Welcome to

Seshat: Global History Databank

✓ the most current and comprehensive body of knowledge about human history
✓ collects what is currently known about the social and political organization of human societies over time
✓ offers the means to study the past through well-established scientific techniques
✓ founded in 2011 and thriving ever since

Seshat

General Variables

26

variables

in categories: Identity and Location, Temporal Bounds, Language, Religion, Supra-cultural relations
8861

datapoints

Alternative Name (Identity and Location)

Polity Peak Years (Temporal Bounds)

Polity Capital (Identity and Location)

Polity Language (Language)

Polity Religion (Religion)

Degree of Centralization (Temporal Bounds)

Succeeding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

Relationship to Preceding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

and 18 more... for 532 Polities

Social Complexity Variables

77

variables

in categories: Social Scale, Hierarchical Complexity, Professions, Bureaucracy Characteristics, Law, Specialized Buildings: polity owned, Transport Infrastructure, Special-purpose Sites, Information
20691

datapoints

Polity Territory (Social Scale)

Polity Population (Social Scale)

Settlement Hierarchy (Hierarchical Complexity)

Irrigation System (Specialized Buildings: polity owned)

Merit Promotion (Bureaucracy Characteristics)

Formal Legal Code (Law)

Road (Transport Infrastructure)

Postal Station (Information / Postal System)

and 69 more... for 510 Polities

Warfare Variables

49

variables

in categories: Fortifications, Military use of Metals, Projectiles, Handheld weapons, Animals used in warfare, Armor, Naval technology
17533

datapoints

Bronze (Military use of Metals)

Javelin (Projectiles)

Battle Axe (Handheld Weapons)

Sword (Handheld Weapons)

Horse (Animals used in warfare)

Small Vessels (canoes, etc) (Naval technology)

Shield (Armor)

Wooden Palisade (Fortifications)

and 41 more... for 375 Polities

Human Sacrifice

The deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
357

datapoints

was Present: 1500 BCE 1400 BCE in Konya Plain - Late Bronze Age II

was Absent: 867 CE 1072 CE in Byzantine Empire II

was Absent: 664 BCE 526 BCE in Egypt - Saite Period

was Present: 250 CE 537 CE in Kansai - Kofun Period

was Present: 1200 CE 1274 CE in Cahokia - Moorehead

was Absent: 6600 BCE 6001 BCE in Konya Plain - Late Neolithic

was Absent: 35 CE 230 CE in Kushan Empire

was Absent: 395 CE 457 CE in Western Roman Empire - Late Antiquity

and 349 more... coded for 323 Polities

CrisisDB

Power Transitions

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
OT Overturn
PA Predecessor Assassination
IE Intra-Elite
MR Military Revolt
PU Popular Uprising
SR Separatist Rebellion
EV External Invasion
EF External Inteference
3449

transitions

1707 CE in Mughal Empire: Azam Shah Bahadur Shah I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

249 CE 262 CE in Anurādhapura II: Gothabhaya Jetthatissa I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

641 CE in Byzantine Empire I: Constantine III Heraclonas OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1361 CE 1365 CE in Republic of Venice III: Lorenzi Celsi Marco Cornaro OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

908 CE 929 CE in Abbasid Caliphate I: Al-Muqtadir Al-Qahir OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1247 CE 1290 CE in Hausa bakwai: Gugua Shekkarau OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1701 CE 1724 CE in Ọ̀ràézè Ǹrì: Eze Nri Ezimilo Eze Nri Ewenetem OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

- in Magadha - Nanda Dynasty: Rashtrapala Govishanaka OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

and 3441 more... coded for 259 Polities

Crisis Consequences

Crisis periods are defined as periods of turmoil within a polity duration. We measure this turmoil by:
  1. tracking known destabilizing events such as major revolts, civil violence, and institutional reform; and
  2. following established scholarship which identifies such crisis periods
169

cases

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
PD Population Decline
PC Population Collapse
EP Epidemic
DM Elite Downward Mobility
EX Elite Extermination
UP Uprising
RV Revolution
SR Successful Revolution
CW Civil War
C+ Lasted a Century +
FR Fragmentation
CL Capital Loss
EC External Conquest
RA Ruler Assassination
RD Ruler Depose
CC Constitution Change
LC Labor Change
UL Unfree Labor Change
SF Suffrage
PG Public Goods Change
RC Religion Change

1748 CE 1803 CE in Mughal Empire: Fragmentation of the Mughal Empire: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1325 CE 1361 CE in Chagatai Khanate: Fragmentation of Chagatai Khanate: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1000 CE 1056 CE in Icelandic Commonwealth: Conversion to Christianity: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

990 CE 1019 CE in Medang Kingdom: Unrest and Collapse of Medang: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1810 CE 1821 CE in Spanish Empire II: Mexican War of Independence: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

306 CE 324 CE in Roman Empire - Dominate: Civil Wars of Tetrarchy: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1590 CE 1610 CE in Ottoman Empire II: First Jelali rebellion: PD PC EP DM EX UP SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

551 CE in Rouran Khaganate: Overthrow of Rouran Khaganate by Turkic peoples: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

and 161 more... coded for 153 Polities

🇺🇸 US Political Violence Database

✓ coded for Date, Type, Subtype(s), Location(s), Fatalities, etc
1903

cases

July 1, 1884 lynching (extralegal) in Montana (MT), Crooked Creek: 5 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

May 17, 1984 terrorism () in Alaska (AK), Manley Hot Springs: 8 were killed. Source(s):   TVPDB: The Violence Project database of mass shootings in the United States (Version 7)

July 1, 1857 lynching (extralegal) in Iowa (IA), Cedar: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 1896 lynching (extralegal) in Louisiana (LA), Hahnville: 3 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

May 1, 1844 riot (ethnic) in Pennsylvania (PA), Philadelphia, Philadelphia: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 1915 lynching (race) in Georgia (GA), Monticello: 4 were killed. Source(s):   The New York Times

Jan. 1, 1908 lynching (extralegal) in Tennessee (TN), Montgomery: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 2012 terrorism (work) in North Carolina (NC), Star: 4 were killed. Source(s):   Reuters

and 1895 more...

Copyright © 2024, Seshat: Global History Databank.
Stay in touch with us: