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
8633

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 502 Polities

Social Complexity Variables

76

variables

in categories: Social Scale, Hierarchical Complexity, Professions, Bureaucracy Characteristics, Law, Specialized Buildings: polity owned, Transport Infrastructure, Special-purpose Sites, Information
20328

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 68 more... for 503 Polities

Warfare Variables

49

variables

in categories: Fortifications, Military use of Metals, Projectiles, Handheld weapons, Animals used in warfare, Armor, Naval technology
17526

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 373 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.
356

datapoints

was Present: 1150 CE 1220 CE in Classical Angkor

was Unknown: 670 BCE 547 BCE in Kingdom of Lydia

was Absent: 550 CE 825 CE in Chenla

was Absent: 900 BCE 744 BCE in Elam I

was Absent: 300 BCE 249 CE in Kansai - Yayoi Period

was Unknown: 900 CE 999 CE in Jenne-jeno IV

was Absent: 1339 CE 1501 CE in Ak Koyunlu

was Absent: 1589 CE 1659 CE in French Kingdom - Early Bourbon

and 348 more... coded for 322 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
2397

transitions

317 CE in Early Classic Tikal: Unen Bahlam ("Queen Jaguar") Leyden Plate Ruler OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

307 CE 337 CE in Roman Empire - Dominate: Constantine I, the Great (Licinius (308-324) Maximinus II (310-313) Valerius Valens (316-317) Martinian (324-324) Constantius II (337-361) Constans (337-350) Constantine II (337-40) Magnentius (350-353) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1595 CE 1603 CE in Ottoman Empire II: Mehmed III Ahmed I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1108 CE 1137 CE in French Kingdom - Late Capetian: Louis VI Louis VII, the Younger OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1982 CE 1989 CE in Republic of Turkey: Kenan Evren Turgut Özal OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

494 CE 497 CE in Kansai - Kofun Period: Seinei Kenzō OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1413 CE 1414 CE in Golden Horde: Kebek Jabbār Berdi OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1427 CE 1440 CE in Aztec Empire: Itzcoatl Moctezuma I OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

and 2389 more... coded for 195 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
167

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

1917 CE 1923 CE in Russian Empire, Romanov Dynasty II: Russian Revolution: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1200 BCE 1150 BCE in Phoenician Empire: Late Bronze Age Collapse: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

225 CE 250 CE in Kushan Empire: Disintegration of Kushan Empire: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1728 CE 1805 CE in Yemen - Qasimid Dynasty: Fragmentation of Qasimid state: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1819 CE 1820 CE in Kingdom of Hawaii - Kamehameha Period: Contact Period: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

904 CE 1003 CE in Saffarid Caliphate: Civil War and downfall of Saffarids: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV 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

1261 CE 1262 CE in Icelandic Commonwealth: Norweigan Conquest of Iceland and the end of the Commonwealth: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

and 159 more... coded for 152 Polities

🇺🇸 US Political Violence Database

✓ coded for Date, Type, Subtype(s), Location(s), Fatalities, etc
1890

cases

May 1, 1917 lynching (extralegal) in Tennessee (TN), Memphis: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Sept. 1, 1988 riot (prison) in Idaho (ID), Boise: 1 was killed. Source(s):   The New York Times

Aug. 1, 1919 lynching (race) in Georgia (GA): 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Sept. 1, 1885 riot (ethnic) in Wyoming (WY), Rock Springs: 51 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

March 1, 1834 riot (labor) in Louisiana (LA), New Orleans: 5 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Nov. 1, 1934 riot (political) in Pennsylvania (PA), Kelayres: 5 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

Aug. 1, 1882 lynching (race) in Alabama (AL), Butler, Choctaw: 2 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

July 1, 1854 riot (ethnic) in Pennsylvania (PA), Philadelphia: 3 were killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

and 1882 more...

Copyright © 2023, Seshat: Global History Databank.
Stay in touch with us: