Professional Military Officer List
A viewset for viewing and editing Professional Military Officers.
GET /api/sc/professional-military-officers/
{ "count": 381, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/sc/professional-military-officers/?page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 59, "year_from": -149, "year_to": 320, "description": "\"high-quality grave goods, have been interpreted as those of 'middle-class' Aksumites ... It might be expected that such a class would include ... middle-ranking members of the army ...\"§REF§(Connah 2016, 141) Graham Connah. 2016. African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective. Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§<br>Military expeditions lead by the king's brother or other kinsmen.§REF§(Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.§REF§ <i>This does not mean there were no professional officers.</i><br>\"The first Aksumite king to put his own coinage into circulation was Endybis (in the second half of the third century).\"§REF§(Kobishanov 1981, 386) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.§REF§ <i>The introduction of coinage may have coincided with a shift to a more professional armed forces as the coinage could be used to pay the army.</i>", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-08-02T16:14:30.736935Z", "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": false, "name": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 208, "name": "EtAksm1", "start_year": -149, "end_year": 349, "long_name": "Axum I", "new_name": "et_aksum_emp_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "An empire with Aksum as its capital dominated the northern highlands of Ethiopia from the first to the seventh century CE. \". §REF§ (Hatke 2013) George Hatke. 2013. Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World). New York University Press. §REF§ This empire was characterised by a combination of indigenous Ethiopian and South Arabian culture. .\" §REF§ (Ricard 2004, 16) Alain Ricard. The Languages & Literatures of Africa: The Sands of Babel. James Currey Publishers. Oxford. §REF§ Between about 150 and 270 CE, Aksum extended its control to South Arabia, including the Yemen Coastal Plain or Plateau, the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains.<br>Without Arabian and Nubian territories, the population of the Aksumite empire has been estimated as \"at the outside half a million\". §REF§ (Munro-Hay 1991, 166) Stuart C Munro-Hay. 1991. Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press. §REF§ As for Aksum itself, during the first four centuries CE its core area covered between 80 and 100 hectares; §REF§ (Curtis 2017, 106) Matthew C Curtis. Aksum, town and monuments. Siegbert Uhlig. David L Appleyard. Steven Kaplan. Alessandro Bausi. Wolfgang Hahn. eds. 2017. Ethiopia: History, Culture and Challenges. Michigan State University Press. East Lansing. §REF§ assuming 50-200 people per hectare, this would mean a population of between 4,500 and 200,000, at least in the core area. The empire was governed by a single ruler (negus) and his retinue; according to some sources, the administrative system was relatively poorly developed. §REF§ (Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California. §REF§ Provinces were ruled indirectly through regional rulers §REF§ (Kobishanov 1981, 384) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California. §REF§ who sent tribute. §REF§ (Falola 2002, 58) Toyin Falola. 2002. Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-10-31T10:41:53.708288Z", "home_nga": { "id": 12, "name": "Yemeni Coastal Plain", "subregion": "Arabia", "longitude": "43.315739000000", "latitude": "14.850891000000", "capital_city": "Sanaa", "nga_code": "YE", "fao_country": "Yemen", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 2, "name": "East Africa", "subregions_list": "Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, So Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea", "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": 60, "year_from": 320, "year_to": 349, "description": " \"high-quality grave goods, have been interpreted as those of 'middle-class' Aksumites ... It might be expected that such a class would include ... middle-ranking members of the army ...\"§REF§(Connah 2016, 141) Graham Connah. 2016. African Civilizations: An Archaeological Perspective. Third Edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§<br>Military expeditions lead by the king's brother or other kinsmen.§REF§(Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.§REF§ <i>This does not mean there were no professional officers.</i><br>\"The first Aksumite king to put his own coinage into circulation was Endybis (in the second half of the third century).\"§REF§(Kobishanov 1981, 386) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.§REF§ <i>The introduction of coinage may have coincided with a shift to a more professional armed forces as the coinage could be used to pay the army.</i>", "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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "present", "polity": { "id": 208, "name": "EtAksm1", "start_year": -149, "end_year": 349, "long_name": "Axum I", "new_name": "et_aksum_emp_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "An empire with Aksum as its capital dominated the northern highlands of Ethiopia from the first to the seventh century CE. \". §REF§ (Hatke 2013) George Hatke. 2013. Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World). New York University Press. §REF§ This empire was characterised by a combination of indigenous Ethiopian and South Arabian culture. .\" §REF§ (Ricard 2004, 16) Alain Ricard. The Languages & Literatures of Africa: The Sands of Babel. James Currey Publishers. Oxford. §REF§ Between about 150 and 270 CE, Aksum extended its control to South Arabia, including the Yemen Coastal Plain or Plateau, the northwestern region of modern Yemen that lies between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains.<br>Without Arabian and Nubian territories, the population of the Aksumite empire has been estimated as \"at the outside half a million\". §REF§ (Munro-Hay 1991, 166) Stuart C Munro-Hay. 1991. Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh University Press. §REF§ As for Aksum itself, during the first four centuries CE its core area covered between 80 and 100 hectares; §REF§ (Curtis 2017, 106) Matthew C Curtis. Aksum, town and monuments. Siegbert Uhlig. David L Appleyard. Steven Kaplan. Alessandro Bausi. Wolfgang Hahn. eds. 2017. Ethiopia: History, Culture and Challenges. Michigan State University Press. East Lansing. §REF§ assuming 50-200 people per hectare, this would mean a population of between 4,500 and 200,000, at least in the core area. The empire was governed by a single ruler (negus) and his retinue; according to some sources, the administrative system was relatively poorly developed. §REF§ (Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California. §REF§ Provinces were ruled indirectly through regional rulers §REF§ (Kobishanov 1981, 384) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California. §REF§ who sent tribute. §REF§ (Falola 2002, 58) Toyin Falola. 2002. Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. Westport. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-10-31T10:41:53.708288Z", "home_nga": { "id": 12, "name": "Yemeni Coastal Plain", "subregion": "Arabia", "longitude": "43.315739000000", "latitude": "14.850891000000", "capital_city": "Sanaa", "nga_code": "YE", "fao_country": "Yemen", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 2, "name": "East Africa", "subregions_list": "Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, So Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea", "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": 157, "year_from": 488, "year_to": 531, "description": "Before the reforms of Khusrau I (later Sassanid period) \"all nobles, great and small, had been obliged to equip themselves and their followers and serve in the army without pay, but Khusrau issued equipment to the poorer nobles and paid a salary for their services. Consequently, the power of the great nobles - who frequently had their own private armies - was reduced.\"§REF§(Chegini 1996, 57) Chegini, N. N. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf§REF§<br>Central registry for military created by Khosrau I (531-579 CE) §REF§(Daryaee 2009, 27-37) Daryaee, Touraj. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London.§REF§, who also began to pay Saravan state officials a regular salary. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§REF§<br>Sasanid society had been divided into four classes: warriors, scribes, priests, and commoners, with the warriors (Arteshtaran) comprising an hereditary elite. Khosrau I (531-579 CE) broke the tradition and admitted a large number of lower nobility called Dehkans into the army. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§REF§<br>Seven aristocratic families that had dominated the military and government leadership positions were:<br>House of Sassan<br>Aspahbad-Pahlav (Gurgan)<br>Karin-Pahlav (Shiraz)<br>Suren-Pahlav (Seistan)<br>Spandiyadh (Nihavand)<br>Mihram (Rayy)<br>Guiw<br>All except the Sassans were Parthian in origin. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "absent", "polity": { "id": 130, "name": "IrSasn2", "start_year": 488, "end_year": 642, "long_name": "Sasanid Empire II", "new_name": "ir_sassanid_emp_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "In the final Sassanid period (488-642 CE), best known for the reign of Khusrau I, the Sassanid realm was managed through provincial governors called Shahr §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 124-135) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ and vassal kings appointed by the Sassanid King of Kings. Its population peaked at about 22 million at around 600 CE a time when the Empire was disintegrating.<br>The long reigns of Kavad I (499-531 CE) and Khusrau I (531-579 CE) saw many reforms, such as to the tax system and the military. Khusrau I is credited with wise leadership and is known as \"Plato's philosopher king.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 27-37) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ Khusrau I (531-579 CE) promoted minor nobility to official positions and reduced the power of aristocrats, placing tax collection in the hands of officials directly under his own control. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 47) N N Chegini. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ Khusrau I also made some important structural reforms to the military which removed the Commander-in-Chief (Eran-Spahbad) and divided the empire into four regions, each under the control of a regional field marshal (Spahbads). §REF§ (Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Kevah Farrokh. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing. §REF§ This change enabled the Sassanids to more quickly respond to the external threats of invasion.<br>After the high point of Khusrau I internal instability became the norm and the ruling dynasty had almost wiped itself out by the time the Arabs conquered the last Sassanid stronghold at Persis in 650 CE. Hamizid IV (579-590 CE), who followed Khosrau I killed many of the nobility and was harsh to the priests. Hormizd IV was deposed 589-590 CE by his generals and the nobility who put on the throne his son, Khusrau II. §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 199) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ Kushrau II was himself deposed by nobility and priests in 628 CE. §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 200) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ Kavad II (628-630 CE) conducted a fratricide, killing all the male heirs in the Sasanid family, and was assassinated. §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 31) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 158, "year_from": 531, "year_to": 642, "description": "Before the reforms of Khusrau I (later Sassanid period) \"all nobles, great and small, had been obliged to equip themselves and their followers and serve in the army without pay, but Khusrau issued equipment to the poorer nobles and paid a salary for their services. Consequently, the power of the great nobles - who frequently had their own private armies - was reduced.\"§REF§(Chegini 1996, 57) Chegini, N. N. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf§REF§<br>Central registry for military created by Khosrau I (531-579 CE) §REF§(Daryaee 2009, 27-37) Daryaee, Touraj. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London.§REF§, who also began to pay Saravan state officials a regular salary. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§REF§<br>Sasanid society had been divided into four classes: warriors, scribes, priests, and commoners, with the warriors (Arteshtaran) comprising an hereditary elite. Khosrau I (531-579 CE) broke the tradition and admitted a large number of lower nobility called Dehkans into the army. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§REF§<br>Seven aristocratic families that had dominated the military and government leadership positions were:<br>House of Sassan<br>Aspahbad-Pahlav (Gurgan)<br>Karin-Pahlav (Shiraz)<br>Suren-Pahlav (Seistan)<br>Spandiyadh (Nihavand)<br>Mihram (Rayy)<br>Guiw<br>All except the Sassans were Parthian in origin. §REF§(Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Farrokh, Kevah. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing.§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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "present", "polity": { "id": 130, "name": "IrSasn2", "start_year": 488, "end_year": 642, "long_name": "Sasanid Empire II", "new_name": "ir_sassanid_emp_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "In the final Sassanid period (488-642 CE), best known for the reign of Khusrau I, the Sassanid realm was managed through provincial governors called Shahr §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 124-135) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ and vassal kings appointed by the Sassanid King of Kings. Its population peaked at about 22 million at around 600 CE a time when the Empire was disintegrating.<br>The long reigns of Kavad I (499-531 CE) and Khusrau I (531-579 CE) saw many reforms, such as to the tax system and the military. Khusrau I is credited with wise leadership and is known as \"Plato's philosopher king.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 27-37) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ Khusrau I (531-579 CE) promoted minor nobility to official positions and reduced the power of aristocrats, placing tax collection in the hands of officials directly under his own control. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 47) N N Chegini. Political History, Economy and Society. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.40-58. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf §REF§ Khusrau I also made some important structural reforms to the military which removed the Commander-in-Chief (Eran-Spahbad) and divided the empire into four regions, each under the control of a regional field marshal (Spahbads). §REF§ (Farrokh 2005, 3-27) Kevah Farrokh. 2005. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing. §REF§ This change enabled the Sassanids to more quickly respond to the external threats of invasion.<br>After the high point of Khusrau I internal instability became the norm and the ruling dynasty had almost wiped itself out by the time the Arabs conquered the last Sassanid stronghold at Persis in 650 CE. Hamizid IV (579-590 CE), who followed Khosrau I killed many of the nobility and was harsh to the priests. Hormizd IV was deposed 589-590 CE by his generals and the nobility who put on the throne his son, Khusrau II. §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 199) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ Kushrau II was himself deposed by nobility and priests in 628 CE. §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 200) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ Kavad II (628-630 CE) conducted a fratricide, killing all the male heirs in the Sasanid family, and was assassinated. §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 31) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 9, "name": "Susiana", "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia", "longitude": "48.235564000000", "latitude": "32.382851000000", "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)", "nga_code": "IR", "fao_country": "Iran", "world_region": "Southwest Asia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 45, "name": "Iran", "subregions_list": "Iran", "mac_region": { "id": 11, "name": "Southwest Asia" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 282, "year_from": 661, "year_to": 682, "description": "Military commanders were selected from the tribal nobility, called the Ashraf. The state could shift the ri'asa, or headship of tribes from one family to another, a sort of half formed precursor to professional military commanders. Internally, the structure of command was very fluid.§REF§(Kennedy ????, 19-23)§REF§<br>\"Men were appointed to command armies for different reasons: they were loyal to the regime, they could recruit followers and attract men to their service, they could organise the collection and payment of revenues and they were effective and knowledgeable commanders in battle. ... In the main, however, it is unhelpful to think of a hierarchy, of generals, or of an officer class.\"§REF§(Kennedy 2001, 21) Kennedy, H. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs. Routledge. London.§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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "absent", "polity": { "id": 131, "name": "SyCalUm", "start_year": 661, "end_year": 750, "long_name": "Umayyad Caliphate", "new_name": "sy_umayyad_cal", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Umayyad Caliphate was formed in 661 CE by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan following the assassination of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. §REF§ (Madelung 1997, 108, 297) Wilferd Madelung. 1997. <i>The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It ended with the defeat of the Umayyads by the Abbasids in the Third Fitna (a series of Muslim civil wars) in 750 CE. §REF§ (Esposito, ed. 2003, 691) John L. Esposito, ed. 2003. <i>The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ The Ummayad Caliphs, based in Damascus in Syria, ruled a large territory stretching from the Near East all the way through North Africa and into southern Spain.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The caliph was a tribal patriarch and head of the <i>ummah</i>, the entire Islamic community. The central government of the Umayyad Caliphate was almost non-existent at the start of the period but entered a more developed stage in the mid-8th century. One of the reasons for this lack of central administration was the exceptionally successful Arab-Muslim army combined with the existence of functioning bureaucracies in the former Sassanid and Byzantine domains, which were left largely intact. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 55) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Thus, under Muawiya - the first Ummayad Caliph - the ruler was 'surrounded by Arab chiefs' with no other central administration. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ At Damascus, an administrative system staffed by permanent officials §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 36-38) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ dates from the reigns of al-Malik (685-705 CE) and al-Walid (705-715 CE). §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The caliphs, from their residence in Damascus (661-744 CE) and then Harran (744-750 CE), employed a chamberlain to manage visitors and regulate daily affairs, §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ and maintained an office of the chancery §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 50-51) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ with officials called <i>diwans</i> to manage the collection of taxes and payment of salaries. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 88) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ In order to impose their authority over the provinces, which had a combined population of up to 33 million, §REF§ (Blankinship 1994, 37-38) Khalid Y. Blankinship. 1994. <i>The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd Al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads</i>. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. §REF§ the Umayyads typically sent civil and military governors (<i>amel</i> and <i>amir</i>). §REF§ (Lambton 2011) Ann K. S. Lambton. 2011. 'Cities iii: Administration and Social Organization', in <i>Encyclopedia Iranica</i> V/6, 607-23; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii</a> (accessed 2 April 2017). §REF§ In the regions they conquered, the Ummayads had no choice but to use the resident staff because institutions to train and educate bureaucrats had not yet developed in the Arab Muslim context. In Egypt, for the first century of Umayyad rule, 'all the provincial officials were Christians'. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The Umayyad Caliphate was thus an exceptionally multicultural empire with a diverse governmental and cultural heritage.<br>This diversity was reflected in the number of languages spoken across the territory conquered by Muslims: from Basque in the far west to Berber and African Romance languages along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, and Aramaic, Turkic, Hebrew, Armenian and Kurdish in the east. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 126) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The use of Arabic as an administrative language began in Iraq in 697 CE, but spread outwards to Syria, Egypt and, by 700 CE, Khurasan in modern-day northeastern Iran. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 36-38) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In Egypt, the adoption of Arabic as the language of local government took over 100 years; initially, almost all papyruses were written in Greek. The first known bilingual Greek-Arabic document dates to 643 CE, and the last to 719. The earliest known Egyptian document written exclusively in Arabic is dated to 709 CE, and Greek was still being used up until 780 CE. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 23) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "JR: edited long name from Ummayad to Umayyad", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-03-27T09:30:27.298805Z", "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": 61, "name": "Levant", "subregions_list": "Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria", "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": 283, "year_from": 683, "year_to": 750, "description": "Military commanders were selected from the tribal nobility, called the Ashraf. The state could shift the ri'asa, or headship of tribes from one family to another, a sort of half formed precursor to professional military commanders. Internally, the structure of command was very fluid.§REF§(Kennedy ????, 19-23)§REF§<br>\"Men were appointed to command armies for different reasons: they were loyal to the regime, they could recruit followers and attract men to their service, they could organise the collection and payment of revenues and they were effective and knowledgeable commanders in battle. ... In the main, however, it is unhelpful to think of a hierarchy, of generals, or of an officer class.\"§REF§(Kennedy 2001, 21) Kennedy, H. 2001. The Armies of the Caliphs. Routledge. London.§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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "present", "polity": { "id": 131, "name": "SyCalUm", "start_year": 661, "end_year": 750, "long_name": "Umayyad Caliphate", "new_name": "sy_umayyad_cal", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Umayyad Caliphate was formed in 661 CE by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan following the assassination of Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. §REF§ (Madelung 1997, 108, 297) Wilferd Madelung. 1997. <i>The Succession to Muhammad: A Study of the Early Caliphate</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It ended with the defeat of the Umayyads by the Abbasids in the Third Fitna (a series of Muslim civil wars) in 750 CE. §REF§ (Esposito, ed. 2003, 691) John L. Esposito, ed. 2003. <i>The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ The Ummayad Caliphs, based in Damascus in Syria, ruled a large territory stretching from the Near East all the way through North Africa and into southern Spain.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The caliph was a tribal patriarch and head of the <i>ummah</i>, the entire Islamic community. The central government of the Umayyad Caliphate was almost non-existent at the start of the period but entered a more developed stage in the mid-8th century. One of the reasons for this lack of central administration was the exceptionally successful Arab-Muslim army combined with the existence of functioning bureaucracies in the former Sassanid and Byzantine domains, which were left largely intact. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 55) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Thus, under Muawiya - the first Ummayad Caliph - the ruler was 'surrounded by Arab chiefs' with no other central administration. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ At Damascus, an administrative system staffed by permanent officials §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 36-38) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ dates from the reigns of al-Malik (685-705 CE) and al-Walid (705-715 CE). §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The caliphs, from their residence in Damascus (661-744 CE) and then Harran (744-750 CE), employed a chamberlain to manage visitors and regulate daily affairs, §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 80-90) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ and maintained an office of the chancery §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 50-51) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ with officials called <i>diwans</i> to manage the collection of taxes and payment of salaries. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 88) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§ In order to impose their authority over the provinces, which had a combined population of up to 33 million, §REF§ (Blankinship 1994, 37-38) Khalid Y. Blankinship. 1994. <i>The End of the Jihad State: The Reign of Hisham Ibn 'Abd Al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads</i>. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. §REF§ the Umayyads typically sent civil and military governors (<i>amel</i> and <i>amir</i>). §REF§ (Lambton 2011) Ann K. S. Lambton. 2011. 'Cities iii: Administration and Social Organization', in <i>Encyclopedia Iranica</i> V/6, 607-23; an updated version is available online at <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii</a> (accessed 2 April 2017). §REF§ In the regions they conquered, the Ummayads had no choice but to use the resident staff because institutions to train and educate bureaucrats had not yet developed in the Arab Muslim context. In Egypt, for the first century of Umayyad rule, 'all the provincial officials were Christians'. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 17) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§ The Umayyad Caliphate was thus an exceptionally multicultural empire with a diverse governmental and cultural heritage.<br>This diversity was reflected in the number of languages spoken across the territory conquered by Muslims: from Basque in the far west to Berber and African Romance languages along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, and Aramaic, Turkic, Hebrew, Armenian and Kurdish in the east. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 126) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ The use of Arabic as an administrative language began in Iraq in 697 CE, but spread outwards to Syria, Egypt and, by 700 CE, Khurasan in modern-day northeastern Iran. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 36-38) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ In Egypt, the adoption of Arabic as the language of local government took over 100 years; initially, almost all papyruses were written in Greek. The first known bilingual Greek-Arabic document dates to 643 CE, and the last to 719. The earliest known Egyptian document written exclusively in Arabic is dated to 709 CE, and Greek was still being used up until 780 CE. §REF§ (Raymond 2000, 23) André Raymond. 2000. <i>Cairo</i>. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "JR: edited long name from Ummayad to Umayyad", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-03-27T09:30:27.298805Z", "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": 61, "name": "Levant", "subregions_list": "Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria", "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": 218, "year_from": 900, "year_to": 1000, "description": " Djenne was a new city 2.5km south-east of Jenne-jeno - what relationship was there - if any - between the old and the new cities?<br><i>Diop (1987) refers to what could possibly be a professional military officer for the state at Djenne: a \"Sana-faran was their general-in-chief\"§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ and he had officers under his orders.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ Diop also references a Sovereign of Djenne who was was converted to Islam in the 12th century probably by ulema religious scholars.§REF§(Diop 1987, 164) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§</i><br>before Askia Muhammad Songhay Empire \"Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply 'calling up' their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one.\"§REF§(Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.§REF§<br>\"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief.\"§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ There were officers under his orders.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ \"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ <i>However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.</i>", "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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "absent", "polity": { "id": 431, "name": "MlJeJe4", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1300, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno IV", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_4", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1300 CE. 'Jenne-jeno IV' refers to the period from 900 to 1300 CE. This roughly corresponds to the tail end of the region's 'urban prosperity' phase, and the beginning of the 'urban shake-up'. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ By this period, the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno had established long-distance trade networks and developed bronzeworking. Around 1000, they started working with brass, and the population continued to grow, reaching its peak between 1100 and 1200. They also produced an impressive corpus of terracotta figurines. However, in the 13th century, the population decreased rapidly, eventually leading to the abandonment of several sites, Jenne-jeno included, by 1400. The reasons for the decline are unclear, but they may include climate change, pandemic diseases such as plague, cultural upheaval deriving from the arrival of Islam and horses, and the emergence of the great West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 176-177) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>No population estimates could be found specifically for this period. However, the combined population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius had probably reached 10,000-26,000 people by 800 CE. The population continued to grow until 1200, and then rapidly declined in the 13th and 14th centuries. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-77) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city's very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized 'heterarchically' rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-08T14:01:23.818586Z", "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 164, "year_from": 930, "year_to": 1200, "description": " Some Icelanders joined foreign armies abroad: 'Isolated in the North Atlantic, Iceland had few external conflicts. Individual Icelanders were occasionally involved in conflict when outside the country and also sometimes served in foreign militaries. During the late tenth century, the Norwegian king was a champion of the Christian movement in Iceland and often attempted to assert his influence, although this was largely limited to Icelanders in Norway. Likewise, the ultimately successful attempts to incorporate Iceland under the Norwegian monarchy were mostly played out through alliances with individual Icelanders.' §REF§Bolender, Douglas James and Beierle, John: eHRAF Cultural Summary for Early Icelanders§REF§ Chieftains relied on an entourage of armed followers: 'Those who had access to sufficient resources to support a household were the tax paying farmers. Each of them had to be a follower of a chieftain from his own quarter, and only the tax paying farmers could make the decision as to which he would follow. All of his dependents - tenants and renters-went with him. However they got it, chieftains were dependent on farmers for support - to feed their increasingly large personal followings or armies, to support them at assemblies, and to accompany them on raids on other chieftains or their followers. As we have seen, without such support, without the ability to mass force, claims to ownership of land, which defined the class system as well as the forms of appropriation, had no force. Farmers had to rely on some chieftain to be able to defend their claims to property, though, as we have seen, this might often lead to the loss of the property. Chieftains had to rely on farmers to enforce their followers' claims and their own, as well as to expand their territories into others'.' §REF§Durrenberger, E. Paul 1988. “Stratification Without A State: The Collapse Of The Icelandic Commonwealth\", 256§REF§ Armed supporters were required to enforce legal and political claims: 'Claims of inheritance were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This follows from the fact that claims to ownership, property, were only worth as much as the armed support behind them. This meant that to assert any claim to ownership, whether by inheritance or any other means, one had to back the claim with armed force. Chieftains were focal points for concentrating force to protect and to forward claims to property.' §REF§Durrenberger, Paul E. 1988. “Stratification Without A State: The Collapse Of The Icelandic Commonwealth\", 258§REF§ Chieftains also relied on farmers willing to support them economically and militarily: 'Relations between chieftains and farmers were not, however, smooth. Chieftains had their “own” estates to support their establishments, and some maintained followings of armed men, but this was a difficult proposition, since it added consumers to the household without adding production. The chieftains had to rely on their following of farmers to support them with both arms and supplies. This was one component of any farmer's household fund, his “rent” so to speak, his expenditures for travel and support for his chieftain, without which his chieftain or another would take his land and livestock. In addition, expeditions took labor from the farm and put the farmer's life at risk. Even so, a farmer's claims to land were not secure, since his chieftain might abandon him, another more powerful chieftain might claim his land, or simply take it, or a farmer might lose his land in a re-alignment of alliances among chieftains, which were frequent.' §REF§Durrenberger, Paul E. 1988. “Stratification Without A State: The Collapse Of The Icelandic Commonwealth\", 258§REF§ The interests of chieftains and farmers were often in conflict: 'There was a basic conflict between chieftains' increasing demands for demonstrations of force in support of claims to ownership and the subsistence demands, the economic roles, of farmers. Chieftains were not beyond using coercion to insure support as the following incident relates. [...] In spite of this contradiction, farmers had to rely on some chieftain in order to maintain their claims to land. While the inheritance customs codified in Grágás seem quite orderly in Hastrup's (1985) analysis, inheritance of land is often hotly disputed in the Saga of the Icelanders. One who wanted another's land could often find a third party with some inheritance claim, and acquire the claim on which to base a legitimation for taking the land.' §REF§Durrenberger, E. Paul 1988. “Stratification Without A State: The Collapse Of The Icelandic Commonwealth”, 256§REF§ However, professional officers or lieutenants emerged in the late Commonwealth period: 'In the late Commonwealth there were professional military officers in service of the warlords (in the territorial lordships). These commanded groups of retainers or conscripted warrior-farmers. An example would be Ásbjörn Guðmundarson, an officer of the warlord Þórður kakali (see Þórðar saga kakala). Lieutenants could thus be considered 'officers'.' §REF§Árni Daniel Júlíusson and Axel Kristissen 2017, pers. comm. to E. Brandl and D. Mullins§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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "absent", "polity": { "id": 115, "name": "IsCommw", "start_year": 930, "end_year": 1262, "long_name": "Icelandic Commonwealth", "new_name": "is_icelandic_commonwealth", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Settlers arrived in Iceland in significant numbers starting from the late 9th century CE, mostly from Norway and the Norse colonies in Scotland and Ireland, bringing with them many people indigenous to the latter. However, language and culture were strongly Norse.<br>The Icelandic Commonwealth (Icel. <i>íslenska þjóðveldið</i>), occasionally called 'free state' or 'republic' (not to be confused with the modern republic) was established in 930 CE according to 12th-century historical documents. It was the first polity to cover the whole of Iceland and the smaller surrounding islands. Its territory did not change during its lifetime.<br>Icelandic society during the Commonwealth was strongly rural and never developed significant urbanization. However, centres of power, wealth and learning gradually emerged in the two bishoprics, monasteries and the homes of the greatest secular lords.<br>Iceland was mostly pagan in the early period but Christianity was accepted in 1000 and the first bishopric established in 1056. This not only brought Iceland closer to Europe but also introduced European culture and learning, and from the early 12th century the Icelanders started to produce significant works of literature in the vernacular but written in the Latin alphabet (sagas). The sagas are usually (at least recently) considered the greatest achievement of the Commonwealth and they flourished in the 13th century (both before and after 1262). However, this was also a time of war and loss of independence, making it difficult to assign it a 'peak' status.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>There are no reliable figures for the total population in Iceland during this period. Common estimates range from 5,000-20,000 in 930 to 40,000-70,000 at the end. The only statistic that is somewhat reliable states that the number of tax-paying farmers around 1100 AD was 4,560. The relationship between this number and the whole population is uncertain.<br>The Commonwealth functioned as a federation of smaller political units with no fixed borders, the godords/chieftaincies (<i>goðorð</i>), with alliances between households led by a chieftain (<i>goði</i> or <i>goðorðsmaður</i>). Laws were common to all and there was a common judiciary system. In Lögrétta leaders of all the godords met once a year to decide on laws, forming the most important part of the proceedings of the <i>Alþingi</i> ('general assembly'), held in summer at Thingvellir. However, there was no common executive branch of government, leaving the godords quite autonomous.<br>The godords started to congeal into territorial lordships with fixed borders in the 12th century (the first one perhaps in the late 11th century), but this process was most rapid around 1200 CE and by 1220 they covered most of Iceland. These lordships functioned as practically independent tiny polities (or 'proto-states') and proceeded to fight each other for supremacy. The ensuing civil wars (<i>Sturlungaöld</i>) ended in 1262 when the Icelanders swore allegiance to the Norwegian crown.<br><i>This description was provided by Axel Kristinsson and edited by Jenny Reddish.</i>", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 3, "name": "Iceland", "subregion": "Northern Europe", "longitude": "-21.891497000000", "latitude": "64.133088000000", "capital_city": "Reykjavik", "nga_code": "IS", "fao_country": "Iceland", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 17, "name": "Northern Europe", "subregions_list": "Iceland, Scandinavia, Finland, Baltics", "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": 227, "year_from": 1000, "year_to": 1185, "description": " After 1185 Chinggiz established specialized military units, including heavy cavalry, scouts, etc. Officers of these specialized units (around two dozens of them) were probably full-time specialists.<br>\"Chingggis did not have professional military officers before 1185, but other khans (heads of chiefdoms) had professional military officers. This was bodyguards - nukers (in Mongolian).\" §REF§(Kradin 2016, personal communication)§REF§<br>however, forces in nomadic armies usually unpaid other than in loot.", "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": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "present", "polity": { "id": 442, "name": "MnMongE", "start_year": 1000, "end_year": 1206, "long_name": "Early Mongols", "new_name": "mn_mongol_early", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "According to Chinese records from the Tang dynasty (618-906), one of the nomadic Shiwei tribe was known as the Mengwu. This might be the earliest known reference to the Mongols. few centuries later, another Chinese document, this time dating to 1084, describes the \"Menggu\" as a remote tribe that paid tribute to the Khitan; they lived on a mixture of hunting and pastoralism, they were believed to wear fish skins, and their technology was largely made out of wood and bone because of the Khitans' (and, subsequently, the Jurchens') ban on the exportation of iron. With time, more clans joined the Mongols, such as the Jajirad and the Qonggirad. In the twelfth century, under Jurchen rule, the Mongols became one of the leading steppe tribes, and indeed they rebelled against the Jurchen. At first, the Mongols managed to score a number of victories, and for some time the Jurchen had no choice but to appease them through gifts such as cattle, grains, and silks. However, the Jurchen eventually gained the upper hand, capturing Mongol slaves through regular military expeditions between the 1160s and the 1190s, and forcing the Mongol rulers to pay frequent tribute. Chinggis Khan stopped the tributes in 1210. §REF§ (Atwood 2004, 389-390) §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>At this time, the Mongols were divided into clans, and each clan belonged to either the Niru'un or the Dürlükin moiety. The Niru'un clans ruled the Dürlükin ones, though, due to traditional rules of exogamy, the Niru'un had to marry among the Dürlükin and vice versa. §REF§ (Atwood 2004, 390-391) §REF§ <br>The overall population of Mongolia was 600,000-1,000,000. §REF§ (Kradin 2002) §REF§ Between 80,000 and 120,000 seems like a reasonable estimate for just the Mongols, who inhabited the region alongside similarly sized peoples, such as the Naimans, Kereids, Tatars, and Merkids.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 24, "name": "Orkhon Valley", "subregion": "Mongolia", "longitude": "102.845486000000", "latitude": "47.200757000000", "capital_city": "Karakorum", "nga_code": "MN", "fao_country": "Mongolia", "world_region": "Central Eurasia" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 9, "name": "Mongolia", "subregions_list": "Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, the steppe part of Manchuria", "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": 219, "year_from": 1001, "year_to": 1300, "description": " Djenne was a new city 2.5km south-east of Jenne-jeno - what relationship was there - if any - between the old and the new cities?<br><i>Diop (1987) refers to what could possibly be a professional military officer for the state at Djenne: a \"Sana-faran was their general-in-chief\"§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ and he had officers under his orders.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ Diop also references a Sovereign of Djenne who was was converted to Islam in the 12th century probably by ulema religious scholars.§REF§(Diop 1987, 164) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§</i><br>before Askia Muhammad Songhay Empire \"Chiefs, kings and emperors of earlier times had relied on simply 'calling up' their subjects, their vassals, or their allies. ... But these were temporary armies. They were amateur armies. They served for a campaign or a war, and then everyone went home again until the next one.\"§REF§(Davidson 1998, 168) Davidson, Basil. 1998. West Africa Before the Colonial Era. Routledge. London.§REF§<br>\"The western borders of the state of Djenne, before the conquest of the city by Sonni Ali, were defended by the commanders of twelve army corps deployed in the country of Sana: they were specifically assigned to surveillence of the movements of Mali. The Sana-faran was their general-in-chief.\"§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ There were officers under his orders.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ \"Likewise, twelve commanders of army corps were assigned to the east of the Niger toward Titili.§REF§(Diop 1987, 116) Diop, Cheikh Anta. Salemson, Harold trans. 1987. Precolonial Black Africa. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago.§REF§ <i>However, no references to Jenne-Jeno using military force to conquer other peoples and demand tribute. Army that is referred to could have been late in period and intended for defence, to maintain its independence against the growing military power of the empires of Western Sudan.</i>", "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": true, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "professional_military_officer", "professional_military_officer": "present", "polity": { "id": 431, "name": "MlJeJe4", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1300, "long_name": "Jenne-jeno IV", "new_name": "ml_jenne_jeno_4", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The archaeological site of Jenne-jeno (or Djenné-djenno) is a mound located in the Niger Inland Delta, a region of West Africa just south of the Sahara and part of modern-day Mali, characterized by lakes and floodplains. It was continuously inhabited between 250 BCE and 1300 CE. 'Jenne-jeno IV' refers to the period from 900 to 1300 CE. This roughly corresponds to the tail end of the region's 'urban prosperity' phase, and the beginning of the 'urban shake-up'. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 175-76) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ By this period, the inhabitants of Jenne-jeno had established long-distance trade networks and developed bronzeworking. Around 1000, they started working with brass, and the population continued to grow, reaching its peak between 1100 and 1200. They also produced an impressive corpus of terracotta figurines. However, in the 13th century, the population decreased rapidly, eventually leading to the abandonment of several sites, Jenne-jeno included, by 1400. The reasons for the decline are unclear, but they may include climate change, pandemic diseases such as plague, cultural upheaval deriving from the arrival of Islam and horses, and the emergence of the great West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Songhai. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 176-177) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>No population estimates could be found specifically for this period. However, the combined population of Jenne-jeno and its satellites within a one-kilometre radius had probably reached 10,000-26,000 people by 800 CE. The population continued to grow until 1200, and then rapidly declined in the 13th and 14th centuries. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 174-77) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The political organization of Jenne-jeno may have been quite different from that of other ancient cities. In several decades of excavation, clear evidence for hierarchies of any kind has yet to be unearthed: it seems that Jenne-jeno had no palaces, rich tombs, temples, public buildings, or monumental architecture. Indeed, the city's very layout ‒ an assemblage of dispersed clusters ‒ suggests a resistance to centralization. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 189) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It is possible that, at this time, Niger Inland Delta society was organized 'heterarchically' rather than hierarchically: that is, it was divided into multiple components, each deriving authority from separate or overlapping sources, with mechanisms in place to prevent any one group from monopolizing power. §REF§ (McIntosh 2006, 228-29) Roderick McIntosh. 2006. <i>Ancient Middle Niger</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2024-01-08T14:01:23.818586Z", "home_nga": { "id": 6, "name": "Niger Inland Delta", "subregion": "Sahel", "longitude": "-3.041703000000", "latitude": "16.717549000000", "capital_city": "Timbuctu", "nga_code": "ML", "fao_country": "Mali", "world_region": "Africa" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 7, "name": "West Africa", "subregions_list": "From Senegal to Gabon (Tropical)", "mac_region": { "id": 2, "name": "Africa" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] } ] }