Courier List
A viewset for viewing and editing Couriers.
GET /api/sc/couriers/
{ "count": 331, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/sc/couriers/?page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 313, "year_from": 1716, "year_to": 1814, "description": "“ In time Ursins heard stories of the princess’ willfulness, but her courier was unable to halt the marriage by proxy of Felipe V and Elizabeth Farnese in the Cathedral of Parma on September 16, 1714. Henceforth she would be known as Isabel Farnese.”<ref>(Bergamini 1974: 50) Bergamini, John D. 1974. The Spanish Bourbons: The History of a Tenacious Dynasty. New York: G. P Putnam’s Sons. https://archive.org/details/spanishbourbons00john. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5A2HNKTF</ref>", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": "2023-08-24T10:05:19.611365Z", "modified_date": "2023-08-24T10:05:19.611379Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "polity": { "id": 570, "name": "es_spanish_emp_2", "start_year": 1716, "end_year": 1814, "long_name": "Spanish Empire II", "new_name": "es_spanish_emp_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": null, "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-08-23T12:08:55.435366Z", "home_nga": null, "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" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 330, "year_from": 1923, "year_to": 1991, "description": "The history of the State Courier Service of the Russian Federation (SFS Russia) dates back to December 17, 1796, when Emperor Paul I signed a Decree on the creation of a separate courier corps. The personnel of the Courier Corps (courier) ensured the delivery of the emperor's decrees, orders, reports, securities, parcels, as well as the escort of high-ranking officials.\r\n\r\nDuring the Soviet period, on the basis of the Courier Corps, the External Communications Service was formed under the Command Personnel Directorate of the All-Russian General Staff, then it was transformed several times and became subordinate to various departments (VChK - GPU - OGPU - NKVD, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Ministry of Communications of the USSR).§REF§“ABOUT THE STATE FISCAL SERVICE OF RUSSIA,” https://gfs.gov.ru/informaciya/o-gfs-rossii/.<a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8WMJSDED\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8WMJSDED</b></a>§REF§", "note": null, "finalized": false, "created_date": "2023-11-28T12:32:57.431332Z", "modified_date": "2023-11-28T12:32:57.431346Z", "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "polity": { "id": 601, "name": "ru_soviet_union", "start_year": 1918, "end_year": 1991, "long_name": "Soviet Union", "new_name": "ru_soviet_union", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-12-12T15:11:33.853424Z", "home_nga": null, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 16, "name": "Eastern Europe", "subregions_list": "Belarus, non-Steppe Ukraine and European Russia", "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" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 3, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 350, "name": "AfGrBct", "start_year": -256, "end_year": -125, "long_name": "Greco-Bactrian Kingdom", "new_name": "af_greco_bactrian_k", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was a hereditary monarchy founded in the mid-3rd century BCE, probably by the Seleucid satrap Diodotus I,§REF§(Holt 1999, 51, 63) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR</a> §REF§ as a successor kingdom of the Seleucid Empire. It came to an end when it was conquered by nomadic peoples who were being pushed further west by the rising power of a unified Chinese empire.§REF§(Bernard 2012, 42-52) Bernard, Paul. 2012. “Ai Khanum: A Greek Colony in Post-Alexandrian Central Asia, or How to Be Greek in an Oriental Milieu.” In Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations along the Silk Road, edited by Joan Aruz and Elisabetta Valtz Fino, 42-53. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/K38GFI79\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/K38GFI79</a> §REF§<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Under the Graeco-Bactrian rulers, new cities based on the Greek street plan, such as Sirkap, sprang up in Central Asia.§REF§(Higham 2004, 344) Higham, Charles. 2004. Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations. New York: Facts On File. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JBEBEPPM\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JBEBEPPM</a> §REF§ The Bactrian Greek city of Ai Khanoum, one of the best preserved, had an impressive administrative centre, gymnasium and theatre as well as Greek statuary.§REF§(Docherty 2008, 64-65) Docherty, Paddy. 2008. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion. New York: Union Square Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7</a> §REF§ The administrative centre at Ai Khanoum was Persian in style so was likely organized into different departments and scribes.§REF§(Mori 2015, 93) Mori, Anatole. 2015. “Literature in the Hellenistic World.” In A Companion to Greek Literature, edited by Martin Hose and David Schenker, 89-111. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IBRAVRD7\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IBRAVRD7</a> §REF§<br>The regions of Bactria were ruled by officials from their administrative centres, such as Ai Khanoum, which may have had a population of between 25,000 and 50,000 people. But if these regional officials were initially directly loyal to the central monarchy at the capital Bactra, by 126 BCE the Chinese chronicler Zhang Qian could claim that Bactria had 'no great ruler but only a number of petty chiefs ruling the various cities'.§REF§(Mairs 2014, 154) Mairs, Rachel. 2014. The Hellenistic Far East: Archaeology, Language, and Identity in Greek Central Asia. Oakland, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3ENDA26P\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3ENDA26P</a> §REF§<br>The Greco-Bactrian army was based on the same model as that of the Macedonian-Seleucids, with innovations in tactics based on exposure to nomadic horsemen.§REF§(Holt 1999, 118) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR</a> §REF§ The Bactrian Greeks were equipped in the Macedonian style adopted by their Seleucid forebears. They wore a muscled breastplate made of metal scales and their legs were protected by strips of leather.§REF§(Docherty 2008, 64-66) Docherty, Paddy. 2008. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion. New York: Union Square Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IW3IVGT7</a> §REF§<br>The flowering of Greek culture in Central Asia in this period produced distinctly Hellenistic artwork, statuary and coinage and had a profound influence on the culture of central Asia for centuries to come.§REF§(Holt 1999, 136) Holt, Frank Lee. 1999. Thundering Zeus: The Making of Hellenistic Bactria. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/X4JIUZNR</a> §REF§§REF§(Bernard 1994) Bernard, P. 1994. “The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia.” In History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B.C. to A.D. 250, edited by János Harmatta, B. N. Puri, and G. F. Etemadi, 96-126. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HIB5JTCU\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HIB5JTCU</a> §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 23, "name": "Sogdiana", "subregion": "Turkestan", "longitude": "66.938170000000", "latitude": "39.631284000000", "capital_city": "Samarkand", "nga_code": "UZ", "fao_country": "Uzbekistan", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 8, "name": "Afghanistan", "subregions_list": "Afghanistan", "mac_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Central and Northern Eurasia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 292, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "absent", "polity": { "id": 26, "name": "USMisPa", "start_year": 600, "end_year": 750, "long_name": "Cahokia - Late Woodland III", "new_name": "us_woodland_5", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "2000 BCE<div>Period of population growth begins §REF§ (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013) §REF§ </div><br>1 CE<br><div>c1 CE \"large quantities of native cultigens began to be incorporated into midcontinental diets. §REF§ (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013) §REF§ </div><br>100 CE<div>Maize appears in the archaeological record §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Atlatl is the contemporary weapon §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"periodic rituals at ceremonial mound centers\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"groups ensured access to needed resources through maintenance of alliance-exchange relationships\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>200 CE<br>300 CE<div>Early arrowheads appear. \"Beginning A.D. 300-400, the bow replaced the atlatl in most regions\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>In the Mississippian region (Midwest and Upland South) the transition from atlatl to bow was \"relatively rapid because dart points disappear from the archaeological record\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Introduction of the bow in the Mississippi region decreased social complexity because it caused the collapse of the Hopewell system, the abandonment of mound centers and alliance-exchange relationships §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Bow enabled a new bow and native crops subsistence strategy which lead to a movement to and the effective exploitation of previously marginal lands and \"household autonomy\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>There followed an economic intensification and population growth which eventually \"packed the landscape with settlements.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>400 CE<br>500 CE<br>600 CE<div>Late arrowheads appear. \"This transition to small, thin, triangular or triangular corner-notched points has long been accepted as evidence of the bow, but variation in the morphology of late arrow point types suggest that this transition was governed by social and historical factors that varied across these regions.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Late arrowheads may indicate the technological development of fletching as they are less heavy and thick than the early arrowheads. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>First evidence of intergroup violence appears in the archaeological record (arrowpoints embedded in skeletons in individual and group burials). §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>No evidence for an increase in social complexity and hierarchy or deviation from the \"trend toward household autonomy\" at this time. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"For the first time, there is evidence, in the form of group and individual burials with embedded arrow points, of the bow as the primary weapon of intergroup violence.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"In Middle Woodland times there isn’t much evidence for warfare.\" \"Later, after about A.D. 600 there is more evidence (scalping, embedded arrow points).\" §REF§ (Peregrine/Pauketat 2014, 16) §REF§ <br>\"Population growth, reduced access to resources, sedentism, and the desire to avoid conflict made the high costs of intensified food production more attractive.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>700 CE<br>800 CE<div>Intensification of Maize farming begins. Higher yields from maize cultivation enables more food to be extracted from a smaller territory. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"Although there is scattered evidence for corn, or maize, during Middle Woodland times, it wasn't until Late Woodland times, after AD 700-800, that it became an important food crop.\" §REF§ (Iseminger 2010, 26) §REF§ <br>Social complexity increases from this period. \"Site plans gained greater internal complexity as houses clustered into court-yard groups and, toward [1000 CE], the southern pattern of civic-ceremonial centers with large earthen mounds was established in many places. Nucleated settlements may have been a defensive response to bow warfare. Burials with embedded arrow points and sites fortified with palisades and ditches are widespread, although no present everywhere... New social roles linked to community defense, organization of labor, and communal storage of maize in secure central places laid the foundation for the increased group differentiation, competition, and hierarchy of the Mississippian period beginning A.D. 1000.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Palisades and ditches appear in the archaeological record. The first evidence of substantial intergroup warfare. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>\"trail networks also are important, and some of the historic east-west ones cross near Cahokia.\" §REF§ (Peregrine/Trubitt 2014, 21) §REF§ <br>Cahokia \"controlled a critical choke point in trade routes that spanned the midcontinent\" an idea that goes back to Brackenridge (1813 CE). §REF§ (Milner 2006, 12) §REF§ <br>\"The greatest environmental hazard would have been a late summer Mississippi River flood similar to the one that took place in 1993. A rise in the river at that time of the year simultaneously drowned crops, prevented easy fishing in shallow ponds, and ruined food stored in underground pits. Floods attributable to severe storms, including excessive water funnelled into the floodplain by creeks that drain the uplands, certainly caused localized disasters much like they did a century ago before effective flood-control measures were put in place.\" §REF§ (Milner 2006, 168) §REF§ <br>\"No other major site was as advantageously situated. Cahokia was located in what was by far the widest expanse of land suitable for settlement in the American Bottom. More people could live there than anywhere else ... The high ground where Cahokia was located was bordered on the north and south by large tracts of low-lying land that received the waters of different upland streams.\" §REF§ (Milner 2006, 168) §REF§ <br><br/>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 28, "name": "Cahokia", "subregion": "Mississippi Basin", "longitude": "-90.062035000000", "latitude": "38.658938000000", "capital_city": "St. Louis", "nga_code": "USMO", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 24, "name": "Mississippi Basin", "subregions_list": "From the Great Lakes to Louisiana", "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": 293, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "absent", "polity": { "id": 24, "name": "USMisRo", "start_year": 300, "end_year": 450, "long_name": "Cahokia - Late Woodland I", "new_name": "us_woodland_3", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "2000 BCE<div>Period of population growth begins §REF§ (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013) §REF§ </div><br>1 CE<br><div>c1 CE \"large quantities of native cultigens began to be incorporated into midcontinental diets. §REF§ (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013) §REF§ </div><br>100 CE<div>Maize appears in the archaeological record §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Atlatl is the contemporary weapon §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"periodic rituals at ceremonial mound centers\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>\"groups ensured access to needed resources through maintenance of alliance-exchange relationships\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>200 CE<br>300 CE<div>Early arrowheads appear. \"Beginning A.D. 300-400, the bow replaced the atlatl in most regions\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>In the Mississippian region (Midwest and Upland South) the transition from atlatl to bow was \"relatively rapid because dart points disappear from the archaeological record\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Introduction of the bow in the Mississippi region decreased social complexity because it caused the collapse of the Hopewell system, the abandonment of mound centers and alliance-exchange relationships §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>Bow enabled a new bow and native crops subsistence strategy which lead to a movement to and the effective exploitation of previously marginal lands and \"household autonomy\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ <br>There followed an economic intensification and population growth which eventually \"packed the landscape with settlements.\" §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) §REF§ </div><br>400 CE<br>500 CE<br><br/>\"The greatest environmental hazard would have been a late summer Mississippi River flood similar to the one that took place in 1993. A rise in the river at that time of the year simultaneously drowned crops, prevented easy fishing in shallow ponds, and ruined food stored in underground pits. Floods attributable to severe storms, including excessive water funnelled into the floodplain by creeks that drain the uplands, certainly caused localized disasters much like they did a century ago before effective flood-control measures were put in place.\" §REF§ (Milner 2006, 168) §REF§ <br>\"No other major site was as advantageously situated. Cahokia was located in what was by far the widest expanse of land suitable for settlement in the American Bottom. More people could live there than anywhere else ... The high ground where Cahokia was located was bordered on the north and south by large tracts of low-lying land that received the waters of different upland streams.\" §REF§ (Milner 2006, 168) §REF§ <br><br/>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 28, "name": "Cahokia", "subregion": "Mississippi Basin", "longitude": "-90.062035000000", "latitude": "38.658938000000", "capital_city": "St. Louis", "nga_code": "USMO", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 24, "name": "Mississippi Basin", "subregions_list": "From the Great Lakes to Louisiana", "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": 294, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "absent", "polity": { "id": 27, "name": "USMisSp", "start_year": 750, "end_year": 900, "long_name": "Cahokia - Emergent Mississippian I", "new_name": "us_emergent_mississippian_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Sponemann-Collinsville-Loyd Period at Cahokia (750-900 CE) is significant for being a foundational period for later social developments at Cahokia. At this time appears the first signs of warfare, an increase in social complexity and more widespread consumption of farmed crops like maize.<br>The increase in social complexity was reflected in settlements with houses clustered into court-yard groups. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ While there is little evidence for warfare in the preceding Middle Woodland §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ from c800 CE there is evidence of inter-group violence as human bones have been recovered with arrow points embedded into them in individual and group burials. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ Some settlements even gained palisades and ditches §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ , although at this time they were present at only a tiny fraction of all sites (0.5% between 800-950 CE §REF§ (Milner, Chaplin and Zavodny 2013) G R Milner. G Chaplin. E Zavodny. 2013. Conflict and Societal Change in Late Prehistoric Eastern North America. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:96-102. Wiley. §REF§ ). After 700-800 CE there was a dramatic intensification of food production, particularly of maize farming, which brought higher yields and enabled more food to be extracted from a smaller territory and would lead to population growth. §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ §REF§ (Iseminger 2010, 26) W R Iseminger. 2010. Cahokia Mounds: America's First City. The History Press. Charleston. §REF§ §REF§ (Milner 2006, xx) G R Milner. 2006. The Cahokia Chiefdom: The Archaeology of a Mississippian Society. University Press of Florida. Gainesville. §REF§ <br>The evidence suggests communities experienced increased differentiation of social roles, with individuals dedicated to \"community defense, organization of labor, and communal storage of maize in secure central places\". §REF§ (Blitz and Porth 2013, 89-95) J H Blitz. E S Porth. 2013. Social complexity and the Bow in the Eastern Woodlands. Evolutionary Anthropology. 22:89-95. Wiley. §REF§ The Upper Mississippi region was populated by a number of small communities. The population of largest settlement was probably in the region of 500 people - although this population was not resident at the site that later became Cahokia.<br><br/>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 28, "name": "Cahokia", "subregion": "Mississippi Basin", "longitude": "-90.062035000000", "latitude": "38.658938000000", "capital_city": "St. Louis", "nga_code": "USMO", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 24, "name": "Mississippi Basin", "subregions_list": "From the Great Lakes to Louisiana", "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": 5, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 281, "name": "AfKidar", "start_year": 388, "end_year": 477, "long_name": "Kidarite Kingdom", "new_name": "af_kidarite_k", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Kidarite state in Central Asia (~ 388-477 CE) may have lasted less than 100 years, but its earliest phase under the suzerainty of the Sassanid Empire is not well known. §REF§ (Zeimal 1996, 125) E. V. Zeimal. The Kidarite Kingdom In Central Asia. 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.123-137. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ \"It has been suggested that they conquered K'ang-chu and Sogdiana in c. 300 but the literary sources have not yet been corroborated by the archaeological evidence.\" §REF§ (Zeimal 1996, 124-125) E V Zeimal. The Kidarite Kingdom In Central Asia. 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.123-137. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ <br>The most influential ruler of the Kidarites was perhaps king Kidara: narrative sources place him in the c420s CE but numismatists agree his rule began c390 CE. §REF§ (Grenet 2005) Frantz Grenet. 2005. KIDARITES. Iranicaonline. www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kidarites §REF§ The Chinese chronicle Peo-Shih (Annals of the Wei Dynasty) say Kidara held \"vast territories to the north and south of the Hindu Kush\" and his most imporant city was near Peshawar, probably Purushapura, §REF§ (Zeimal 1996, 126) E V Zeimal. The Kidarite Kingdom In Central Asia. 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.123-137. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ the late capital of the Kushan Empire.<br>Much like the Kushan Empire little is known about how exactly they ruled their territories. The Kidarites founded new cities (Panjikent and Kushaniya), Kushaniya being a royal foundation §REF§ (Grenet 2005) Frantz Grenet. 2005. KIDARITES. Iranicaonline. www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kidarites §REF§ that shows that the Kidarites attempted to draw some of their legitimacy from the preceding Kushan period. Zeimal (1996) concludes that \"It seems likely that the administrative and government structure created by the Kushans was left largely intact under the Kidarites.\" §REF§ (Zeimal 1996, 132) Zeimal, E. V. The Kidarite Kingdom In Central Asia. 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.123-137. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 23, "name": "Sogdiana", "subregion": "Turkestan", "longitude": "66.938170000000", "latitude": "39.631284000000", "capital_city": "Samarkand", "nga_code": "UZ", "fao_country": "Uzbekistan", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 8, "name": "Afghanistan", "subregions_list": "Afghanistan", "mac_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Central and Northern Eurasia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 298, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 468, "name": "UzSogdi", "start_year": 604, "end_year": 711, "long_name": "Sogdiana - City-States Period", "new_name": "uz_sogdiana_city_states", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "General description:<br>The Sogdian City States Period, also referred to by the names of the principal cities of the age, Bukhara and Samarkand dates to between 604 and 711CE. The period ends with the conquest of the region by the Umayyad Dynasty.§REF§(Marshak 1996, 242) Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.242<a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD</a> §REF§<br>A number of City States rose to prominence in the Zarafshan and surrounding valleys, they formed alliances and competed amongst each other for control of the region .§REF§(De la Vaissière 2005, 167) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill. p.167 <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D</a> §REF§ Chef amongst these City States was Samarkand, which in the seventh century extended across the plateau of Afrasiab.§REF§(Marshak 1996, 244) Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.244<a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD</a> §REF§<br>The height of this period can be considered to have occurred in mid the 7th century CE when the city of Samarkand was at the peak of its economic and culture production, symbolized by the creation of the Afrasiab paintings. §REF§(Frumkin 1970, 124) Frumkin, G. 1970. Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia. Leiden;Koln. Brill. p.124 <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/48WCJTCC\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/48WCJTCC</a> §REF§<br>Although the City States had achieved de facto independence after the fall of the Western Kaghanate, they were nominally allied to the Chinese T’ang dynasty, however the dynasty did not meaningfully hinder the Arab incursions.§REF§(Marshak 1996, 242) Marshak, B. I. 1996. ‘Sughd and Adjacent Regions’. In B. A. Litvinsky (ed.), Co-editors: Zhang Guang-da and R. Shabani Samghabadi. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. The Crossroads of Civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III. Paris: UNESCO. p.242<a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/5AW7RCHD</a> §REF§<br>Population and political organization:<br>Each city state was ruled by a king, conceived of as ‘first among equals’ who headed the administrative system which ran the state.§REF§(De la Vaissière 2005, 167) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill.p.167 <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D</a> §REF§ While there is clear evidence of a strong merchant class their relationship to the ruling elite remains unclear. §REF§(De la Vaissière 2005, 168-169) De la Vaissière, E. 2005. Sogdian Traders: a History. Translated by James Ward. Leiden; Boston: Brill. pp.168-169 <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D</a> §REF§<br>Although there are no precise population figures the archaeological evidence indicates that the number of settlements, and thus population, in the region reached its height during this period.§REF§(De la Vaissière 2005, 103-4) De La Vaissiere, Etienne. 2005. Sogdian Traders: A History. [trans James Ward] Leiden: Brill.p.103-4 <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/collectionKey/IZCFUKJQ/itemKey/8P724M2D</a> §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 23, "name": "Sogdiana", "subregion": "Turkestan", "longitude": "66.938170000000", "latitude": "39.631284000000", "capital_city": "Samarkand", "nga_code": "UZ", "fao_country": "Uzbekistan", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 13, "name": "Turkestan", "subregions_list": "Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Xinjiang", "mac_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Central and Northern Eurasia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 6, "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": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "present", "polity": { "id": 127, "name": "AfKushn", "start_year": 35, "end_year": 319, "long_name": "Kushan Empire", "new_name": "af_kushan_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Kushan Empire was a confederated state headed by an absolute or near absolute military monarchy. Little is known of its early history due to the scarcity of written records, but it appears to have been founded in Bactria, Central Asia in the mid-1st century CE when Kujula Kadphises united the five tribes of the Yuezhi confederation. §REF§ (Sinopoli 2005, 335-37) Sinopoli, Carla M. 2005. “Imperial Landscapes of South Asia.” In Archaeology of Asia, edited by Miriam T. Stark, 324-49. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF</a>. §REF§ <br>The Kushan state, as chronicled by the <i>Hou Hanshu</i> (a Chinese text), expanded from Bactria and Sogdiana into Gandhara (in modern-day Pakistan) and northern India. §REF§ (Sinopoli 2005, 335-37) Sinopoli, Carla M. 2005. “Imperial Landscapes of South Asia.” In Archaeology of Asia, edited by Miriam T. Stark, 324-49. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF</a>. §REF§ Kushan coins recovered from excavations across this region are a key source of evidence for the expansion of the empire and reveal that Kushan monarchs took a syncretistic approach to religion and culture, utilizing Buddhist, Iranian, Hellenistic and Indian iconography. §REF§ (Neelis n.d.) Neelis, Jason. nd. “The Kushan Empire.” University of Washington: Silk Road Seattle. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/kushans/essay.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/kushans/essay.html</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Historians are uncertain exactly how the Kushan Empire was governed. According to Rafi-us Samad, the Kushans were 'great conquerors but poor administrators' and the stable administration of the capital was to a large degree reliant on the Buddhist establishment. §REF§ (Samad 2011, 90-91) Samad, Rafi-us. 2011. The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys. New York: Algora Pub. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=777134\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=777134</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EI23K8AX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EI23K8AX</a>. §REF§ Nevertheless, the historian B. N. Puri has described the Kushan king's powers as 'unfettered' by any kind of advisory body comparable to those found in the Mauryan period in northern India. §REF§ (Puri 1994, 254) Puri, B. N. 1994. “The Kushans.” In History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. II: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B.C. to A.D. 250, edited by János Harmatta, B. N. Puri, and G. F. Etemadi, 239-55. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CW6B4KVV\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CW6B4KVV</a>. §REF§ The state chancery used both the Bactrian language, written using the Greek alphabet, and Gandhari, written in the Kharosthi script. §REF§ (Grenet 2012, 1-2) Grenet, Frantz. 2012. “The Nomadic Element in the Kushan Empire (1st-3rd Century AD).” Journal of Central Eurasian Studies, no. 3: 1-22. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TMRCJ9QP\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TMRCJ9QP</a>. §REF§ <br>One theory holds that the political structure of the empire was characterized by 'hierarchical organization in a feudatory system'. Another view suggests the Kushan state included a mixture of both bureaucratic and feudal elements. The further south into the Indian subcontinent and the further from the capitals one went, the more independent the outer satraps became. §REF§ (Mukherjee 1998, 448) Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath. 1988. The Rise and Fall of the Kushānạ Empire. Calcutta: Firma KLM. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/97W9PEID\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/97W9PEID</a>. §REF§ <br>The literature does not provide reliable estimates for the population of the Kushan Empire.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 23, "name": "Sogdiana", "subregion": "Turkestan", "longitude": "66.938170000000", "latitude": "39.631284000000", "capital_city": "Samarkand", "nga_code": "UZ", "fao_country": "Uzbekistan", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 8, "name": "Afghanistan", "subregions_list": "Afghanistan", "mac_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Central and Northern Eurasia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 4, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "courier", "courier": "present", "polity": { "id": 129, "name": "AfHepht", "start_year": 408, "end_year": 561, "long_name": "Hephthalites", "new_name": "af_hephthalite_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Hepthalites were one group of a series of nomadic tribal confederations that are sometimes referred to as the White Huns. The evidence seems to indicate that they were a second wave of Hunnish migration. §REF§ <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf</a> p. 140 §REF§ Despite the name, some scholars think the White Huns were in fact not a Turkic people, but rather the easternmost group of Iranian nomads. §REF§ Docherty, Paddy. The Khyber Pass: a history of empire and invasion. Union Square Press, 2008. p. 105 §REF§ <br>At their peak territorial coverage the Hephthalite lands may have enclosed 26 million people but most subjects likely had a great deal of autonomy. As a nomadic confederation, the Hepthalites may not have possessed a central administration, although evidence indicates at least the adoption of local administrations for the purposes of exacting tribute. §REF§ encyclopedia iranica vol. XII, HAREM I - ILLUMINATIONISM, 2004. Fasc. 2, pp. 198-201 §REF§ During the peak of their power, they seem to have become increasingly sedentary, and this may have increased the degree of centralization. Coins show Hephthalites practiced skull deformation §REF§ (West 2009, 276) West, B A. 2009. Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. §REF§ which may provide indirect evidence for strong social hierarchy and status competition.<br>Commentators at the time differed in their opinions as to what the structure of the group was and to what degree they differed from the other nomadic peoples of the area. The Byzantian commentator Procopius of Caesarea stressed that, 'They are not nomadic like the other Hunnish peoples, but have long since settled on fertile land.' He further explained that unlike the other peoples of central asia, the Hepthalites were,'ruled by one king and possess a legal state structure, observing justice among themselves and with their neighbours in no lesser measure than the Byzantines and Persians.' §REF§ <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf</a> p. 140 §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-06-12T15:06:12.462534Z", "home_nga": { "id": 23, "name": "Sogdiana", "subregion": "Turkestan", "longitude": "66.938170000000", "latitude": "39.631284000000", "capital_city": "Samarkand", "nga_code": "UZ", "fao_country": "Uzbekistan", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 8, "name": "Afghanistan", "subregions_list": "Afghanistan", "mac_region": { "id": 3, "name": "Central and Northern Eurasia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }