Complex Fortification List
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{ "count": 367, "next": "https://seshatdata.com/api/wf/complex-fortifications/?page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 334, "year_from": 1566, "year_to": 1700, "description": " \"Having run a trench several feet deep, around five or ten acres of land, and thrown up the ground upon the inside, they set a continuous row of stakes or palisades in this bank of earth, fixing them at such an angle that they inclined over the trench. Sometimes a village was surrounded by a double, or even triple row of palisades. Within this enclosure they constructed their bark-houses, and secured their stores.\" §REF§Morgan & Lloyd 1901, 305§REF§ Some sources suggest that the building of palisades ceased to be a common occurrence after the 17th century: \"The necessity of stockading the villages had almost ceased by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and by the close of the century the stockades were abandoned. Villages became less compact, but houses continued to be built near enough together to form a neighborhood.\" §REF§Lyford 1945, 11§REF§ We follow Lyford's periodization in selecting the end of the 17th century as the date of transition. Indeed, it's suggestive that all sources we could find describing Iroquois fortification date to the seventeenth century.", "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "present", "polity": { "id": 101, "name": "UsIroqE", "start_year": 1566, "end_year": 1713, "long_name": "Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Early", "new_name": "us_haudenosaunee_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Finger Lakes region of the modern-day state of New York was once part of Iroquois territory. On the eve of European contact, this territory stretched from Lake Champlain and Lake George west to the Genesee River and Lake Ontario and from the St. Lawrence River south to the Susquehanna River. Originally, the League of the Iroquois was a confederacy of five Native American tribes (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca), joined by a sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, in 1722, following its northward migration from the Roanoke River. This confederacy was created between 1400 and 1600 CE. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the confederacy was overall able to exploit the establishment of the European fur trade to its advantage, playing French and English interests off against one another, and gaining a major role in economic and political affairs. As a result of this, the Iroquois - particularly the Seneca - also frequently clashed with other Native tribes, such as the Huron, Petun, Neutral and Susquehannock. Eventually, the Iroquois also came into conflict with the Europeans, first with the French, then with the American revolutionaries. Starting in the 19th century, the Iroquois tribes settled on reservations in western New York state, southern Quebec and southern Ontario. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The central Iroquois League Council dealt with common affairs, while tribal chiefs and councils (as well as the female elders of their respective lineages and more recently created non-hereditary positions) occupied an intermediary position. The council included 50 men and women representing the five original tribes and had legislative, executive and judiciary powers, but it only deliberated on matters relating to foreign affairs (for example, peace and war) as well as matters of common interest to all five tribes. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ <br>According to Gerald Reid, there were around 5,500 Iroquois at the beginning of the 17th century. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 29, "name": "Finger Lakes", "subregion": "East Coast", "longitude": "-77.021375000000", "latitude": "42.704980000000", "capital_city": "Seneca Falls", "nga_code": "USNY", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 22, "name": "East Coast", "subregions_list": "East Coast of US", "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": 335, "year_from": 1701, "year_to": 1713, "description": " \"Having run a trench several feet deep, around five or ten acres of land, and thrown up the ground upon the inside, they set a continuous row of stakes or palisades in this bank of earth, fixing them at such an angle that they inclined over the trench. Sometimes a village was surrounded by a double, or even triple row of palisades. Within this enclosure they constructed their bark-houses, and secured their stores.\" §REF§Morgan & Lloyd 1901, 305§REF§ Some sources suggest that the building of palisades ceased to be a common occurrence after the 17th century: \"The necessity of stockading the villages had almost ceased by the beginning of the seventeenth century, and by the close of the century the stockades were abandoned. Villages became less compact, but houses continued to be built near enough together to form a neighborhood.\" §REF§Lyford 1945, 11§REF§ We follow Lyford's periodization in selecting the end of the 17th century as the date of transition. Indeed, it's suggestive that all sources we could find describing Iroquois fortification date to the seventeenth century.", "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "absent", "polity": { "id": 101, "name": "UsIroqE", "start_year": 1566, "end_year": 1713, "long_name": "Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Early", "new_name": "us_haudenosaunee_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Finger Lakes region of the modern-day state of New York was once part of Iroquois territory. On the eve of European contact, this territory stretched from Lake Champlain and Lake George west to the Genesee River and Lake Ontario and from the St. Lawrence River south to the Susquehanna River. Originally, the League of the Iroquois was a confederacy of five Native American tribes (the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca), joined by a sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, in 1722, following its northward migration from the Roanoke River. This confederacy was created between 1400 and 1600 CE. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the confederacy was overall able to exploit the establishment of the European fur trade to its advantage, playing French and English interests off against one another, and gaining a major role in economic and political affairs. As a result of this, the Iroquois - particularly the Seneca - also frequently clashed with other Native tribes, such as the Huron, Petun, Neutral and Susquehannock. Eventually, the Iroquois also came into conflict with the Europeans, first with the French, then with the American revolutionaries. Starting in the 19th century, the Iroquois tribes settled on reservations in western New York state, southern Quebec and southern Ontario. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The central Iroquois League Council dealt with common affairs, while tribal chiefs and councils (as well as the female elders of their respective lineages and more recently created non-hereditary positions) occupied an intermediary position. The council included 50 men and women representing the five original tribes and had legislative, executive and judiciary powers, but it only deliberated on matters relating to foreign affairs (for example, peace and war) as well as matters of common interest to all five tribes. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ <br>According to Gerald Reid, there were around 5,500 Iroquois at the beginning of the 17th century. §REF§ (Reid 1996) Reid, Gerald. 1996. “Culture Summary: Iroquois.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=nm09-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZHZI7ZTE</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 29, "name": "Finger Lakes", "subregion": "East Coast", "longitude": "-77.021375000000", "latitude": "42.704980000000", "capital_city": "Seneca Falls", "nga_code": "USNY", "fao_country": "United States", "world_region": "North America" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 22, "name": "East Coast", "subregions_list": "East Coast of US", "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": 39, "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 205, "name": "EgIntOc", "start_year": -404, "end_year": -342, "long_name": "Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period", "new_name": "eg_inter_occupation", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Inter-Occupation Dynasties (Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Dynasties, 404‒343/2 BCE) §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 17) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 377) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Late Period (664-332 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 364-87. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ refers to the last period during which Egypt was governed by indigenous rulers, at a time when Egypt's external relationships with Greeks and Persians overshadowed attempts to maintain internal political stability. Forming part of the the 'Late Period' of Egyptian history, it spanned only about six decades in between phases of Persian domination. §REF§ (Lichtheim [1980] 2006, ix-x) Miriam Lichtheim. [1980] 2006. <i>Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume III: The Late Period</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ <br>The Twenty-eighth Dynasty was established after a number of revolts against Persian rule in 404 BCE, and Amyrtaeus II, who ruled from Memphis, may have adopted the regnal name of Psamtik (after the first Saite king) to lend his rule legitimacy. §REF§ (Perdu 2010, 152-53) Olivier Perdu. 2010. 'Saites and Persians (664‒332)', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 140-58. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ Although Amyrtaeus succeeded in extending his control as far south as Aswan in 400 BCE, where his rule was accepted by the Jewish community at Elephantine, §REF§ (Grimal 1994, 371) N. Grimal. 1994. <i>A History of Ancient Egypt</i>. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. §REF§ his reign was challenged and overthrown by one of his generals. An Aramaic papyrus at the Brooklyn museum describes a violent coup that unseated Amyrtaeus; according to the document, Nepherites I captured Amyrtaeus and executed him at Memphis. §REF§ (Grimal 1994, 372) N. Grimal. 1994. <i>A History of Ancient Egypt</i>. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. §REF§ <br>Nepherites I is considered the founder of a new dynasty (the Twenty-ninth). His new capital was probably at Mendes, where he carried out building projects, as revealed by excavations in the 1980s by the Brooklyn Museum and the University of New York. §REF§ (Grimal 1994, 372) N. Grimal. 1994. <i>A History of Ancient Egypt</i>. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. §REF§ Nectanebo I, founder of the Thirtieth and final native Egyptian pharaonic Dynasty, seems to have overthrown the last ruler of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty with the assistance of a Greek general called Chabrias, whose mercenaries are known to have subsequently helped prevent a Persian invasion of Egypt. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 17) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The most powerful elements in Egyptian society in this period were members of the the warrior class and priesthood. §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 377) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Late Period (664-332 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 364-87. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ The men who established the Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Dynasties ‒ Nepherites I and Nectanebo I respectively ‒ were both generals, while Amyrtaeus II was most likely the grandson of another Amyrtaeus from Sais, who had rebelled against the Achaemenid occupation. §REF§ (Perdu 2010, 152) Olivier Perdu. 2010. 'Saites and Persians (664‒332)', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 140-58. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ One of the first priorities of Nectanebo II when he came to power was to control the Egyptian army; to achieve this end he promoted his oldest son to the position of 'First Generalissimo of His Majesty'. §REF§ (Perdu 2010, 156) Olivier Perdu. 2010. 'Saites and Persians (664‒332)', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 140-58. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ The 340s BCE were a time of insurrection, when Egyptians were fomenting rebellions against Persian authority across the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. §REF§ (Ruzicka 2012) Stephen Ruzicka. 2012. <i>Trouble in the West: Egypt and the Persian Empire, 525-332 BCE</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>There are few sources to tell us of the workings of the Egyptian administration of this time, but historians agree that when the Persian Achaemenids conquered territories - including Egypt - they were generally happy to leave indigenous governance structures intact and did not seek to make wholesale changes to them. Egypt was made a satrapy, and the main task of the satrap in Memphis was to keep up the regular shipment of tribute to Persia. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 16-17) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ It therefore seems likely that the Inter-Occupation Dynasties retained the administrative structures of the preceding Saite Period: a centralized court government with a warrior pharaoh and a vizier who ran his civil administration. This was the last period in which regional rulers called nomarchs formed part of the provincial administration.<br>The Late Period of Egypt saw an elaboration of debt and credit structures, to the extent that merchants could issue loans to individuals. §REF§ (Allam 1990, 2) S. Allam. 1990. 'Women as Holders of Rights in Ancient Egypt (During the Late Period)'. <i>Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient</i> 33 (1): 1-34. §REF§ Though Persian coins were used under the Achaemenids, an innovation of the post-Achaemenid period of rule was the state minting of silver coins, §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 25) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ perhaps from the reign of Teos onwards. Priests were required to pay a tax in silver in order to secure donations to their temples; temples were forced to drastically reduce their expenses and use the savings to make loans to the king, who used it to mint coins to pay his armies. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 25) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt.</i> New York: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ Pharaoh Teos evidently had enough resources to launch an attack on the Persians in the late 360s BCE. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 24) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>Egypt at this time was a diverse, cosmopolitan state. Foreign mercenary forces recruited to defend the Egyptian homeland, a practice popular since the Third Intermediate Period, brought great ethnic and cultural diversity. The presence of garrisoned Greeks, Carians, Phoenicians, Cypriots, Aramaeans and Jews had been an important influence on Egypt since the Saite Dynasty and these groups had retained the languages and culture of their home communities. §REF§ (Kaplan 2003) Philip Kaplan. 2003. 'Cross-Cultural Contacts among Mercenary Communities in Saite and Persian Egypt'. <i>Mediterranean Historical Review</i> 18 (1): 1-31. §REF§ <br>A significant innovation of the period was the widespread adoption of the <i>qanat</i> water supply technology, brought in by the occupying Persians in the 5th century BCE. §REF§ (Van de Mieroop 2011, 307) Marc Van De Mieroop. 2011. <i>A History of Ancient Egypt.</i> Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ Qanats were sloping subterranean tunnels that conducted groundwater over long distances, creating a reliable supply of water for drinking, bathing and irrigation. §REF§ (Van de Mieroop 2011, 307) Marc Van De Mieroop. 2011. <i>A History of Ancient Egypt.</i> Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ In about 400 BCE, the Egyptian population is likely to have risen to slightly over three million. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 227) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History.</i> London: Allen Lane. §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": 46, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "absent", "polity": { "id": 513, "name": "EgNaqa3", "start_year": -3300, "end_year": -3100, "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty 0", "new_name": "eg_naqada_3", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Naqada is a Predynastic archaeological culture located in Upper Egypt, the strip of land flanking the Nile river south of the Faiyum region and north of the First Cataract. Named after the site where British archaeologist Flinders Petrie uncovered a necropolis of over 3000 graves in the late 19th century, §REF§ (Midant-Reynes 2000, 41) Béatrix Midant-Reynes. 2000. 'The Naqada Period (c. 4000-3200 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 41-56. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ the Naqada culture is dated from around 3800 to 3100 BCE. §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 5) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ The Naqada has been subdivided into three periods ‒ the Amratian, Gerzean, and Semainean ‒ as well as, more recently, into Naqada IA-C, IIA-D, and IIIA-D. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 424) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ Seshat's 'Naqada 1' (3800-3550 BCE) corresponds to the Naqada IA-IIB phases; Naqada 2 (3550-3300 BCE) to IIC-IID; and Naqada 3 (3300-3100 BCE) to IIIA-IIIB. We end Naqada 3 with the IIIB-C transition, because the First Dynasty of the Egyptian state is considered to begin with the accession of King Aha in Naqada IIIC. §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ Naqada III is also sometimes referred to as the Protodynastic period or 'Dynasty 0'.<br>Early Naqada archaeological material is clustered around the key sites of Naqada itself, Abydos, and Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen) in the fertile land nestled around the 'Qena bend' of the Nile. §REF§ (Bard 1994, 267) Kathryn A. Bard. 1994. 'The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence'. <i>Journal of Field Archaeology</i> 21 (3): 265-88. §REF§ However, from the late Naqada II onwards, there is an archaeologically visible expansion of the culture both southwards along the Nile and northwards into Lower Egypt (the Delta), eventually reaching as far north as the Levant in Naqada IIIA-B. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 442-43) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ <br><i>Population and Political Organization</i><br>The 4th millennium BCE was a crucial period for Egyptian state formation. Prior to roughly 3800 BCE, Upper Egypt was inhabited by seasonally mobile farmers and herders, constituting an archaeological culture known as the Badarian. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422, 428-29) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ However, the Naqada periods brought a series of key social transformations to the region, including increasing inequality, a greater commitment to sedentary settlement and cereal farming, the emergence of full-time craft specialists, and, towards the end of the millennium, the invention of writing. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 431-32, 434) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Hendrickx 2011, 93) Stan Hendrickx. 2011. 'Crafts and Craft Specialization', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 93-98. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ §REF§ (Wengrow 2011, 99) David Wengrow. 2011. 'The Invention of Writing in Egypt', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 99-103. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ The growth of hierarchical social structures and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt laid the foundations for the divine kings and complex bureaucracy of the Old Kingdom and beyond.<br>During Naqada I, new forms of political organization appeared ‒ relatively swiftly compared to other prehistoric cultures ‒ in the upper Nile Valley. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 431-32) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ According to the Egyptologist Branislav Anđelković, previously autonomous agricultural villages began to band together to form 'chiefdoms' or 'proto-nomes' between Naqada IA and IB (a 'nome' was an administrative division in the later Egyptian state). §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ In Naqada IC, even larger political entities ‒ 'nome pre-states' ‒ started to form, centred on Naqada, Abydos and Hierakonpolis. It has been suggested that a 'primitive chiefdom' centred around a 'royal' authority based at Hierakonpolis, had formed by around 3700 BCE. §REF§ (García 2013, 187-88) Juan Carlos Moreno García. 2013. 'Building the Pharaonic State: Territory, Elite, and Power in Ancient Egypt during the Third Millennium BCE', in <i>Experiencing Power, Generating Authority: Cosmos, Politics, and the Ideology of Kingship in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia</i>, edited by Jane A. Hill, Philip Jones, and Antonio J. Morales, 185-217. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. §REF§ Not all researchers agree with this terminology, believing that it creates the impression of an inexorable march towards state formation, and some prefer to stress the fragile and experimental nature of early complex social formations in Upper Egypt. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422, 427) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ However, the term chiefdom remains in common usage as a label for the new ranked societies of the early 4th millennium. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Bard 2017, 2) Kathryn A. Bard. 2017. 'Political Economies of Predynastic Egypt and the Formation of the Early State'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 25: 1-36. §REF§ §REF§ (Koehler 2010, 32) E. Christiana Koehler. 2010. 'Prehistory', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 25-47. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ In the Naqada II period, 'proto-states' formed, and by the Naqada III we can speak of kings and a centralized government ruling over a unified Upper and Lower Egypt. §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 29-30) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ <br>We lack firm figures for the population of Egypt during the Naqada. At the beginning of the period, most inhabitants of Upper Egypt were living in small villages. §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ However, as the 4th millennium progressed, archaeologists can discern a process of urbanization and aggregation into larger political units. The largest known settlement, Hierakonpolis, grew into a regional centre of power in the 3800‒3500 BCE period §REF§ (Friedman 2011, 34) Renée Friedman. 2011. 'Hierakonpolis', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 33-44. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ and may have reached a population of between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the late Naqada I. §REF§ (Hoffman, Hamroush and Allen 1986, 181) Michael Allen Hoffman, Hany A. Hamroush and Ralph O. Allen. 1986. 'A Model of Urban Development for the Hierakonpolis Region from Predynastic through Old Kingdom Times'. <i>Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt</i> 23: 175-87. §REF§ Other researchers consider this figure 'inflated' §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 436) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ and point to recent evidence from the Abydos region for low population numbers throughout the Predynastic period. §REF§ (Patch 2004, 914) Diana Craig Patch. 2004. 'Settlement Patterns and Cultural Change in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Egypt at Its Origins: Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams</i>, edited by S. Hendrickx, R. F. Friedman, K. M. Ciałowicz and M. Chłodnicki, 905-18. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies. §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": 59, "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "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": 64, "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 460, "name": "FrBurbE", "start_year": 1589, "end_year": 1660, "long_name": "French Kingdom - Early Bourbon", "new_name": "fr_bourbon_k_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The House of Bourbon (The Ancien Regime) ruled France from the death of the childless Late Valois king Henry III in 1589 CE to the re-convening of the Estates General during the French Revolution. The Early Bourbon period covers the Kingdom of France from the inheritance of the monarchy by Henry VI to the rise of Louis XIV in 1661 CE. Henry VI inherited the crown amidst the Wars of Religion between the Roman Catholics and the Reformed Protestants, and is celebrated for his tolerance because of his the Edict of Nantes, which granted some rights to Protestants. §REF§ (Haine 2000, 50) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7</a> §REF§ The reign of Henry VI restored the French monarchy to full power, and his superintendent of finance Sully was able to double state revenues. §REF§ (Haine 2000, 50) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7</a> §REF§ The French army was modernized by King Louis XIII’s cardinal minister Richelieu. The Fronde, a series of revolts in the 1640s against cardinal minister Mazarin, led the crown to consolidate its power even further. §REF§ (Haine 2000, 55) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7</a> §REF§ This paved the way for the absolute rule of King Louis XIV in the Late Bourbon period.<br>In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Québec, and the surrounding territory was claimed as New France. France obtained land from Spain in the south and German land from the Holy Roman Empire in the north in treaties from the Thirty Years’ War in 1648 CE and 1659 CE. §REF§ (Haine 2000, 50) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7</a> §REF§ Because of these new claims, the territory of the French Kingdom covered 931,000 in 1600 CE and 2.6 million square meters by 1650 CE. §REF§ (Chase-Dunn Spreadsheet) §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Important institutional and military reforms were instituted in this period. King Henry IV instituted a tax on holders of government and judicial offices which gave the owners of the office the right to transfer their position. The expansion and modernization of the French army under Richelieu led to the large-scale expansion of the French bureaucracy. §REF§ (Haine 2000, 50-51) Haine, W. Scott. 2000. The History of France. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/9RS462P7</a> §REF§ <br>The population within the boundaries of present day France is estimated at 18.5 million in 1600 CE, and 21 million in 1650 CE. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 56. McEvedy C, Jones, R (1979) Atlas of World Population History, Allen Lane, London. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6U4QZXCG/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/6U4QZXCG/</a>). §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 2, "name": "Paris Basin", "subregion": "Western Europe", "longitude": "2.312458000000", "latitude": "48.866111000000", "capital_city": "Paris", "nga_code": "FR", "fao_country": "France", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 20, "name": "Western Europe", "subregions_list": "British Isles, France, Low Countries", "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": 83, "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 114, "name": "GhAshnL", "start_year": 1701, "end_year": 1895, "long_name": "Ashanti Empire", "new_name": "gh_ashanti_emp", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The gold-producing region between the Comoé and Volta rivers has been inhabited by Akan-speaking people since the 13th century CE. This region has seen the emergence of various autonomous states, including Bono, Djomo, Akwamu, Fante, and Asante. Later in its history, the founders of the Ga and Ewe states arrived from what is now Nigeria. §REF§ (Fage et al. 2017) Fage, John D., Ernest Amano Boateng, Donna J. Maier, and Oliver Davies. 2017. \"Ghana.\" Encyclopedia Britannica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3</a>. §REF§ In 1471, Portuguese sailors reached this stretch of coast and quickly established trade with the coastal Akan states, exchanging European goods for gold. §REF§ (Fage et al. 2017) Fage, John D., Ernest Amano Boateng, Donna J. Maier, and Oliver Davies. 2017. \"Ghana.\" Encyclopedia Britannica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/XFKDKSW3</a>. §REF§ Trade routes soon connected the coast to the Niger bend region, along which descendants of the former Bonda and Kumbu kingdoms founded the Akyerekyere and Akumu-Akoto kingdoms respectively. The Portuguese referred to this latter kingdom as the 'Acanes', which is the source of the name Akan. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>In 1701, the Asante rebelled against the dominant Denkyira state and formed a confederacy of Akan states who accepted Asante rule. This confederacy began to conquer the surrounding polities, and by 1764 the Greater Asante controlled an area nearly the size of present-day Ghana. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>Europeans continued to be drawn to the Ghanaian coast in search of gold and, by the 19th century, the British were the strongest European power in the region. In 1827, British-led troops defeated an Asante army at Katammanso. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ In 1831, the British and Asante signed a peace treaty that allowed trade in all ports, and by 1844 the British gained control over criminal matters in the areas around trade forts. By 1872, the British had complete control of the coast, and when they did not recognize Asante sovereignty, the Asante attacked. The British were victorious, and after another war in 1895, the Asante king and chiefs were exiled. The entire region was declared a British territory in 1901. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>During the pre-Asante period, each Akan state consisted of a single kingdom ruled by an <i>omanhene</i>, which literally translates to 'state-chief'. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ This king came from a royal clan, and was elected by various officials, most notably the <i>ohemmaa</i> ('queen-mother'), who was a senior woman of the clan. The king was a sacred person who could not be observed eating or drinking; nor could he be heard to speak or be spoken to. §REF§ (Gilbert, Lagacé and Skoggard 2000) Gilbert, Michelle, Robert O. Lagacé, and Ian Skoggard. 2000. \"Culture Summary: Akan.\" eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=fe12-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ZJ844XUN</a>. §REF§ <br>After 1701, political organization within the region became far more bureaucratic and specialized. Kumasi became the capital of the union of Asante states and the seat of the empire. Appointed officials began to replace those wielding hereditary authority, and a treasury partly operated by literate Muslims was created. §REF§ (McLeod 1981) McLeod, M. D. 1981. The Asante. London: British Museum Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RS692TAZ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/RS692TAZ</a>. §REF§ However, while bureaucrats ran many of the day-to-day operations of the empire, the authority of the king was still absolute. §REF§ (Arhin 1986, 165-66) Arhin, Kwame. 1986. \"The Asante Praise Poems: The Ideology of Patrimonialism.\" Paideuma, no. 32: 163-97. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/87N692IT\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/87N692IT</a>. §REF§ <br>Population estimates are not available for the pre-Asante period. The population of the entire Asante union in 1874 is estimated at three million people. §REF§ (Obeng 1996, 20) Obeng, J. Pashington. 1996. Asante Catholicism: Religious and Cultural Reproduction among the Akan of Ghana. Leiden: E. J. Brill. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/P8MFGRGQ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/P8MFGRGQ</a>. §REF§ ", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 7, "name": "Ghanaian Coast", "subregion": "West Africa", "longitude": "-0.217920000000", "latitude": "5.573135000000", "capital_city": "Accra", "nga_code": "GH", "fao_country": "Ghana", "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": 81, "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": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "unknown", "polity": { "id": 99, "name": "GbEmpr2", "start_year": 1850, "end_year": 1968, "long_name": "British Empire II", "new_name": "gb_british_emp_2", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Here, we are interested in the sixty years between the British Empire's loss of its American colonies in 1780s, to the Chartist Movement in the 1830s-1840s.<br>The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which ruled over the rest of this polity, was a constitutional monarchy. Governors, Proconsuls, and Viceroys were tasked with translating directives from London into forms that were suited conditions in the colonies. §REF§ (Burroughs 1999) Peter Burroughs. Imperial institutions and the Government of Empire. Andrew Porter. ed. 1999. The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume III: The Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ <br>No population estimates for the entire empire could be found specifically for this period, but according to contemporary sources it reached a population of 284,110,693 in the 1870s. §REF§ (Bartholomew 1877, v) John Bartholomew. 1877. Atlas of the British empire throughout the world. George Philip and Son. London. §REF§", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": "", "created_date": null, "modified_date": "2023-11-20T11:00:58.713708Z", "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": 20, "name": "Western Europe", "subregions_list": "British Isles, France, Low Countries", "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": 84, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "absent", "polity": { "id": 67, "name": "GrCrArc", "start_year": -710, "end_year": -500, "long_name": "Archaic Crete", "new_name": "gr_crete_archaic", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "Crete is a large island in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Archaic Crete (7th-6th centuries) is divided in the following periods: Orientalizing or Daedalic or Early Archaic (710-600 BCE) and Archaic Archaic (600-500).<br>There was no capital city as Crete was divided into territorial entities, each one centered upon a city that served as the main political and economic centre of its well-defined region. Political, military and religious control was exercised by the Kosmoi, a board of 3 to 10 annually elected nobles. §REF§ Lembesi, A. 1987. \"Η Κρητών Πολιτεία,\" in Panagiotakis, N. (ed.), <i>Κρήτη: Ιστορία και Πολιτισμός</i>, Heraklion, 166-72. §REF§ §REF§ Lembesi, A. 1987. \"Η Κρητών Πολιτεία,\" in Panagiotakis, N. (ed.), <i>Κρήτη: Ιστορία και Πολιτισμός</i>, Heraklion, 166-72. §REF§ <br>No information could be found in the sources consulted regarding the polity's overall population, however the largest settlement, Knossos, is estimated to have housed about 4,000 people.", "shapefile_name": null, "private_comment": null, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "home_nga": { "id": 4, "name": "Crete", "subregion": "Southeastern Europe", "longitude": "25.144200000000", "latitude": "35.338700000000", "capital_city": "Heraklion", "nga_code": "GR", "fao_country": "Greece", "world_region": "Europe" }, "home_seshat_region": { "id": 19, "name": "Southeastern Europe", "subregions_list": "Frm. Yugoslavia, Romania-Moldova, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece", "mac_region": { "id": 5, "name": "Europe" } }, "private_comment_n": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" } }, "comment": null, "private_comment": { "id": 1, "text": "NO_PRIVATE_COMMENTS" }, "citations": [], "curator": [] }, { "id": 44, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "description": null, "note": null, "finalized": true, "created_date": null, "modified_date": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "expert_reviewed": true, "drb_reviewed": null, "name": "complex_fortification", "complex_fortification": "absent", "polity": { "id": 511, "name": "EgNaqa1", "start_year": -3800, "end_year": -3550, "long_name": "Naqada I", "new_name": "eg_naqada_1", "polity_tag": "LEGACY", "general_description": "The Naqada is a Predynastic archaeological culture located in Upper Egypt, the strip of land flanking the Nile river south of the Faiyum region and north of the First Cataract. Named after the site where British archaeologist Flinders Petrie uncovered a necropolis of over 3000 graves in the late 19th century, §REF§ (Midant-Reynes 2000, 41) Béatrix Midant-Reynes. 2000. 'The Naqada Period (c. 4000-3200 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 41-56. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ the Naqada culture is dated from around 3800 to 3100 BCE. §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 5) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ The Naqada has been subdivided into three periods ‒ the Amratian, Gerzean, and Semainean ‒ as well as, more recently, into Naqada IA-C, IIA-D, and IIIA-D. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 424) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ Seshat's 'Naqada 1' (3800-3550 BCE) corresponds to the Naqada IA-IIB phases; Naqada 2 (3550-3300 BCE) to IIC-IID; and Naqada 3 (3300-3100 BCE) to IIIA-IIIB. We end Naqada 3 with the IIIB-C transition, because the First Dynasty of the Egyptian state is considered to begin with the accession of King Aha in Naqada IIIC. §REF§ (Dee et al. 2013, 2) Michael Dee, David Wengrow, Andrew Shortland, Alice Stevenson, Fiona Brock, Linus Girdland Flink and Christopher Bronk Ramsey. 2013. 'An Absolute Chronology for Early Egypt Using Radiocarbon Dating and Bayesian Statistical Modelling'. <i>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</i> 469 (2159). DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.0395. §REF§ Naqada III is also sometimes referred to as the Protodynastic period or 'Dynasty 0'.<br>Early Naqada archaeological material is clustered around the key sites of Naqada itself, Abydos, and Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen) in the fertile land nestled around the 'Qena bend' of the Nile. §REF§ (Bard 1994, 267) Kathryn A. Bard. 1994. 'The Egyptian Predynastic: A Review of the Evidence'. <i>Journal of Field Archaeology</i> 21 (3): 265-88. §REF§ However, from the late Naqada II onwards, there is an archaeologically visible expansion of the culture both southwards along the Nile and northwards into Lower Egypt (the Delta), eventually reaching as far north as the Levant in Naqada IIIA-B. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 442-43) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ <br><i>Population and Political Organization</i><br>The 4th millennium BCE was a crucial period for Egyptian state formation. Prior to roughly 3800 BCE, Upper Egypt was inhabited by seasonally mobile farmers and herders, constituting an archaeological culture known as the Badarian. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422, 428-29) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ However, the Naqada periods brought a series of key social transformations to the region, including increasing inequality, a greater commitment to sedentary settlement and cereal farming, the emergence of full-time craft specialists, and, towards the end of the millennium, the invention of writing. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 431-32, 434) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Hendrickx 2011, 93) Stan Hendrickx. 2011. 'Crafts and Craft Specialization', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 93-98. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ §REF§ (Wengrow 2011, 99) David Wengrow. 2011. 'The Invention of Writing in Egypt', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 99-103. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ The growth of hierarchical social structures and the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt laid the foundations for the divine kings and complex bureaucracy of the Old Kingdom and beyond.<br>During Naqada I, new forms of political organization appeared ‒ relatively swiftly compared to other prehistoric cultures ‒ in the upper Nile Valley. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 431-32) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ According to the Egyptologist Branislav Anđelković, previously autonomous agricultural villages began to band together to form 'chiefdoms' or 'proto-nomes' between Naqada IA and IB (a 'nome' was an administrative division in the later Egyptian state). §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ In Naqada IC, even larger political entities ‒ 'nome pre-states' ‒ started to form, centred on Naqada, Abydos and Hierakonpolis. It has been suggested that a 'primitive chiefdom' centred around a 'royal' authority based at Hierakonpolis, had formed by around 3700 BCE. §REF§ (García 2013, 187-88) Juan Carlos Moreno García. 2013. 'Building the Pharaonic State: Territory, Elite, and Power in Ancient Egypt during the Third Millennium BCE', in <i>Experiencing Power, Generating Authority: Cosmos, Politics, and the Ideology of Kingship in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia</i>, edited by Jane A. Hill, Philip Jones, and Antonio J. Morales, 185-217. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. §REF§ Not all researchers agree with this terminology, believing that it creates the impression of an inexorable march towards state formation, and some prefer to stress the fragile and experimental nature of early complex social formations in Upper Egypt. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422, 427) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ However, the term chiefdom remains in common usage as a label for the new ranked societies of the early 4th millennium. §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 422) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ §REF§ (Bard 2017, 2) Kathryn A. Bard. 2017. 'Political Economies of Predynastic Egypt and the Formation of the Early State'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 25: 1-36. §REF§ §REF§ (Koehler 2010, 32) E. Christiana Koehler. 2010. 'Prehistory', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 25-47. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ In the Naqada II period, 'proto-states' formed, and by the Naqada III we can speak of kings and a centralized government ruling over a unified Upper and Lower Egypt. §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 29-30) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ <br>We lack firm figures for the population of Egypt during the Naqada. At the beginning of the period, most inhabitants of Upper Egypt were living in small villages. §REF§ (Anđelković 2011, 28) Branislav Anđelković. 2011. 'Political Organization of Egypt in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 25-32. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ However, as the 4th millennium progressed, archaeologists can discern a process of urbanization and aggregation into larger political units. The largest known settlement, Hierakonpolis, grew into a regional centre of power in the 3800‒3500 BCE period §REF§ (Friedman 2011, 34) Renée Friedman. 2011. 'Hierakonpolis', in <i>Before the Pyramids: The Origins of Egyptian Civilization</i>, edited by Emily Teeter, 33-44. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. §REF§ and may have reached a population of between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the late Naqada I. §REF§ (Hoffman, Hamroush and Allen 1986, 181) Michael Allen Hoffman, Hany A. Hamroush and Ralph O. Allen. 1986. 'A Model of Urban Development for the Hierakonpolis Region from Predynastic through Old Kingdom Times'. <i>Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt</i> 23: 175-87. §REF§ Other researchers consider this figure 'inflated' §REF§ (Stevenson 2016, 436) Alice Stevenson. 2016. 'The Egyptian Predynastic and State Formation'. <i>Journal of Archaeological Research</i> 24: 421-68. §REF§ and point to recent evidence from the Abydos region for low population numbers throughout the Predynastic period. §REF§ (Patch 2004, 914) Diana Craig Patch. 2004. 'Settlement Patterns and Cultural Change in the Predynastic Period', in <i>Egypt at Its Origins: Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams</i>, edited by S. Hendrickx, R. F. Friedman, K. M. Ciałowicz and M. Chłodnicki, 905-18. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies. §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": [] } ] }