue from estates of land ‒ in exchange for military and administrative services. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 291, 877) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Saladin and his successors also promoted Sunni Islam in the empire by sponsoring law schools (<i>madrasas</i>) to serve as centres for the teaching of Sunni law. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 291, 877) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The Ayyubid Sultanate was never particularly centralized: it has been described as a 'family confederation', meaning that male members of the ruling dynasty were given principalities across the realm and allowed to govern them with substantial political autonomy. §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 25 February 2017). §REF§ Kinship ties determined relationships between different princes, so that, for example, two brothers ruling different regions would have less authority over each other than a father would over his son. §REF§ (Humphreys 1987) R. S. Humphreys. 1987. 'Ayyubids', <i>Encyclopӕdia Iranica</i> III/2, pp. 164-67; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ayyubids</a> (accessed 25 February 2017). §REF§ However, the sultan of Egypt was usually successful in asserting his suzerainty over the other kingdoms. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 291, 877) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>It is difficult to find substantiated estimates for the population of the entire Ayyubid Sultanate, but there were about 2.4 million people in Egypt under Saladin. §REF§ (Dols 1977, 149) M. W. Dols. 1977. <i>The Black Death in the Middle East</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 5, "name": "Upper Egypt", "subregion": "Northeastern Africa", "longitude": "32.714706000000", "latitude": "25.725715000000", "capital_city": "Luxor", "nga_code": "EG", "fao_country": "Egypt", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 4, "name": "Northeast Africa", "subregions_list": "Egypt and Sudan (the Nile Basin)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "other_polity": { "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" } }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }