Polity Suprapolity Relations List
A viewset for viewing and editing Polity Suprapolity Relations.
GET /api/general/polity-suprapolities/?ordering=-modified_date&page=2
{ "count": 393, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/general/polity-suprapolities/?ordering=-modified_date&page=3", "previous": "https://seshatdata.com/api/general/polity-suprapolities/?ordering=-modified_date", "results": [ { "id": 92, "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": 67, "name": "GrCrArc", "start_year": -710, "end_year": -500, "long_name": "Archaic Crete", "new_name": "gr_crete_archaic", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Crete is a large island in the Eastern Mediterranean. 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": 187, "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": 183, "name": "ItRomMR", "start_year": -264, "end_year": -133, "long_name": "Middle Roman Republic", "new_name": "it_roman_rep_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The last of the Roman kings, the tyrannical Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ('the Arrogant'), was expelled by a revolt of some of the leading Roman aristocrats in 509 BCE. Vowing never again to allow a single person to amass so much authority, the revolutionaries established in place of the monarchy a republican system of governance, featuring a senate composed of aristocratic men and a series of elected political and military officials. The Roman Republic was a remarkably stable and successful polity, lasting from 509 BCE until it was transformed into an imperial state under Augustus in 31 BCE (though the exact date is debated, as this was not a formal transformation). We divide the Republic into an early (509-264 BCE), a middle (264-133 BCE), and a late (133-31 BCE) period.<br>During the 3rd century BCE, Rome fought two separate wars (264-241 BCE and 218-201 BCE) against the Punic people, inhabitants of a former Phoenician colony in North Africa, Sicily, and southern Spain. The latter conflict featured a bitter contest against the famous Punic general Hannibal, who nearly defeated the Romans on his dramatic march through Italy from 218 to 216 BCE. However, Rome recovered, won control of Punic holdings in Sicily and Spain, and established what were essentially vassal kingdoms in North Africa. In the early 2nd century BCE, Rome became embroiled in another series of wars in Greece, Macedonia, and Anatolia. The 3rd and 2nd centuries were a somewhat chaotic time in the eastern Mediterranean, following the fragmentation of Alexander the Great's Macedonian Empire after his death in 323 BCE. Alexander's Empire had essentially dissolved into a series of successor states, which engaged in near-constant warfare in their attempts to expand at the others' expense. §REF§ (Eckstein 2006, chapter 4) Arthur M. Eckstein. 2006. <i>Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War, and the Rise of Rome</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ By 148 BCE, at the conclusion of the fourth and final Macedonian War, Rome was either in possession of or was firmly established as hegemon over the entire Mediterranean basin, from Spain in the west to Anatolia in the east, and France in the north to Libya and Egypt in the south. This position brought new territory along with a flood of new peoples, culture, and wealth from the ancient civilizations in Greece, Egypt, and Anatolia. By the end of the Middle Republic period, Rome was virtually unchallenged by external enemies, although this newfound wealth and power was accompanied by the period of internal turmoil that characterized the Late Republic.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Rome during the Republican period possessed no written constitution, but was governed largely through the power and prestige of the Senate, with a clear respect for precedent and for maintaining Rome's traditions. §REF§ (Brennan 2004, 31) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. 'Power and Process under the Republican \"Constitution\"', in <i>The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic</i>, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ A primary goal of the early Republic was to establish clear checks on the power of any single ruler - the military office of chief commander was in fact split between two generals (consuls), while the chief priestly and legislative posts were split among different people (individuals were restricted from holding multiple offices at once) - and popular assemblies voted on new laws.<br>Romans of this period did not distinguish between what is today termed 'secular' and 'sacred' authority; although individual magistracies had distinct functions, the same person often held both religious and political offices over the course of their lifetime, as they were thought to be part of essentially the same sphere of governance. The Republic featured a substantial array of religious offices and institutions intended to determine the will of the gods or to please them through the proper performance of rituals and the maintenance of large public temples. §REF§ (Brennan 2004, 37) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. 'Power and Process under the Republican \"Constitution\"', in <i>The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic</i>, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ These public auspices were the basis of magisterial power in the Republic. §REF§ (Brennan 2004, 37) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. 'Power and Process under the Republican \"Constitution\"', in <i>The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic</i>, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Auspices were sometimes taken by consuls and other officials, for example before important military engagements, §REF§ (Brennan 2004, 37) Corey T. Brennan. 2004. 'Power and Process under the Republican \"Constitution\"', in <i>The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic</i>, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 31-65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ but were mainly managed by specialist elected priests and full-time priestesses (such as the Vestal Virgins) and other priestly offices supported by the state. §REF§ (Culham 2004, 131) Phyllis Culham. 2004. 'Women in the Roman Republic, in <i>The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic</i>, edited by Harriet I. Flower, 139-59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The Middle Roman Republic saw many firsts in Rome's economic development. The first paved road was the likely the military road to Capua known as the Appian Way, commissioned around 312 BCE. The first Roman coins (large cast bronze coins) appear around 270 BCE, followed by struck bronze and silver coins imitating Greek forms. §REF§ (von Reden 2010, 50) Sitta von Reden. 2010. <i>Money in Classical Antiquity</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Crawford 1974, 6-11) Michael H. Crawford. 1974. <i>Roman Republican Coinage</i>. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ This period also saw a further population increase in the total population of Roman-controlled Italy to between about three and five million people, with Rome itself likely supporting over 200,000 people by the end of the 3rd century BCE. §REF§ (Scheidel 2008) Walter Scheidel. 2008. 'Roman Population Size: The Logic of the Debate', in <i>People, Land, and Politics: Demographic Developments and the Transformation of Roman Italy, 300 BC-AD 14</i>, edited by L. de Ligt and S. J. Northwood, 17-70. Leiden: Brill. §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": 350, "year_from": 1310, "year_to": 1385, "description": "\"[T]he founding of the Hindu kingdom in Vijayanagara in India in 1336 launched a new era for south India and Sri Lanka, By 1385 they claimed sovereignty over the Aryachakravartis [of Jaffna] and may have assisted them to invade the Sinhalese kingdom while Bhuvanekabāhu V was still at Gampola. [...] The Jaffna Kingdom under Pararājasēkaran (1478-1519) was independent after the decline of Vijayanagar, but was much reduced in size and strength.\"", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Supra_polity_relations", "supra_polity_relations": "none", "polity": { "id": 634, "name": "sl_jaffa_k", "start_year": 1310, "end_year": 1591, "long_name": "Jaffna", "new_name": "sl_jaffa_k", "polity_tag": "POL_SA_SI", "general_description": null, "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 40, "name": "Southern South Asia", "subregions_list": "Southern India and Sri Lanka", "mac_region": { "id": 9, "name": "South 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": 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": 15, "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": 471, "name": "CnHChin", "start_year": 1895, "end_year": 1941, "long_name": "Hmong - Early Chinese", "new_name": "cn_hmong_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Hmong are an agricultural people who have inhabited southern China for about 2000 years. §REF§ (Diamond 2009, 3) Diamond, Norma. 2009. “Culture Summary: Miao.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X</a>. §REF§ Made up of several distinct cultures, they are also known as the 'Miao', an insulting term that loosely translates to 'barbarians' or 'bumpkins'. §REF§ (Fadiman 1997) Fadiman, Anne. 1997. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. §REF§ The Qing Dynasty was marked by a series of Hmong uprisings, first in western Hunan from 1795 to 1806 CE, and then in Guizhou from 1854 to 1872. §REF§ (Diamond 2009, 3) Diamond, Norma. 2009. “Culture Summary: Miao.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Throughout most of Hmong history, Chinese governmental control was imposed indirectly through native headmen known as <i>tusi</i>, who were responsible for keeping the peace, tax collection and organizing corvée labour. §REF§ (Diamond 2009, 3) Diamond, Norma. 2009. “Culture Summary: Miao.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X</a>. §REF§ During the Republican period, the Chinese government attempted to assimilate the Hmong as much as possible and heavily discouraged displays of Hmong ethnicity. §REF§ (Diamond 2009, 3) Diamond, Norma. 2009. “Culture Summary: Miao.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ae05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z9NGT72X</a>. §REF§ <br>In 1954, the population of the Hmong was estimated at 150,000. §REF§ (Graham 1954, 1) Graham, David Crockett. 1954. Songs and Stories of the Ch’uan Miao. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TWKSXKI8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TWKSXKI8</a>. §REF§ Secure population estimates for earlier periods are lacking but the Hmong may have numbered around 200,000 during the Qing Dynasty.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-17T15:41:17.246418Z", "home_nga": { "id": 22, "name": "Southern China Hills", "subregion": "South China", "longitude": "103.991730960000", "latitude": "27.538834142800", "capital_city": "Guizhou", "nga_code": "YUN", "fao_country": "China", "world_region": "East Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 59, "name": "South China", "subregions_list": "Yangtze Basin and South China", "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": [] } ] }