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: 1591 CE 1618 CE in Saadi Sultanate

was Absent: 1000 CE 1199 CE in Hawaii I

was Unknown: 540 CE 639 CE in Funan II

was Unknown: 50 CE 399 CE in Jenne-jeno II

was Absent: 1450 BCE 1301 BCE in Monopalatial Crete

was Absent: 600 BCE 325 BCE in Mahajanapada era

was Present: 3000 BCE 2901 BCE in Konya Plain - Early Bronze Age

was Present: 1700 BCE 1451 BCE in New Palace Crete

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

1817 CE in Imamate of Futa Toro: Yusuf Biran Ibra Wan

1142 CE 1155 CE in Heian: Konoe Go-Shirakawa OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1712 CE 1713 CE in Benin Empire: Ozuere Akenzua I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1618 CE 1622 CE in Ottoman Empire II: Osman II Mustafa I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1104 CE 1113 CE in Gahadavala Dynasty: Madanapala Govindachandra OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1640 CE 1648 CE in Ottoman Empire II: Ibrahim Mehmed IV OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

587 CE 597 CE in Anurādhapura III: Aggabodhi II Sanghatissa OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1855 CE 1859 CE in Kingdom of Jolof: Birayam Majigen Bakantam Xadi 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

1866 CE 1868 CE in Tokugawa Shogunate: Meiji Restoration: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

184 CE 220 CE in Eastern Han Empire: Yellow Turban and Five Pecks of Rice rebellions: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

950 BCE 900 BCE in Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: Decline of Neo-Hittites: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1598 CE 1603 CE in Japan - Azuchi-Momoyama: Foundation of Tokugawa Shogunate: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

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

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

1280 CE 1322 CE in Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I: Mongol invasions and rebellions in Mamluk Egypt: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

700 BCE 500 BCE in Oaxaca - Rosario: Increased violent conflict and social differentiation during Rosario phase: 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

June 1, 1912 riot (labor) in New Jersey (NJ), Perth Amboy: 7 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Dec. 1, 1833 riot (religion) in Missouri (MO), Jackson: 6 were killed. Source(s):

Nov. 1, 1868 riot (political) in Arkansas (AR), Center Point: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 1857 riot (ethnic) in New York (NY), Albion: 2 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

Aug. 1, 1870 riot (labor) in New York (NY), Peekskill: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

May 1, 1919 riot (race) in Georgia (GA), Sylvester: 1 was killed. Source(s):   The New York Times

Oct. 1, 1894 riot (extralegal) in Ohio (OH), Washington Court House: 5 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States, Wells

Nov. 1, 1882 riot (extralegal) in Kentucky (KY), Ashland: 6 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

and 1895 more...

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