Polity Population List
A viewset for viewing and editing Polity Populations.
GET /api/sc/polity-populations/?ordering=-year_from&page=3
{ "count": 467, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/sc/polity-populations/?ordering=-year_from&page=4", "previous": "https://seshatdata.com/api/sc/polity-populations/?ordering=-year_from&page=2", "results": [ { "id": 505, "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": null, "polity_population_to": null, "polity": { "id": 13, "name": "MxEpicl", "start_year": 650, "end_year": 899, "long_name": "Epiclassic Basin of Mexico", "new_name": "mx_basin_of_mexico_8", "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 Epiclassic or Late Classic period (c. 650-899 CE). In this period, Teotihuacan had diminished in size and lost its hold over the region; at the same time, none of the major centres at the time matched it: the populations of Cantona, Xochicalco, and Cacaxtla likely did not surpass 25-30,000. §REF§ (Carballo 2019: pers. comm. to E. Cioni and G. Nazzaro) §REF§ Worship of the feathered snake became widespread throughout Mesoamerica, as indicated by the broad distribution of artistic representations of this deity or culture hero, and there was a renewed emphasis on human sacrifice in both ritual practice and artistic expression. §REF§ (Evans 2012: 123-124) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AN5IUQ7X</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": 395, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People.", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": null, "polity_population_to": null, "polity": { "id": 472, "name": "IqSoNeo", "start_year": -9000, "end_year": -5501, "long_name": "Southern Mesopotamia Neolithic", "new_name": "iq_so_mesopotamia_nl", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "", "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": 312, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People.<br>Egypt (5 m), Levant (0.5m) and Syria (1.5m) in 1300 CE. §REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1978)§REF§<br>Demographic decline from 1348 CE (plague). §REF§(Raymond 2000, 116)§REF§<br>Population of Egypt 4 million in 1348 CE. §REF§(Raymond 2000, 120)§REF§<br>Suggested estimates: 5-6 million in 1300 CE, 3.5 million in 1400 CE; 3.2 million in 1500 CE§REF§(Korotayev Andrey. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. May 2020.)§REF§<br>Famines in Egypt§REF§(Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.§REF§<br>1284 CE, 1295 CE, 1296 CE, 1335 CE", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 5000000, "polity_population_to": 6000000, "polity": { "id": 232, "name": "EgMamBh", "start_year": 1260, "end_year": 1348, "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I", "new_name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Mamluk Sultanate has two possible start dates: 1250 CE, when the last Ayyubid ruler in Egypt was deposed, or ten years later, once a period of disorder that included an attack from the Mongols had ended. Baybars (sultan from 1260 to 1277 CE) killed the first two Mamluk sultans after victories on the battlefield and, as a statesman and organizer, was 'the real founder of the Mamluk state'. §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The sultans of the Bahri Dynasty or 'Dawlat al-Atrak' (Empire of the Turks) §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 41) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ - so-called because the rulers were of Turkish origin - oversaw a new climax of sociopolitical development, wealth and splendour in Egypt, which peaked under the reign of Sultan Nasiri §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 137) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ before plague arrived in Alexandria in 1347 CE. §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ We end our early Mamluk Sultanate period in 1348 CE, a year when crisis struck Egypt.<br>The traditional chronological division of the Mamluk Sultanate into Bahri (Turkish) and Burji (Circassian) periods is not followed here because, according to the historian André Raymond, these periods 'correspond to no fundamental changes in the organization of the Mamluk state'. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 116-17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ We have chosen to split the sultanate in 1348 and 1412 CE instead in recognition of the crisis period following the Bahri period of prosperity. After the 'great plague epidemic' of 1348, Mamluk troops were defeated by the Turco-Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (Timur) at the end of the 14th century, and, in 1403, the sultanate faced another political crisis and the 'disastrous reign of Faraj'. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 116-17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The final Burji period began in 1412 CE and, while known for 'a return to normality and periods of brilliance', was marked by demographic decline. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 116-17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Since the children of mamluks could by law never become mamluks, §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 16) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ the Mamluk Sultanate was in every generation ruled by a foreign 'slave-elite' that had to be constantly replaced by new 'slave' recruits imported, educated, promoted, and manumitted specifically for the role. Manumission was essential because under Islamic law no slave could be sovereign. The sultan performed a ritual manumission at his inaugural ceremony but the legal manumission would usually have occurred when he was about 18 years old, following the mamluk training. §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In the Bahri period the Mamluks were of Turkish origin (like those recruited by the last Ayyubid sultan), but later sultans recruited mostly Circassians from the Caucasus. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 112) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ Mamluk recruits were employed in the central government, the military and as governors in the provinces. While promotion to the highest echelons of the government and military was 'granted according to precise rules', succession to the highest position - the Sultanate itself - was often a chaotic contest in which 'seniority, merit, cabal, intrigue, or violence' all jostled for prominence. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 113-14) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ Nevertheless, the deck was stacked such that from 1290 to 1382 CE, the sultanate was inherited by 17 different descendants of Sultan Qalawun. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 114) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <br>The Mamluk sultan ruled from Cairo and during his absence from the capital, Egypt was governed by his viceroy, the <i>na'ib al-saltana</i>. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 152) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The bureaucracy did not tightly control the countryside. Rather, influence was projected informally through<i> 'iqta</i> holdings (allotments of land along with the right to their tax revenue) - first used in Egypt during the preceding Ayyubid Dynasty period. These were assigned as a way to remunerate the slave soldiers of the centrally organized professional military, §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 250) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ as well as more formally through the na'ib, governor of a <i>mamlaka</i> administrative district. §REF§ (Drory 2004, 169) Joseph Drory. 2004. 'Some Remarks Concerning Safed and the Organization of the Region in the Mamluk period', in <i>The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society</i>, edited by Michael Winter and Amalia Levanoni, 163-90. Leiden: Brill. §REF§ The Mamluk elite controlled the appointment of 'judges, legal administrators, professors, Sufi shaykhs, prayer leaders, and other Muslim officials. They paid the salaries of religious personnel, endowed their schools, and thus brought the religious establishment into a state bureaucracy'. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 249) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In Cairo, Islamic law was kept by three traditional magistracies called <i>qadi</i> (pl. <i>qudah</i>), whose courts had a wide remit over civil law. A law-enforcement official called the chief of the sergeant of the watch oversaw <i>wulah</i> (sg. <i>wali</i>) policemen who kept watch at night and also fought fires. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 153) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Revenue and Resources</i><br>The Bahri Dynasty was highly effective at drawing revenue. In the 14th century CE, the annual revenue was 9.5 million dinars, which was 'higher than at almost any other time since the Arab conquest'. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 116) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ This paid for the Al-Barid postal system initiated by Baybars (1260‒1277 CE), which was extremely expensive to set up. Horses were used for first time on routes such as Cairo to Qus in Upper Egypt; and Cairo to Alexandria, Damietta and Syria. §REF§ (Silverstein 2007, 173) A. J. Silverstein. 2007. <i>Postal Systems in the Pre-Modern Islamic World</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The Syrian region of the Mamluk Sultanate was run by a chief governor, who had governors below him. §REF§ (Drory 2004, 169) Joseph Drory. 2004. 'Some Remarks Concerning Safed and the Organization of the Region in the Mamluk period', in <i>The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society</i>, edited by Michael Winter and Amalia Levanoni, 163-90. Leiden: Brill. §REF§ Imperial communications via Palestine were reportedly so efficient that 'Baybars boasted that he could play polo in Cairo and Damascus in the same week, while an even more rapid carrier-pigeon post was maintained between the two cities'. §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 17) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The Mamluk rulers continued the tradition of dedicating much effort and resources to what might be termed public works projects, for which they largely used corvée labour. §REF§ (Dols 1977, 152) M. W. Dols. 1977. <i>The Black Death In The Middle East</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In addition to a permanent medical staff, lecture halls and laboratories, a hospital established by Sultan Qalaun (1279‒1290 CE) included a library stocked with books on medicine, theology and law. §REF§ (Dols 1977, 177) M. W. Dols. 1977. <i>The Black Death In The Middle East</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§ The Mamluks followed Ayyubid precedents when they embarked on an 'intense period of construction' in the first century of their rule, with building projects initiated by governors, generals, generals, rich merchants and judges. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 248) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ André Raymond has identified 54 mosques and madrasas built in the 1293‒1340 CE period alone. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 120) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The Mamluks also built many 'tombs for venerated Muslim ancestors and for deceased rulers'. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 249) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>Private wealth was extensive at this time and the Karimi merchant and banking families operated fleets and agencies from China to Africa. §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 19) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Cairo's population was probably under 200,000 in the mid-14th century (only Constantinople could claim a great population in Western Eurasia), §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 136-37) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ and the sultanate as a whole reached about 6-7 million people. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones, 1978, 138-47, 227) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Allen Lane. §REF§ This would have fluctuated, however, as severe bouts of famine struck Egypt in 1284, 1295, 1296 and 1335 CE. §REF§ (Nicolle 2014, 11-12) David Nicolle. 2014. <i>Mamluk 'Askari 1250-1517</i>. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 5, "name": "Upper Egypt", "subregion": "Northeastern Africa", "longitude": "32.714706000000", "latitude": "25.725715000000", "capital_city": "Luxor", "nga_code": "EG", "fao_country": "Egypt", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 4, "name": "Northeast Africa", "subregions_list": "Egypt and Sudan (the Nile Basin)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 555, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People.<br>Turkey contained 1.5 million by the chalcolithic (2500 BC) and 3 million \"during the course of the full Bronze age\".§REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1978, 133) McEvedy, Colin. Jones, Richard. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Penguin Books Ltd. London.§REF§<br>The polity territory isn't anywhere near 750,000 km2 of Anatolia. If we assume at height the polity controlled 25% of the region that would be 750,000 people. This would be a lower limit if we further suppose that the Hittite region, being the most developed, would be the most densely populated.", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 800000, "polity_population_to": 1600000, "polity": { "id": 162, "name": "TrHatOK", "start_year": -1650, "end_year": -1500, "long_name": "Hatti - Old Kingdom", "new_name": "tr_hatti_old_k", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The early period of the Hittite Kingdom lasted from about 1650 to 1500 BCE and is known as the Old Kingdom. The polity emerged after a group of Indo-European speakers migrated c. 2000 BCE from either the Causasus or the Bosphorus and Dardanelles and settled on a high plateau in western Anatolia known as Hatti. §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 8) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ §REF§ (Stephens, Jr. 1979, 46) Stephens, Jr., W. Richard. 1979. “The Rise of the Hittite Empire: A Comparison of Theories on the Origin of the State.” Mid-American Review of Sociology 4 (1): 39-55. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T</a>. §REF§ The immigrants mingled with the indigenous people of Hatti and adopted many of their beliefs and customs. §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 8) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Before the mid-1st millennium BCE, the central Anatolian region was divided into many city-states. §REF§ (Stephens, Jr. 1979, 41-42) Stephens, Jr., W. Richard. 1979. “The Rise of the Hittite Empire: A Comparison of Theories on the Origin of the State.” Mid-American Review of Sociology 4 (1): 39-55. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T</a>. §REF§ Gradually, however, the Hittites began to conquer the neighbouring cities, founding a strong state around 1650 BCE. §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 8) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ §REF§ (Stephens, Jr. 1979, 41049) Stephens, Jr., W. Richard. 1979. “The Rise of the Hittite Empire: A Comparison of Theories on the Origin of the State.” Mid-American Review of Sociology 4 (1): 39-55. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2MD3WV2T</a>. §REF§ Labarna I (17th century BCE) was the first known Hittite king. §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 34) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ <br>The king was the supreme ruler and military commander, a chief judge and a priest in Hittite society. §REF§ (Bryce 2007, 11) Bryce, Trevor A. 2007. Hittite Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/38EMV897\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/38EMV897</a>. §REF§ He entrusted the management of major cities and provinces to officials who were often directly answerable to him, §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 16) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ and could bestow important military positions on members of his own family. §REF§ (Bryce 2007, 8-9) Bryce, Trevor A. 2007. Hittite Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/38EMV897\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/38EMV897</a>. §REF§ Vassal rulers were obliged to pay tribute to the king and take an oath of allegiance. §REF§ (Bryce 2002, 43) Bryce, Trevor R. 2002. Life and Society in the Hittite World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8JSUC58W</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 11, "name": "Konya Plain", "subregion": "Anatolia-Caucasus", "longitude": "32.521164000000", "latitude": "37.877845000000", "capital_city": "Konya", "nga_code": "TR", "fao_country": "Turkey", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 43, "name": "Anatolia-Caucasus", "subregions_list": "Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan", "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": 298, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People. 5,000,000: 1045 BCE.§REF§(Liu 2005: 240) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q77FKW2H\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q77FKW2H</a>?.§REF§<br>3000 BCE about a million either side of lower Huang Ho (Longshan culture), plus 1 million food-gatherers elsewhere. In Shang period agricultural area extended 1 million KM, population had become 5 million people (6m total in China). §REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1978, 170-172)§REF§", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 5000000, "polity_population_to": 5000000, "polity": { "id": 243, "name": "CnShang", "start_year": -1250, "end_year": -1045, "long_name": "Late Shang", "new_name": "cn_late_shang_dyn", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Late Shang Dynasty (1250-1045 BCE) was an extension of the Erligang culture based in Yinxu, near modern Anyang. The Late Shang were the last 12 kings of the dynasty, beginning with Pan Geng. Unlike in Erligang settlements, pottery, oracle bones and other artefacts showing a fully formed writing system have been found at Late Shang sites. This system included 'pictograms, ideograms, and phonograms'. §REF§ (San 2014, 19) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ The oldest written records uncovered from Shang contexts date back to 1200 BCE. §REF§ (San 2014, 19) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ <br>The civilization at Yinxu is considered to represent the golden age of the Shang Dynasty §REF§ (San 2014, 17) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ and 11 major royal tombs have been uncovered there by archaeologists. §REF§ (San 2014, 17) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ Pottery and bronze and jade work flourished in the Late Shang period. §REF§ (San 2014, 20) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ The Late Shang also had a developed calendar system with 30 days in a month and 12 months (360 days) in a year. §REF§ (Encyclopedia Britannica 2017) “Shang Dynasty.” Encyclopedia Britannica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shang-dynasty\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shang-dynasty</a> Accessed May 29, 2017. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8GNFD4WH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8GNFD4WH</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Late Shang were based on the North China Plain. The dynasty's territory stretched north to modern Shandong, south to Hebei, and west to Henan. §REF§ (San 2014, 16) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ The Shang government was a feudal system in which the king and a class of military nobility ruled over the masses, who were mainly farmers. §REF§ (San 2014, 16, 21) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ Shang kings also served as high priests. §REF§ (San 2014, 16) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>) §REF§ The Late Shang were in constant conflict with surrounding settlements and with civilizations from the steppe. §REF§ (San 2014, 21) San, Tan Koon. 2014. Dynastic China: An Elementary History. Malaysia: The Other Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TB95WB7F</a>. §REF§ <br>The population of the Late Shang Dynasty was around 5 million in 1045 BCE. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 170-72) McEvedy, Colin, and Richard Jones. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Penguin. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6U4QZXCG/q/atlas%20of%20world%20population\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6U4QZXCG/q/atlas%20of%20world%20population</a>. §REF§ The population of the Yinxu settlement in Anyang is unknown.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-04T15:29:41.622565Z", "home_nga": { "id": 20, "name": "Middle Yellow River Valley", "subregion": "North China", "longitude": "112.517587000000", "latitude": "34.701825000000", "capital_city": "Luoyang", "nga_code": "CN", "fao_country": "China", "world_region": "East Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 58, "name": "North China", "subregions_list": "North China without Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang", "mac_region": { "id": 4, "name": "East Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 275, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People.<br>Estimate for the population of Bactria c400 CE.<br>Bactria included part of modern Afghanistan and the region McEverdy and Jones (1979) called Russian Turkestan. In 400 CE McEvedy and Jones estimate 2.5 million and 2 million for those entire regions, respectively.§REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1979) McEvedy, C. Jones, R. 1979. Atlas of World Population History. Allen Lane. London.§REF§ At this time in history Bactria would have been the core area of settled population in both these regions (with perhaps the exception of Khwarezm region in Russian Turkestan). However, core Bactria is only a very small part of northern Afghanistan. I would estimate 500,000 at most for the Afghan region and 1,000,000 for the region in Russian Turkestan, and express this as a range of 1-1.5 million.", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 1000000, "polity_population_to": 1500000, "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": 276, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People. [225,000; 105,000], coded as a range 100,000-225,000. AD. This is a rough estimate that needs to be checked by an expert.<br>If there were at least two realms within the Zarafshan basin then the population estimate should be divided between them (200,000). Another source suggests a federation of five tribes - so the estimate could also be divided between five (80,000). These figures presumably refer to the migrant population: how many inhabitants were there already living in the locales (if the invasion was not accompanied by genocide)? <span style=\"color:purple\">(JR: Woodcock said that 'there is no evidence of any general or even local massacre of the ordinary Greek population [in Bactria] after the nomad victories'.§REF§(Woodcock 1966, 130 in Hill 2009, 319) John E. Hill. 2009. <i>Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the 'Western Regions' from the</i> Hou Hanshu. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing.§REF§)</span> Given the relatively small size of these polities, this latter estimate could be directly added to the total. The largest settlement size for Greco-Bactria 200 BCE currently is estimated about 25,000.<br>According to Chinese sources, the Yueh-chih had a total population of 400,000 including 100,000 warriors. §REF§(Burjakov 1991, 199)§REF§ This number would correspond to the federation of five tribes, not to each separate polity.<br>\"Thus, both the written sources and the numismatic data show that Transoxiana in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.lacked internal political unity. Even Sughd (the basin of the river Zarafshan) was divided between at least two realms, this corresponding more or less to the later partition of the Zarafshan valley into \"Bukharan Sughd\" and \"Samarkandian Sughd\"; accordingly we have imitations of tetradrachms of Euthydemus and imitations of drachms of Antiochus I, with a horse's head on the reverse side.\" §REF§(Zeimal 1983, 246)§REF§<br>", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 100000, "polity_population_to": 225000, "polity": { "id": 467, "name": "AfTochr", "start_year": -129, "end_year": 29, "long_name": "Tocharians", "new_name": "af_tocharian", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The period of Sogdian and Bactrian history between the disintegration of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in the late 2nd century BCE and the rise of the Kushan Empire in the 1st century CE is poorly understood. The region was politically fragmented and the local settled populations were subjected to nomadic invasions, notably by a group of pastoralists and traders known to us by their Chinese name, Yuezhi. §REF§ (Benjamin 2006) Benjamin, Craig. 2006. \"The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia.\" In Ēran Ud Anērān: Studies Presented to Boris Ilich Marshak on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, edited by Matteo Compareti, Paola Raffeta, and Gianroberto Scarcia, Electronic version. Transoxiana Webfestschrift Series I. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX</a>. §REF§ §REF§ (Liu 2001, 264-65) Liu, Xinru. 2001. \"Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.\" Journal of World History 12 (2): 261-92. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7</a>. §REF§ The Yuezhi are also sometimes referred to as 'Tochari' by scholars who believe they spoke a Tocharian language, part of an extinct Indo-European language group. §REF§ (Benjamin 2006) Benjamin, Craig. 2006. \"The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia.\" In Ēran Ud Anērān: Studies Presented to Boris Ilich Marshak on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, edited by Matteo Compareti, Paola Raffeta, and Gianroberto Scarcia, Electronic version. Transoxiana Webfestschrift Series I. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX</a>. §REF§ (Others argue that their original language was eastern Iranic or proto-Turkic.) §REF§ (Hill 2009, 312) Hill, John E. 2009. Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the \"Western Regions\" from the Hou Hanshu. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK</a>. §REF§ <br>In the mid-1st millennium BCE and perhaps even earlier, the Yuezhi were living on the steppes to the north of China. §REF§ (Liu 2001, 264-65) Liu, Xinru. 2001. \"Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.\" Journal of World History 12 (2): 261-92. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7</a>. §REF§ However, after coming into conflict with other nomadic groups, the Xiongnu and Wusun, they migrated towards Sogdiana. §REF§ (Benjamin 2006) Benjamin, Craig. 2006. \"The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia.\" In Ēran Ud Anērān: Studies Presented to Boris Ilich Marshak on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, edited by Matteo Compareti, Paola Raffeta, and Gianroberto Scarcia, Electronic version. Transoxiana Webfestschrift Series I. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX</a>. §REF§ By 129 BCE, when the Han Chinese diplomat Zhang Qian visited the Yuezhi court on the Oxus river, they were ruling over a region that included parts of the old Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom. §REF§ (Liu 2001, 264-65) Liu, Xinru. 2001. \"Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.\" Journal of World History 12 (2): 261-92. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7</a>. §REF§ <br>In the early 1st century CE, the first Kushan king, Kujula Kadphises, seized power and began ruling over south-eastern Sogdiana, marking the end of our Yuezhi period. §REF§ (Hill 2009, 345) Hill, John E. 2009. Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the \"Western Regions\" from the Hou Hanshu. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK</a>. §REF§ Kujula Kadphises was probably a member of one of five Yuezhi factions or subtribes, which he succeeded in unifying through military conquest, §REF§ (Hill 2009, 345) Hill, John E. 2009. Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the \"Western Regions\" from the Hou Hanshu. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK</a>. §REF§ but even this is disputed.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Yuezhi in Bactria and Sogdiana seem to have been organized into a federation of five tribes that competed for political supremacy in the new territory. §REF§ (Liu 2001, 272) Liu, Xinru. 2001. \"Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies.\" Journal of World History 12 (2): 261-92. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QZA3GBJ7</a>. §REF§ There is no written or numismatic evidence of a centralized Yuezhi state with a single paramount ruler before the rise of Kujula Kadphises. §REF§ (Hill 2009, 345) Hill, John E. 2009. Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. An Annotated Translation of the Chronicle on the \"Western Regions\" from the Hou Hanshu. Charleston, SC: BookSurge Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/67NGJHIK</a>. §REF§ Historian Craig Benjamin has characterized Yuezhi control over the sedentary population of northern Bactria and Sogdia as that of a militarily superior ruling dynasty of nomads, 'pastoralist conquerors' whose 'nominal sovereignty' was acknowledged by the locals because they feared violence if they refused to submit. §REF§ (Benjamin 2006) Benjamin, Craig. 2006. \"The Yuezhi Migration and Sogdia.\" In Ēran Ud Anērān: Studies Presented to Boris Ilich Marshak on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, edited by Matteo Compareti, Paola Raffeta, and Gianroberto Scarcia, Electronic version. Transoxiana Webfestschrift Series I. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.transoxiana.org/Eran/Articles/benjamin.html</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/KEWTMPWX</a>. §REF§ <br>Secure estimates for the combined population of the ruling Yuezhi and the settled population under their control in this period are lacking.", "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": 313, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People. <br>6,000,000: 1500 CE. Egypt (4m), Levant (0.5m) and Syria (1.5m). §REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1978)§REF§<br>Suggested estimates: 5-6 million in 1300 CE, 3.5 million in 1400 CE; 3.2 million in 1500 CE§REF§(Korotayev Andrey. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. May 2020.)§REF§", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 3200000, "polity_population_to": 3200000, "polity": { "id": 239, "name": "EgMamBu", "start_year": 1412, "end_year": 1517, "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III", "new_name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_3", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "During the Burji period of the Mamluk Sultanate, Egypt was ruled by an elite 'slave' military caste of Circassian origin. These rulers had replaced the earlier Bahri Dynasty, of Turkish origin, in 1382 CE during the preceding 'crisis phase'. With the assassination of Sultan Faraj in 1412 CE, Mamluk Egypt entered a 'relative recovery' with 'periods of brilliance', although problems such as demographic stagnation did not disappear. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 116-17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The most renowned of the rulers were the Sultans Barsbay and Qaytbay, but they did little to prevent the deterioration of the Mamluk institutions and the economic collapse and disorder that preceded the Ottoman takeover. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 165) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ We begin our Burji Mamluk period in 1412 and end it with the fall of the dynasty to Ottoman forces in 1517. §REF§ (Winter 1992, xiii) Michael Winter. 1992. <i>Egyptian Society under Ottoman Rule, 1517‒1798</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Since the children of mamluks could by law never become mamluks, §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 16) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ the Mamluk Sultanate was in every generation ruled by a foreign 'slave-elite' that had to be constantly replaced by new 'slave' recruits imported, educated, promoted, and manumitted specifically for the role. Manumission was essential because under Islamic law no slave could be sovereign. The sultan performed a ritual manumission at his inaugural ceremony but the legal manumission would usually have occurred when he was about 18 years old, following the mamluk training. §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In the Bahri period the Mamluks were of Turkish origin (like those recruited by the last Ayyubid sultan), but later sultans recruited mostly Circassians from the Caucasus. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 112) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ Mamluk recruits were employed in the central government, the military and as governors in the provinces. While promotion to the highest echelons of the government and military was 'granted according to precise rules', succession to the highest position - the Sultanate itself - was often a chaotic contest in which 'seniority, merit, cabal, intrigue, or violence' all jostled for prominence. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 113-14) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ Nevertheless, the deck was stacked such that from 1290 to 1382 CE, the sultanate was inherited by 17 different descendants of Sultan Qalawun. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 114) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <br>The Mamluk sultan ruled from Cairo and during his absence from the capital, Egypt was governed by his viceroy, the <i>na'ib al-saltana</i>. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 152) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The bureaucracy did not tightly control the countryside. Rather, influence was projected informally through<i> 'iqta</i> holdings (allotments of land along with the right to their tax revenue) - first used in Egypt during the preceding Ayyubid Dynasty period. These were assigned as a way to remunerate the slave soldiers of the centrally organized professional military, §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 250) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ as well as more formally through the na'ib, governor of a <i>mamlaka</i> administrative district. §REF§ (Drory 2004, 169) Joseph Drory. 2004. 'Some Remarks Concerning Safed and the Organization of the Region in the Mamluk period', in <i>The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society</i>, edited by Michael Winter and Amalia Levanoni, 163-90. Leiden: Brill. §REF§ The Mamluk elite controlled the appointment of 'judges, legal administrators, professors, Sufi shaykhs, prayer leaders, and other Muslim officials. They paid the salaries of religious personnel, endowed their schools, and thus brought the religious establishment into a state bureaucracy'. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 249) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In Cairo, Islamic law was kept by three traditional magistracies called <i>qadi</i> (pl. <i>qudah</i>), whose courts had a wide remit over civil law. A law-enforcement official called the chief of the sergeant of the watch oversaw <i>wulah</i> (sg. <i>wali</i>) policemen who kept watch at night and also fought fires. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 153) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <br>Although struck by plague and famines during the crisis period, Cairo was never short of people: a lower-bound estimate of its resident population places it at about 150,000 people. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 152) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The population of the sultanate perhaps recovered slightly in this period, reaching about 6 million in 1500 CE. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones, 1978, 138-47, 227) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Allen Lane. §REF§ <br><i>Infrastructure and Public Services</i><br>Like previous Mamluk rulers, the Burji Sultans expended considerable resources on public works projects - both directly and indirectly via patronage. They built and restored schools, hostels, bathhouses and mosques, and, under Sultan Qayt Bey (reigned 1468‒1496) in particular, arts and architecture flourished. §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 21) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The El Muayyad Mosque (1420 CE), the Mosque of Barsbay (1425 CE), §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 173-74) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ and the mausoleum complex of Sultan Qaitbay (1468‒1496 CE) all date from this period. Cairo also had a water supply system, paid for by its users, that conducted water from the Nile to the city's streets and houses. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 154) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ <i>Waqf</i> (religious foundations) were set up through initial endowments in property with the intention that they would become self-funding. Many public baths, caravanserais and shops were built by charitable and religious foundations, §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 174) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ often in combination with initial patronage from the sultan or other Mamluk aristocrats. Sultan Qaytbay built many <i>urbu</i> (multi-storey apartments) and used the revenues to fund a charitable foundation for the inhabitants of Medina. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 174) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ However, despite the continued financing of elaborate construction projects, increasingly the government could not afford the upkeep of essential infrastructure such as canals, dams and irrigation systems. §REF§ (Hrbek 1977, 39-67) Ivan Hrbek. 1977. 'Egypt, Nubia and the Eastern Deserts', in <i>The Cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3: From c. 1050 to c. 1600</i>, edited by Roland Oliver, 10-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>These public works were matched by lavish private buildings for the sultan and his retainers. Sultan Ghuri notably built an ornate palace and garden, with soil and trees imported from Syria and an aqueduct to water it. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 180) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ Mamluks treated themselves and foreign dignitaries to entertainment in hippodromes and to polo tournaments on the <i>maydan</i> (public square). §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 112) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ In the royal pavilion (<i>maqad</i>), 'incense burned and wine flowed, while musicians played and poets recited to a court society clad in silk and sprinkled with rosewater, the beards of its male luminaries perfumed with the musk of civet'. §REF§ (Oliver and Atmore 2001, 21, 24) Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore. 2001. <i>Medieval Africa, 1250-1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 5, "name": "Upper Egypt", "subregion": "Northeastern Africa", "longitude": "32.714706000000", "latitude": "25.725715000000", "capital_city": "Luxor", "nga_code": "EG", "fao_country": "Egypt", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 4, "name": "Northeast Africa", "subregions_list": "Egypt and Sudan (the Nile Basin)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 385, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People. Data from Mauryan Empire. The Sunga Dynasty was in effect the continuation of the Mauryan Empire as it was established in a coup by the Mauryan general Pushyamitra Sunga (Roy 2015, 19).§REF§(Roy 2015: 19) Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/35K9MMUW\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/35K9MMUW</a>.§REF§", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 18000000, "polity_population_to": 100000000, "polity": { "id": 385, "name": "InSunga", "start_year": -187, "end_year": -65, "long_name": "Magadha - Sunga Empire", "new_name": "in_sunga_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "This period begins with the ascension of Puṣyamitra Shunga in 187 BCE.<br>The Shunga Empire territory was about 4 million km2, encompassing central and eastern India. The polity population is considered to be anywhere between 18 and 100 million at varying times, while the population of the largest settlement, likely the imperial capital of Pataliputra, may have up to 270 thousand inhabitants.<br>There were four main settlement types during this period: the imperial capital of Pataliputra, large secondary centres such as Taxila, Mathura, Brita, smaller town-like settlements, and villages.<br>The main religion practiced in this polity was Hinduism. Shunga rulers in particular are said to have practiced an ‘aggressive’ Vedic Hinduism, which according to Buddhist sources, led to their monks being persecuted.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "JR: Adding \"Magadha\" to the name for clarity", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-06-06T09:15:04.165798Z", "home_nga": { "id": 14, "name": "Middle Ganga", "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain", "longitude": "82.700000000000", "latitude": "25.750000000000", "capital_city": "Jaunpur", "nga_code": "UTPR", "fao_country": "India", "world_region": "South Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 40, "name": "Southern South Asia", "subregions_list": "Southern India and Sri Lanka", "mac_region": { "id": 9, "name": "South Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 384, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": " People.By 200 BC 30 million on the Indian Subcontinent, 20 million (40%) in Ganges basin. \"The next fifteen hundred years consolidated without significantly altering this pattern.\"§REF§(McEvedy and Jones 1978, 182-185) McEvedy, Colin. Jones, Richard. 1978. Atlas of World Population History. Penguin Books Ltd. London.§REF§ McEvedy and Jones estimated for Pakistan, India and Bangladesh 62m for 800 CE, 69.5m for 900 CE. Estimate made using territory estimate, assuming roughly even distribution of people ", "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": "polity_population", "polity_population_from": 5000000, "polity_population_to": 6000000, "polity": { "id": 93, "name": "InRasht", "start_year": 753, "end_year": 973, "long_name": "Rashtrakuta Empire", "new_name": "in_rashtrakuta_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Rashtrakuta Empire extended over an area roughly corresponding to the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Goa, and Telangana, the state of Maharashtra minus its eastern region (Nagpur), the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, and South Gujarat. §REF§ (Kamath 1980) Suryanath Kamath. 1980. <i>A Concise History of Karnataka: From Pre-historic Times to the Present</i>. Bangalore: Archana Prakashana. §REF§ It could be said to have started in 753 CE, when Dantidurga, a rebellious provincial ruler, defeated his imperial overlords, the Chalukyas of Badami, in battle; however, Dantidurga had already begun to annex territories some time before this date. §REF§ (Basavaraja 1984, 62) K. R. Basavaraja. 1984. <i>History and Culture of Karnataka: Early Times to Unification</i>. Dharwad: Chalukya Publications. §REF§ The empire collapsed around 973, when, weakened by a Pallava raid and an inept king, it was unable to quash the rebellion of one of its feudatories, Tailapa II, who took the capital. Subsequently, a number of other feudatories declared independence from Rashtrakuta rule. Eventually, most of them were brought under control by the newly re-established Chalukyas. §REF§ (Basavaraja 1984, 82-83) K. R. Basavaraja. 1984. <i>History and Culture of Karnataka: Early Times to Unification</i>. Dharwad: Chalukya Publications. §REF§ <br>The Rashtrakutas rapidly became undisputed rulers of the Deccan Plateau, and organized several successful expeditions in Northern India, even securing, for a time, the long-contested region of Kanauj (under Indra III). However, none of the territorial gains made during these expeditions could be held for more than a short period, and it appears that the main aim of the expeditions was not so much to extend Rashtrakuta rule as to advertise its military might and increase its prestige. §REF§ (Basavaraja 1984, 62-83) K. R. Basavaraja. 1984. <i>History and Culture of Karnataka: Early Times to Unification</i>. Dharwad: Chalukya Publications. §REF§ Under the long and relatively peaceful reign of Amoghavarsa I or Nrpatunga (814-878 CE), literature and the arts flourished, and the capital of Malkhed was built. §REF§ (Madan 1990, 120-22) A. P. Madan. 1990. <i>The History of the Rashtrakutas</i>. New Delhi: Harman. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Rashtrakuta emperor was the head of the civil, military and judicial administration. §REF§ (Madan 1990, 193) A. P. Madan. 1990. <i>The History of the Rashtrakutas</i>. New Delhi: Harman. §REF§ However, he did not rule directly over annexed territories: rather, he subdivided his empire among his subordinates (feudatories), who in turn subdivided their own territories among their own subordinates (sub-feudatories), and feudatories and sub-feudatories enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy. §REF§ (Madan 1990, 192) A. P. Madan. 1990. <i>The History of the Rashtrakutas</i>. New Delhi: Harman. §REF§ <br>No overall population estimates could be found in the literature. The capital, Malkhed or Manyakheta, may have had around 100,000 inhabitants, §REF§ Christopher Chase-Dunn 2001, personal communication. §REF§ However, estimates are made difficult by the fact that the capital was destroyed by Chola armies in the 10th century CE, and what was left was subsequently destroyed by the armies of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals. Today, the Rashtrakuta capital is little more than a village. Not only that, but what little information exists about the city's heyday appears to be strongly influenced by Jain tradition, which may be biased, considering that Malkhed used to be a major centre for the religion. §REF§ (Mishra 1992, 208) Jayashri Mishra. 1992. <i>Social and Economic Conditions under the Imperial Rashtrakutas</i>. New Delhi: Commonwealth. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 15, "name": "Deccan", "subregion": "Central India", "longitude": "76.625407000000", "latitude": "15.386856000000", "capital_city": "Kampli", "nga_code": "DEC", "fao_country": "India", "world_region": "South Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 36, "name": "Central India", "subregions_list": "Deccan, etc", "mac_region": { "id": 9, "name": "South Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }