Gov Res Conv List
A viewset for viewing and editing Government Restrictions on Conversions.
GET /api/rt/government-restrictions-on-conversions/?ordering=-comment
{ "count": 324, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/rt/government-restrictions-on-conversions/?ordering=-comment&page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 276, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "Ancient Mesopotamian religion is recognised as being polytheistic, accommodating a broad range of local gods into an increasingly structured framework. Sources speculate that this allowed for a degree of syncretism and tolerance. Within such a system, the idea of \"conversion\" may not have made sense. “Mesopotamian religion was primarily local in its character. Only through institutional efforts (such as the foundation of palaces and temples) and theological systematization did religion gain regional and supra-regional features. Notwithstanding the local character of religion in Mesopotamia, archaeological and textual evidence attests to a religious system that was intended to foster cultural cohesion.” §REF§ (Pongratz-Leisten, 2013, 33). Pongratz-Leisten, B. (2013). Mesopotamia. In B. Spaeth (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion, pp. 33-54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZEG8QMQQ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZEG8QMQQ </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 478, "name": "IqIsinL", "start_year": -2004, "end_year": -1763, "long_name": "Isin-Larsa", "new_name": "iq_isin_larsa", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "There were four main settlement types during the Old Babylonian period: large cities, secondary provincial cities, smaller towns, and villages. §REF§ (Liverani 2014, 186) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. <i>The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy</i>. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7DRZQS5Q/q/liverani\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7DRZQS5Q/q/liverani</a>. §REF§ §REF§ Ur 2013, 143-144 §REF§ <br>While the temples still held great importance as in previous polities, the state administration of the entire state was under control of the king. However, over the course of this period imperial control over surrounding regions began to break down, increasing the number of small autonomous states who began competing with each other for other cities. §REF§ (Liverani 2014, 187) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. <i>The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy</i>. London: Routledge. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7DRZQS5Q/q/liverani\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7DRZQS5Q/q/liverani</a>. §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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 277, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "Ancient Mesopotamian religion is recognised as being polytheistic, accommodating a broad range of local gods into an increasingly structured framework. Sources speculate that this allowed for a degree of syncretism and tolerance. Within such a system, the idea of \"conversion\" may not have made sense. “Mesopotamian religion was primarily local in its character. Only through institutional efforts (such as the foundation of palaces and temples) and theological systematization did religion gain regional and supra-regional features. Notwithstanding the local character of religion in Mesopotamia, archaeological and textual evidence attests to a religious system that was intended to foster cultural cohesion.” §REF§ (Pongratz-Leisten, 2013, 33). Pongratz-Leisten, B. (2013). Mesopotamia. In B. Spaeth (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion, pp. 33-54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZEG8QMQQ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZEG8QMQQ </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 479, "name": "IqBabAm", "start_year": -2000, "end_year": -1600, "long_name": "Amorite Babylonia", "new_name": "iq_babylonia_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Amorites were a tribal group from the Levant area of Semitic descent. They migrated towards Mesopotamia and Amorite names can be seen in Mesopotamian literature throughout the 3rd millennium BCE. By the 2nd millennium BCE a number of Amorites had managed to gain control of Mesopotamian city-states in the power vacuum created by the collapse of the Ur III period. §REF§ Goddeeris, A. 2002. Economy and Society in Northern Babylonia in the Early Old Babylonian Period (ca.2000-1800 BC). Leuven: Peeters Publishers. p.8 §REF§ Very early descriptions suggest they were nomadic, eating raw meat and \"careless even of burying their dead\", but at least part of the population settled into a sedentary lifestyle and took up the western Semetic language of Akkadian. The city and kingdom of Mari was an Amorite establishment. §REF§ Oates, J. Babylon. Revised Edition. London: Thames and Hudson. p.55 §REF§ <br>One problem encountered when considering the Amorites as a polity is that they are frequently identified by their Amorite name, but it cannot be certain whether this corresponds to an individual who is actually an Amorite or if Amorite names are in general use. For example, the Isin-Larsa period is considered a separate polity from the Old Babylonian, Amorite Dynasty, yet the kings of both cities used Amorite names and titles. §REF§ Goddeeris, A. 2002. Economy and Society in Northern Babylonia in the Early Old Babylonian Period (ca.2000-1800 BC). Leuven: Peeters Publishers. p.8-9 §REF§ <br>The Babylonian king Sumu-la-el started to assert control over other towns in northern Babylonia and in the first few centuries of the 2nd Millennium Babylon became one of several city-states with a limited and fluctuating control over surrounding areas. This was the situation when Hammurabi came to the throne in 1792. By the end of his reign, he had conquered the whole of Babylon and briefly Assyria. He titled himself \"King of the Four Quarters of the World\" and \"King of Sumer and Akkad\" §REF§ Oates, J. Babylon. Revised Edition. London: Thames and Hudson. p.65-66 §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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 279, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "Ancient Mesopotamian religion is recognised as being polytheistic, accommodating a broad range of local gods into an increasingly structured framework. Sources speculate that this allowed for a degree of syncretism and tolerance. Within such a system, the idea of \"conversion\" may not have made sense. As the latter quote demonstrates, like previous rulers, the Kassite Dynasty probably used this polytheistic system to their own advantage. “Mesopotamian religion was primarily local in its character. Only through institutional efforts (such as the foundation of palaces and temples) and theological systematization did religion gain regional and supra-regional features. Notwithstanding the local character of religion in Mesopotamia, archaeological and textual evidence attests to a religious system that was intended to foster cultural cohesion.” §REF§ (Pongratz-Leisten, 2013, 33). Pongratz-Leisten, B. (2013). Mesopotamia. In B. Spaeth (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion, pp. 33-54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZEG8QMQQ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZEG8QMQQ </b></a> §REF§ “Like the rulers of earlier empires, Kassite kings understood the importance of connecting the traditional cultural traits with new ones, concealing the fact that they had created a new geopolitical order and thus in reality broken with local traditions. Nominally, the Kassite kings ruled in the name of the Babylonian gods, but the gods who protected and guided them remained Kassite ones.” §REF§ (Heinz, 2012, 718). Heinz, Marlies (2012). The Ur III, Old Babylonian, and Kassite Empires. In Potts, D. T. (Ed.), A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, pp.706-721). John Wiley & Sons. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HIN8NS88\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: HIN8NS88 </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 342, "name": "IqBabKs", "start_year": -1595, "end_year": -1150, "long_name": "Kassite Babylonia", "new_name": "iq_babylonia_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Kassites invaded Babylon from the north-west after the Hittites ended the First Empire. The Hittites did not establish their presence in Babylonia and, instead, the Kassites took the throne and ruled over Babylonia, although it was a smaller empire than the First Empire. §REF§ Gill, A. 2008. Gateway of the Gods: The Rise and Fall of Babylon. London: Quercus. p.66 §REF§ The Kassite Dynasty is notable for the unification of Sumer and Babylon to create the Empire. It was marked by large building projects, especially in old Sumerian cities such as Ur, Uruk and Eridu. §REF§ Stein, D. L. 1997. Kassites. In Meyers, E. (ed.) The Oxford Encylopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Volume 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.272 §REF§ The Babylonian Empire was at this time secondary to the powerful surrounding states Egypt and Assyria. The Kassites had a reasonably good relationship with Egypt; there were several intermarriages and gifts were given and recieved. On the other side, they constantly fought with Assyria until the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I captured the Babylonian king, Kashtiliash IV and conquered Babylon. Assyrians ruled Babylon for seven years. Elam also started invading Babylonian territory in the latter Kassite Dynasty, eventually setting Kutir-Nahhunte on the throne in the north, leaving the Kassites surviving in power in the south. Not many years later Kuti-Nahhunte conquered the whole of Babylon, ended the rule of the Kassite Dynasty and took their god, Marduk, to Susa. §REF§ Liverani, M. 2014. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. London: Routledge. p.364-366 §REF§ <br>The period was characterised by the overall population decline occurring across the Near East. Border towns and villages were abandoned and irrigation became less successful. Much of the administration was undertaken by or in the temples who effectively owned most of the land; however, another type of land ownership developed, which was the land gifted by the king to religious, military and administrative elites. The non-elites, on the other hand, suffered during this period, becoming markedly impoverished as they became unimportant in social government. §REF§ Liverani, M. 2014. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. London: Routledge. p.366-7 §REF§ <br>In general, the Kassites made only limited changes to Babylonian culture, mostly assimilating into Babylonian society. As such, it can often be difficult to ascribe evidence to the Kassites specifically, as opposed to the ongoing Babylonian empire. §REF§ Gill, A. 2008. Gateway of the Gods: The Rise and Fall of Babylon. London: Quercus. p.68 §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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 280, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "Ancient Mesopotamian religion is recognised as being polytheistic, accommodating a broad range of local gods into an increasingly structured framework. Sources speculate that this allowed for a degree of syncretism and tolerance. Within such a system, the idea of \"conversion\" may not have made sense. “Mesopotamian religion was primarily local in its character. Only through institutional efforts (such as the foundation of palaces and temples) and theological systematization did religion gain regional and supra-regional features. Notwithstanding the local character of religion in Mesopotamia, archaeological and textual evidence attests to a religious system that was intended to foster cultural cohesion.” §REF§ (Pongratz-Leisten, 2013, 33). Pongratz-Leisten, B. (2013). Mesopotamia. In B. Spaeth (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions (Cambridge Companions to Religion, pp. 33-54). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZEG8QMQQ\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZEG8QMQQ </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 346, "name": "IqNeoBb", "start_year": -626, "end_year": -539, "long_name": "Neo-Babylonian Empire", "new_name": "iq_neo_babylonian_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Babylon was re-populated by the Chaldean people and the rulers reclaimed the title of King of Babylon. While his father Nabopolassar was on the throne, Nebachudrezzar went on campaigns to defeat the Assyrian and Egyptian armies. §REF§ Oates, J. 1986. Babylon. London: Thames & Hudson. p.128-130 §REF§ Having succeeded in creating the Neo-Babylonian empire, he returned to Babylon to be crowned. Nebachudrezzar then undertook a period of building creating some of the most iconic Babylonian architecture. He ruled the Neo-Babylonian empire by enforcing tithes of goods and labour, although some of the most distant Levantine city-states had a deal of autonomy. §REF§ Vanderhooft, D.S. 1999. The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. Harvard Semitic Museum Monographs 59. p.46 §REF§ So the empire continued for several decades until the reign of Nabonidus, whom is presumed to be unpopular. He left Babylon for ten years to live in the desert. Cyrus of the Achaemenid empire subsequently took over Babylon. Some say he was welcomed to depose Nabonidus, other evidence suggests he destroyed the city. §REF§ Oates, J. 1986. Babylon. London: Thames & Hudson. §REF§ <br>At the height of it's power in the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Babylon was given resources to become the centre of the known world for culture, learning and religion.<br>The audience of Babylonian documents appears to be the Babylonian nobles and priesthood, therefore, they mostly celebrate building projects. It is thought that the empire had reached it's natural limit within ten years; with the Medians to the north and east, the Egyptians in the south-west and the desert to the south. Therefore, the threatening military literature that pervaded the Neo-Assyrian empire was not needed in the Neo-Babylonian empire. §REF§ Liverani, M. 2011. The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. London: Routledge. p.541 §REF§ As a result, less is known about the military capabilities of the Neo-Babylonian empire.<br>The major historical events do not appear to have significantly impacted the material culture. There is continuity in form and style through the Achaemenian transition. §REF§ Baker, H. D. 2012. The Neo-Babylonian Empire. In Potts, D. T. (ed.) A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Volume II. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. p.915 §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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 281, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“The Late Archaic and initial Formative of the central highlands of Mexico are still poorly understood. Niederberger (1976, 1979) found evidence for year-round exploitation of the lake environment at Tlapacoya-Zohapilco around 2500-2000 B.C., suggestive of early sedentism tied to abundant natural resources. There is not, however, evidence for large Late Archaic populations, sedentary or otherwise, and indeed, the Formative is likewise poorly known before approximately 1400 B.C. The Nevada phase in the basin is identified primarily from Zohapilco. The best record of pre-1400 B.C settlement comes from lower-lying areas of Morelos and Puebla (Aviles 1997; Cyphers Guillen and Grove 1987; Grove 1974; Hirth 1987). It is only with Manantial and related phases beginning circa 1150 B.C. (2950 B.P. in radiocarbon years) that occupation is documented across much of central Mexico (e.g., Aufdermauer 1973; Niederberger 1987; Ramirez et al. 2000; Tolstoy 1989).” §REF§ (Lesure et al. 2006, 475-476) Lesure et al. 2006. ‘Chronology, Subsistence, and the Earliest Formative of Central Tlaxcala, Mexico’. Latin American Antiquity. Vol. 17:4. Pp. 474-492. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XMXH6V7V\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: XMXH6V7V </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 7, "name": "MxInitl", "start_year": -2000, "end_year": -1201, "long_name": "Initial Formative Basin of Mexico", "new_name": "mx_basin_of_mexico_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Initial Formative period (c. 2000-1201 BCE). At the start of this period, maize, squash, and other food crops had been domesticated; however, the earliest known pottery and the earliest known settled villages in the region date to a few centuries later, between 1600 and 1400 BCE. §REF§ (Pool 2012: 171) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KISGMGK6\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KISGMGK6</a>. §REF§ <br>No population estimates could be found in the consulted literature; however, knowing that the site of Tlatilco (which was rather large for its time, and which was settled toward the end of this period) covered about 65 hectares (i.e. 160 acres), §REF§ (Coe 1994: 46) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5DJ2S5IF\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5DJ2S5IF</a>. §REF§ we may estimate that it had a population of between 3,000 and 13,000 people, assuming between 50 and 200 per hectare. No information could be found on the political organisation of settlements at the time, though it is worth noting that, beginning in 1500 BCE, the Basin developed a two-tiered settlement system, §REF§ (Evans 2004: 124) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA</a>. §REF§ suggesting perhaps a hierarchical relationship between larger settlements and smaller ones. Moreover, the ability of certain segments of the population to intensify and control access to staples and ceremonial foods likely led to the earliest emergence of social inequalities and political hierarchies. §REF§ (Pool 2012: 171) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KISGMGK6\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KISGMGK6</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 27, "name": "Basin of Mexico", "subregion": "Mexico", "longitude": "-99.130000000000", "latitude": "19.430000000000", "capital_city": "Ciudad de Mexico", "nga_code": "MX", "fao_country": "Mexico", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 23, "name": "Mexico", "subregions_list": "Mexico", "mac_region": { "id": 7, "name": "North America" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 282, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“The archaeological record of the Archaic period (ca. 8000–2000 BC) is still very fragmentary, and this hinders understanding both of the change from foraging societies to kin-based villages and of the development of early hierarchical polities.” §REF§ (Nichols & Pool 2012, 13) Nichols, Deborah L. and Pool, Christopher A. 2012. ‘Mesoamerican Archaeology: Recent Trends’. In The Oxford handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology. Edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/I2EHZSUW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: I2EHZSUW </b></a> §REF§ “Even greater difficulties are faced when it comes to reconstructing social organization, ceremonialism, and ideology from the archaeological traces of people whose material manifestations of these phenomena, even where preserved, were very limited.” §REF§ (Zeitlin & Zeitlin 2000, 50) Zeitlin Robert N. and Zeitlin Judith Francis. 2000. ‘The Paleoindian and Archaic Cultures of Mesoamerica’. In The Cambridge History of the native People of the Americas. Vol II: Mesoamerica. Part I. Edited by Richard E.W. Adams and Murdo J. MacLeod. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/C6KJ9FU9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: C6KJ9FU9 </b></a> §REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 6, "name": "MxArch*", "start_year": -6000, "end_year": -2001, "long_name": "Archaic Basin of Mexico", "new_name": "mx_basin_of_mexico_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Basin or Valley of Mexico is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly corresponding to modern-day Mexico City. Here, we are interested in the phase of its prehistory known as the Archaic or Pre-Ceramic period (c. 6000-2001 BCE). This period may be described as a long, gradual transition from a lifestyle centred on big-game hunting prevalent in the preceding \"Paleo-Indian\" period to a sedentary, agricultural lifestyle in the succeeding \"Formative\" period. Indeed, Archaic sites are defined by their lack of both large animal remains and ceramics. §REF§ (Kennett 2012: 141) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTF3FP57\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RTF3FP57</a>. §REF§ No population estimates could be found in the consulted literature. Similarly, no information could be found on the political organisation of settlements at the time.<br><br/>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 27, "name": "Basin of Mexico", "subregion": "Mexico", "longitude": "-99.130000000000", "latitude": "19.430000000000", "capital_city": "Ciudad de Mexico", "nga_code": "MX", "fao_country": "Mexico", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 23, "name": "Mexico", "subregions_list": "Mexico", "mac_region": { "id": 7, "name": "North America" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 284, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“However, the missionaries [Catholic] and their followers did experience some hardship that year, when five Muslim apostates were executed for converting to Christianity.” §REF§ (Tiburcio 2020, 20) Tiburcio, Alberto. 2020. Muslim-Christian Polemics in Safavid Empire 1505-1722 CE. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WNFMPUEV\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: WNFMPUEV </b></a> §REF§ “Whatever the case, once settled in New Julfa, Armenians enjoyed royal protection and became the cornerstone of the Iranian silk trade with both Europe and the Ottoman Empire. As Christians, they had access to trading routes which remained inaccessible to Shiʿi Iranians due to the sectarianism of the time. This of course did not mean that the Shah trusted them unconditionally. At times, he became wary that their contact with European missionaries could bring them too close to the Church of Rome, which could lead them to compromise their loyalty. To prevent this, he often barred them from visiting the missionaries’ houses. §REF§ (Tiburcio 2020, 11-12) Tiburcio, Alberto. 2020. Muslim-Christian Polemics in Safavid Empire 1505-1722 CE. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WNFMPUEV\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: WNFMPUEV </b></a> §REF§", "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": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "present", "polity": { "id": 374, "name": "IrSafvd", "start_year": 1501, "end_year": 1722, "long_name": "Safavid Empire", "new_name": "ir_safavid_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Safavid period of rule in Persia (1501-1722 CE) was begun by Shah Ismail (1501-1524 CE) and is known as a 'gunpowder empire' due to the now widespread use of artillery and muskets on the battlefield. §REF§ (Haneda 1989, 62) Masashi Haneda. January 1, 1989. “The Evolution of the Safavid Royal Guard.” Iranian Studies 22, no. 2/3. §REF§ <br>Shah Ismail, whose original power base was near the Caspian sea, began the conquest of Iran with the capture Tabriz from the Ak Koyunlu. He declared that the state religion was Shi'ia and the Safavids were decisive for the spread of Shi'ism in Iran.<br>While initially the governing system was \"largely a continuation of its Aq Qoyunlu counterpart and its Turco-Mongolian traditions\" §REF§ (Mitchell 2009, 29) Mitchell, Colin P. 2009. Practice of Politics in Safavid Iran, The: Power, Religion and Rhetoric. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ it eventually became a \"highly centralized and complex bureaucratic system\" §REF§ (Lambton 2011) Lambton, Ann K S. 2011. CITIES iii. Administration and Social Organization. Encyclopedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii</a> §REF§ based at the Safavid court in the capital city. The highest officials of the Safavid court included the Vazir-e-azam (chief minister), Amir al-omard (commander in chief of the army, later titled Sepdhsdldr-e koll-e lasgar-e Iran), the Sadr (judiciary and religious minister), and vice-regent. §REF§ (Mousavi 2008, 23-24) Mohammad A. Mousavi. January 1, 2008. “The Autonomous State in Iran: Mobility and Prosperity in the Reign of Shah ’Abbas the Great (1587-1629).” Iran & the Caucasus 12, no. 1 doi:10.2307/25597352. §REF§ <br>As a defensive measure against Ottoman attacks Shah Tahmasp (1524-1576) moved the capital from Tabriz to Qazvin, but Shah Abbas I (1587-1629 CE) moved it again, further south, to a new monumental city at Isfahan. Under Shah Abbas Isfahan’s population grew to 200,000. §REF§ David Blow. 2009. Shah Abbas: The Ruthless King Who Became an Iranian Legend. London: I.B. Tauris, 2009, p.193. §REF§ The rule of Shah Abbas I (1587-1629 CE) is widely thought of as representing the peak Safavid achievement. Incredible wealth acquired from the state monopoly over the silk trade, was spent on large-scale building works. Abbas also made key reforms to improve the administration and the army. §REF§ (Matthee 2008) Rudi Matthee. 2008. ‘SAFAVID DYNASTY’. IranicaOnline. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/safavids</a> §REF§ §REF§ (Savory 1967, 75) R M Savory. 1967, “The Sherley Myth.” Iran 5 §REF§ §REF§ (Ward 2009, 49) Steven R. Ward. 2009. Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces (Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 285, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "“Christianity was a proselytizing religion which brought it into conflict with the Zoroastrian hierarchy. After all, who were the Christians in Persia trying to convert? We have many cases in which even people from the noble families converted to Christianity and were martyred for their belief.” §REF§ (Daryaee 2014, 78) Touraj Daryaee 2014. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. London, England: I.B. Tauris. Seshat ULR: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5ETDRZZE\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5ETDRZZE </b></a> §REF§ Evidence that religious tolerance shifted from ruler to ruler “With the reign of Yazdgerd I (399-420) we being to get a new ideological outlook and treatment of the religious minorities in the empire. His coins add the slogan “who maintains peace in his realm”, while the Sasanian sources call him “sinner”. This is purely, priestly propaganda, which looked down upon his good treatment of the religious minorities, especially the Jews and the Christians. In fact, Christianity was able to become a recognized religion when the first synod of the Nestorian Church was convened in 410, during Yazdgerd’s rule. […] Now Persian Christianity became officially recognized and the Nestorian Patriarch resided at the royal city of Ctesiphon; he and the Jewish exilarch became responsible for their coreligionists.” §REF§ (Daryaee 2014, 194) Touraj Daryaee 2014. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. London, England: I.B. Tauris. Seshat ULR: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5ETDRZZE\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5ETDRZZE </b></a> §REF§ “In 422 a peace treaty was signed giving religious freedom to the Christians in the Sasanian Empire and to the Zoroastrians in the eastern Roman Empire.” §REF§ (Daryaee 2014, 194) Touraj Daryaee 2014. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. London, England: I.B. Tauris. Seshat ULR: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5ETDRZZE\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5ETDRZZE </b></a> §REF§", "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": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "present", "polity": { "id": 128, "name": "IrSasn1", "start_year": 205, "end_year": 487, "long_name": "Sasanid Empire I", "new_name": "ir_sassanid_emp_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Sassanids came from the Parthian province of Persis near the Zagros mountains of western Iran. Ardashir I defeated the last Parthian ruler Ardawan (Artabanus IV) in 224 CE and claimed the title \"King of Kings\" in imitation of the ancient Archaemenids. The early Sassanid rulers claimed a divine descent until powerful Zoroastrian priests ended this by the 4th century. The long reign of Shapur II (309-379 CE) saw the peak of peace and security within the empire §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20, 200) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ that had a total population of perhaps 5 million people.<br>In the early period royal cities were built and administered by shahrabs who ruled as petty kings. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) N N Chegini. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ Centralization occurred in the later Sassanid period when the empire was split into four parts each ruled by a spahbad who had civil and military powers. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) N N Chegini. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ <br>The size of Persian court and bureaucracy notability increases between Ardashir I and Shapur I (240-270 CE). §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ Institutions of administration continued to evolve from those present in the Parthian era §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) N N Chegini. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ a grand vizier now present at the central government in the capital Ctesiphon whose remit encompassed control of the diwans, diplomatic affairs as well as occasional stints as commander of the army. §REF§ (Wilcox 1986, 24) P Wilcox. 1986. Rome's Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians. Osprey Publishing. §REF§ By the fifth century the centralized bureaucracy was sophisticated enough that \"the death of a king would not bring the empire down.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 196) Daryaee, Touraj. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ <br>Rise of Zoroastrian Church under Kerdir 274 CE had monumental impact on Persia with the persecution of religious minorities (Christians, Manichaeans, Mandeans, Jews and Buddhists) §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 191) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ . The Zoroastrian priests had initially tolerated rival religious such as Manichaeism until Shapur I (240-270 CE) but Mani was eventually executed. §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ By the time of Bahram II (274-293 CE) the Sasanian kings themselves had lost their own religious freedom as caretakers of the Anahid fire temple to a priest called Kerdir \"who became the judge of the whole empire. ... from this point on, the priests acted as judges throughout the empire, and court cases were probably based on Zoroastrian law except when members of other religious minorities had disputes with each other.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 191) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 286, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "‘‘‘ \"Looking at the religious situation in Mesopotamia we can observe that there was not any significant change in religious practices from the Neo‐Babylonian time to the Achaemenid period, but we also have only limited information about active participation of the Achaemenid rulers in Babylonian religious practices. After Cyrus’ victory over the Babylonians and their surrender of Babylon to the Achaemenid king, Cyrus restored – according to his inscription in the Cyrus Cylinder – the cult of Marduk again, which had been interrupted by the war.\" §REF§(Hutter 2020: 1294) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8W97BZBH\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8W97BZBH </b></a>.§REF§ \"So the situation in both Elephantine and the province of Jehud shows that the religion of the Jewish population was largely left unrestricted by any kind of religious politics on the part of the Achaemenids.\" §REF§(Hutter 2020: 1299) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8W97BZBH\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8W97BZBH </b></a>.§REF§ \"The “expatriate” gods – either in Persepolis or in the province Persis in general where, for example, Lycians, Lydians, Ionians, Babylonians, and Egyptians lived in a “dazzling cosmopolitan hotchpotch” (Henkelman 2008: p. 341) and participated also in local Elamite or Iranian (Zoroastrian) religious practices, as well as in the provinces of the multiethnical Achaemenid Empire – were accepted by the Achaemenid authorities, as the worship of these “foreign” gods always was deemed a private matter by the Achaemenids. In an aequi‐distance to all non‐Iranian gods, they were generally neglected by the Achaemenid administration and politics, which is neither a kind of tolerance nor intolerance.\"§REF§(Hutter 2020: 1300) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8W97BZBH\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8W97BZBH </b></a>.§REF§", "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": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 107, "name": "IrAchae", "start_year": -550, "end_year": -331, "long_name": "Achaemenid Empire", "new_name": "ir_achaemenid_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Achaemenid Empire was established by Cyrus II 'the Great', who inherited the small kingdom of Persia (named after the capital city, Persis) in southwest Iran, a vassal territory of the larger Median Empire to the Northwest. From 553 to 550 BCE, Cyrus led his fellow Persians against Median hegemony (even though the Medes were ruled by his own relatives), establishing the Persians as the dominant group in Iran. His kingdom became known as the Achaemenid Empire after the legendary first King of Persia, Achaemenes, claimed to be an ancestor of the Great Cyrus himself (Achaemenid essentially translates to 'children of Achaemenes'). §REF§ (Briant [1996] 2002) Pierre Briant. [1996] 2002. <i>From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire</i>, translated by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. §REF§ <br>Capitalizing on these early victories, Cyrus II the Great continued his military domination, conquering the wealthy Lydian Kingdom in modern-day Turkey along with most of Asia Minor and the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom in Mesopotamia, as well as consolidating Persia's hold over much of central Asia as far as modern Pakistan. His son and heir, Cambyses II, continued this tradition, expanding Achaemenid rule into the large and wealthy kingdom of Egypt. After Cambyses II's death in 522 BCE, a noble Persian named Darius came to power after overthrowing an alleged usurper to the throne (Gautama, supposedly posing as Cyrus II's son Bardiya, more commonly known by his Greek name Smerdis). §REF§ (Shayegan 2006) M. Rahim Shayegan. 2006. 'Bardiya and Gaumata: An Achaemenid Enigma Reconsidered'. <i>Bulletin of the Asia Institute</i> (n.s.) 20: 65-76. §REF§ Darius I, who also took the title of 'the Great', was a powerful ruler who inaugurated several military, administrative, and economic reforms, §REF§ (Cook 1983) J. M. Cook. 1983. <i>The Persian Empire</i>. London: J. M. Dent and Sons. §REF§ though is most well known for leading the Persian army to defeat at the hands of a coalition of small Greek city-states during the famous Persian Wars of the early 5th century BCE. Despite the fact that Darius' son and heir Xerxes I (the Great) also failed to conquer the Greek Aegean and lost a decisive battle to the same outnumbered coalition of Greeks, the Achaemenid Empire remained intact. §REF§ (de Souza 2003) Philip de Souza. 2003. <i>The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC</i>. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. §REF§ <br>In 330 BCE, Darius III became the twelfth and final emperor in the Achaemenid line when he succumbed to the conquests of Alexander the Great and his invading Macedonian army (twelfth not including the alleged usurper Bardiya/Smerdis nor the short-lived Artaxerxes V, who declared himself emperor for a brief moment after Darius III was killed as Alexander was completing his conquest). §REF§ (Kuhrt 2001, 94) Amelie Kuhrt. 2001. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 550 - c. 330 BCE): Continuities, Adaptations, Transformations', in <i>Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History</i>, edited by Susan Alcock, Terence D'Altroy, Kathleen D. Morrison and Carla M. Sinopoli, 93-123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Alexander became the ruler of all the territory formerly held by the Persians, incorporating it into the massive, though short-lived, Macedonian Empire and bringing an end to the great Persian Achaemenid Empire.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Achaemenid Empire was one of the largest empires in the pre-modern world, stretching nearly 6 million square kilometres across the Near East, Central Asia, the Indus Valley, Middle East, and into Egypt at its greatest extent. §REF§ (Broodbank 2015, 583) Cyprian Broodbank. 2015. <i>The Making of the Middle Sea</i>. London: Thames & Hudson. §REF§ It was a massive, multi-ethnic society made up of Medes, Persians, Lydians, Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Sogdians, and numerous other cultural-ethnic groups; indeed, Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Aramaic, hieroglyphic Egyptian, and Greek were all used in royal and provincial communication. §REF§ (Shahbazi 2012, 135) A. Shapour Shahbazi. 2012. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE)', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History</i>, edited by Touraj Daryaee, 120-41. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ Between the Great rulers Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I, the Persians had stitched together an empire out of the centres of the oldest civilizations from Anatolia to Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Persepolis and the grand Pasargadae were large ceremonial and ritual centres in the heartland of Persia, while Susa in western Iran was the major administrative capital. At its peak under Darius I, the empire covered a huge swathe of diverse territory from the eastern Mediterranean all the way to the Indus Valley, incorporating navigable seas and rivers, protected ports and fertile agricultural land as well as rough mountainous passes. This territory held a population of between 17 and 35 million people. §REF§ (Wiesehöfer 2009) Josef Wiesehöfer. 2009. 'The Achaemenid Empire', in <i>The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium</i>, edited by Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel, 66-98. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 287, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": "The following quote suggests a certain degree of governmental and societal tolerance. \"By the time, in the mid‐third millennium BC, that we first encounter quantities of detailed religious texts, all of southern Iraq (known to its inhabitants as 'the Land of Sumer and Akkad' or simply 'the Land') shared an enormous and complex pantheon in which syncretism between Sumerian and Semitic (Akkadian) gods was already evident through their dual names (e.g. Sumerian Utu/Akkadian Shamash, the sun god). There is no reason to see this shared religious culture as a natural or inevitable state of affairs, since the many city states of the period were not only religiously distinct but to an extent defined by religious differences: a city's patron deity was a major part of that city's identity; moreover the city's major shrine would house a cult statue in which the god was at some level considered to be embodied. In such a context it is remarkable not only that all the gods of other cities were recognized, but that to some degree their genealogical relations and major deeds seem to have been widely agreed.” §REF§(Seymour 2012: 777) Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/CTHTPICG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: CTHTPICG </b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": false, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "Government restrictions on conversion", "coded_value": "absent", "polity": { "id": 476, "name": "IqAkkad", "start_year": -2270, "end_year": -2083, "long_name": "Akkadian Empire", "new_name": "iq_akkad_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The polity at Akkad in Iraq is often thought to represent the \"first world empire\". §REF§ (Brisch 2013, 120) N Brisch. 2013. History and chronology. In: H. Crawford (ed.), <i>The Sumerian World.</i>London and New York: Routledge, 111-130. §REF§ §REF§ Liverani 1993 §REF§ Its name derives from city of Akkad (Agade, location still undetermined), which was a capital of the kingdom. The period is also called Sargonic Period after the founder of Akkad and the ruling dynasty - Sargon (Sharrukin). The end of Akkadian empire seems to be associated with the invasion of the Gutians, and is correlated with some climate changes. §REF§ (Weiss 2002, 22) H Weiss. 2002. Akkadian. Akkadian Empire. In: P. N. Peregrine & M. Ember, <i>Encyclopaedia of Prehistory. South and Southeast Asia, Volume 8</i>. New York: Springer, 21-24. §REF§ <br>Sargon's power mainly depended on his army, which was probably a regular standing army. §REF§ (Hamblin 2006, 74-75) W J Hamblin. 2006. <i>Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC</i>. New York: Routledge. §REF§ Foster (2016) describes an Empire as \"an entity put together and maintained by force, with provinces administered by officials sent out from the capital in the heartland\" and claims this is \"precisely what we see in the Akkadian period.\" §REF§ (Foster 2016, 80) Benjamin R Foster. 2016. The Age of Agade. Inventing Empire In Ancient Mesopotamia. Routledge. London. §REF§ Barjamovic (2012) notes that the formation of the private royal army and the construction of regional military strongholds together with the division of the conquered territories into provinces was the key to Akkad's \"permanent imperial presence.\" §REF§ (Barjamović 2012, 130) G Barjamović. 2012. Mesopotamian Empires. In: P. Fibiger Bang & W. Scheidel (eds.), <i>The Oxford Handbook of the State in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 120-160. §REF§ <br>To increase control from the center, Sargon appointed Akkadian governors (ensi) in Sumerian cities in a place of older Sumerian rulers §REF§ (Hamblin 2006, 75) W J Hamblin. 2006. <i>Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC</i>. New York: Routledge. §REF§ although some cities continued to be ruled by a local ensi. §REF§ (Leverani 2014, 138) Mario Liverani. Soraia Tabatabai trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. §REF§ In fact, all local officials probably had a great deal of de facto independence. §REF§ (Leverani 2014, 138) Mario Liverani. Soraia Tabatabai trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London. §REF§ As an additional means of control, Sargon sent his daughter - Enheduanna - to be the highest priestess of god Sin in Uruk. This practice was continued by his descendants. §REF§ (Franke 1995, 831-841) S Franke. 1995. Kings of Akkad: Sargon and Naram-Sin. In: J. M. Sasson (ed.) <i>Civilization of Ancient Near East</i>. Peabody: Hendrikson, 831-841. §REF§ <br>Naram-Sin, a grandson of Sargon, was one of the greatest ruler of Akkad in terms of military conquest and administration. His reforms included a unified system of measurements. He undertook also the process of renovation of Ekur temple and on his death was deified and treated as protective deity. §REF§ (Franke 1995, 384) S Franke. 1995. Kings of Akkad: Sargon and Naram-Sin. In: J. M. Sasson (ed.) <i>Civilization of Ancient Near East</i>. Peabody: Hendrikson, 831-841. §REF§ Akkadian was the official language of empire, and all official documents were written in Akkadian, although Sumerian still was in use, especially in Southern Mesopotamia. §REF§ (Van de Mieroop 2007, 67) §REF§ <br><br/>", "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" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }