Polity List

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        {
            "id": 105,
            "name": "il_yisrael",
            "start_year": -1030,
            "end_year": -722,
            "long_name": "Yisrael",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "_Short description_<br>The ancient kingdom of Israel 1030-722 CE was a monarchy established by Israelite people that was eventually conquered by the Assyrian Empire. Initially a monarchic union with Judah, around 930 BCE the Northern Kingdom (Israel) gained autonomy. In the 9th century Israel entered an anti-Assyria coalition but from Jehu (841 BCE) paid them tribute and thereafter were frequently a vassal of the Mesopotamian empire. After a revolt against Assyria in 727 CE the Assyrians ended the polity sending many of its inhabitants into exile.<br>The century authorities ruled through administrative centers and fortresses sites that had \"public buildings and ... large open spaces.\" §REF§ (Finkelstein 2013, 104)Israel Finkelstein. 2013. The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel. Society of Biblical Literature. Atlanta, GA. Available online <a class=\"external text\" href=\"https://www.sbl-site.org/assets/pdfs/pubs/9781589839106_OA.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">here</a>. §REF§  Local administration may have been through tribal elders who may have been responsible for tax collection. Our image of a centralized monarchy (for some of or the whole of the period) might be tempered by the ideas of Pfoh (2008) who has argued Israel was actually a \"patronage kingdom\" in which a monarchy did not control a truly unitary state. Nevertheless, Israel possessed a standing army with a strong chariot corps, and used weapons of iron and bronze. Fortifications were many and imposing, and the Palace of Omri was one of the grandest in the Ancient Near East.<br>At its height, Israel imposed tribute on many of the surrounding kingdoms, not only Judah but Moab, Edom, and perhaps others as well. The Israelite population primarily lived in cities and towns in the hills, with fortified cities protecting the frontiers on the plains and dominating major trade routes through the region. Trade linked Israel with its northern neighbor Phoenicia, particularly through the port of Dor. At the height of its power, Israel was also a significant military force, contributing the largest contingent to the regional coalition that turned back Assyria's first attempt to conquer the Levant.<br>At least some of the population was literate even before the 10th Century BCE, though the prevalence of literacy is disputed. While the majority of the populace lived in small towns and villages, a significant fraction lived in walled cities such as the capital, Samaria. Most of the economy was in agriculture and pastoral production; staples for export included grain, wine, and oil. In the eighth century BCE the population likely exceeded well over a quarter of a million people, a vast increase on the less than 100,000 people estimated for the earliest times.<br><br/><br>_Oren's long description_<br>How the Kingdom of Israel began is a matter of dispute. The Bible depicts it as originally being the greater part of the old Israelite tribal confederation, and then a part of the United Monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon (c. 1030 BCE)—before seceding during the rule of Rehaboam, and forming its own state. This narrative is more or less accepted by some archaeologists such as Mazar, while others such as Finkelstein assert that Israel actually emerged first from a process of gradual state formation, with the southern kingdom of Judah emerging later. §REF§ Cf. Finkelstein/Mazar (2007). §REF§ <br>Regardless, the two kingdoms always had close interactions, and the northern kingdom of Israel was almost always the dominant one. At its height, Israel imposed tribute on many of the surrounding kingdoms, not only Judah but Moab, Edom, and perhaps others as well. The Israelite population primarily lived in cities and towns in the hills, with fortified cities protecting the frontiers on the plains and dominating major trade routes through the region. Trade linked Israel with its northern neighbor Phoenicia, particularly through the port of Dor. At the height of its power, Israel was also a significant military force, contributing the largest contingent to the regional coalition that turned back Assyria's first attempt to conquer the Levant. Israel featured a standing army with a strong chariot corps, with weapons of iron and bronze. Fortifications were many and imposing, and the Palace of Omri was one of the grandest in the Ancient Near East.<br>However, starting with the assassination of the Omrid king Jehoram by Jehu (c. 841 BCE), Israel's fortunes waned; and it spent the rest of its existence as the tributary of either Aram or Assyria, depending on which of the two empires were ascendent. Even when the economy of Israel flourished during particular periods of the next century (as attested to by the greater incidence of luxury goods in archaeological finds), Israel was still subject to the depredations of foreign powers, being invaded several times. Ultimately, following an ill-fated rebellion against Assyria, the polity of Israel was dissolved (c. 722 BCE), its people exiled, and the land turned into an Assyrian province.<br>Israelite politics were marked with instability. In contrast to the kingdom of Judah, which featured a single ruling dynasty that traced its beginnings to David, Israelite kings frequently met violent ends. These would typically be at the hands of rebellious military commanders who would seize the throne, though such rebels ran the risk of being deposed themselves in short order. Zimri, one rebel captain, would rule for only a single week before losing the support of the army to rival captain Omri, founder of the Omrid Dynasty.<br>At least some of the population was literate even before the 10th Century BCE, though the prevalence of literacy is disputed. While the majority of the populace lived in small towns and villages, a significant fraction lived in walled cities such as the capital, Samaria. Most of the economy was in agriculture and pastoral production; staples for export included grain, wine, and oil.<br>A word of caution is in order about coding methodology. Much of the evidence we have about this polity comes from archaeological finds. However, the brute fact of an archaeological artifact is often used as the basis for considerable interpretation and conjecture. Methods have been improving over time, but still some archaeologists tend to leap far ahead of what the evidence will support. Additionally, the meaning of many finds is hotly disputed by archaeologists, each faction insisting for its point of view.<br>Worse, scholars of this particular polity often operate with ideological motives - either to prove the essential historicity of the Bible, or to disprove it—which can distort their claims. Israel Finkelstein, for example, once claimed that King David never existed, before having to revise his view after the discovery of the Tel Dan Stela. §REF§ Cf. Finkelstein/Mazar (2007). §REF§  (He now <a class=\"external text\" href=\"http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2010/12/david-and-solomon/draper-text\" rel=\"nofollow\">believes</a>, as <i>National Geographic</i> puts it, that David was \"a raggedy upstart akin to Pancho Villa.\") His \"Low Chronology\" seems to have been motivated by the attempt to disprove the early existence of the United Monarchy, and the weight of the evidence now contradicts the chronology (while still inconclusive on the matter of the United Monarchy). §REF§ Mazar (2005) §REF§  In general, it seems that many archaeologists treat the absence of evidence as evidence of absence—risky to do, considering that new finds are unearthed practically every month.<br>In short, every data point that is backed up with archaeology must be considered provisional, and new discoveries can totally upend our picture of what happened. As can new interpretations that correct erroneous early interpretations, a <a class=\"external text\" href=\"http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~fisher/hst140/MotelOfMysteries.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">constant danger</a> with motivated archaeologists.",
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                "id": 10,
                "name": "Galilee",
                "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia",
                "longitude": "35.303500000000",
                "latitude": "32.699600000000",
                "capital_city": "Nazareth",
                "nga_code": "IL",
                "fao_country": "Israel",
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                "id": 61,
                "name": "Levant",
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            "id": 106,
            "name": "iq_neo_assyrian_emp",
            "start_year": -911,
            "end_year": -612,
            "long_name": "Neo-Assyrian Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Assyrian Empire (911-612 BCE) was a powerful polity that expanded from its heartland in northern Iraq, using the most advanced military technologies of the era: two wheeled chariots, cavalry and an infantry fully converted to iron weapons. §REF§ (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007, 10) R Dupuy. Dupuy. 2007. The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History, 4th Edition, BCA. §REF§  §REF§ (Chadwick 2005, 77) R Chadwick. 2005. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition, Equinox, London. §REF§ <br>The most important early ruler was Assurnasirpall II (883-859 BCE) who built the capital Kalhu on the east bank of the Tigris. §REF§ (Chadwick 2005, 77) R Chadwick. 2005. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition, Equinox, London. §REF§  The Assyrian king maintained his presence by establishing “royal cities” with palaces throughout the realm, which he appears to have used on a regular basis. §REF§ (Radler 2014) K Radler. 2014. The Assyrian Empire, c. 900-612 BC. The Emergence of European State Forms in Comparative Perspective - Panel \"Imperial States in Time\". §REF§  The Assyrian capital also changed frequently: the first capital was Ashur (911-859 BCE) and the last was at Ninevah (681-612 BCE). Sharrukin was important between 707-705 BCE.<br>Despite the constantly moving king and capital the Assyrian government put down literary roots in a state archives §REF§ (Westbrook et al. 2003, 887) R Westbrook. G Beckman. R Jasnow. B Levine. M Roth. 2003. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. Volume: 2. Brill. Leiden, Netherlands. §REF§  and perhaps the world’s first organized library was built at Nineveh under Asurbanipal (668-627 BCE). Here scribes copied texts from a 1,000 year old Babylonian literary tradition. These included medical works, mythologies, religious guides and astrology. §REF§ (Davidson 2012, 28) P Davidson. 2012. Atlas of Empires, New Holland, London. §REF§  The high level of sophistication the Assyrian civilization achieved is reflected in ruins of water reservoirs and sewerage systems §REF§ (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 97) A N Angelakis. L W Mays. D Koutsoyiannis. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing. §REF§ , an aqueduct built in Nineveh §REF§ (Chadwick 2005, 83) R Chadwick. 2005. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Edition, Equinox, London. §REF§  and \"traditional Mesopotamian mud-brick architecture ... monumental stone sculptures and wall reliefs.\" §REF§ (Stearns 2001, 27) P Stearns. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History. 6th Edition. James Clarke &amp; Co Ltd. Cambridge. §REF§ <br>The Assyrian government was the personal project of the king who appointed all officials at the state, regional and local levels as well as the priesthood. §REF§ (Westbrook et al. 2003, 886-888) R Westbrook. G Beckman. R Jasnow. B Levine. M Roth. 2003. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. Volume: 2. Brill. Leiden, Netherlands. §REF§  He was advised by officials called Magnates. §REF§ (Westbrook et al. 2003, 886-888) R Westbrook. G Beckman. R Jasnow. B Levine. M Roth. 2003. A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law. Volume: 2. Brill. Leiden, Netherlands. §REF§  The king's provincial governors also lived in palaces §REF§ (Radler 2014) K Radler. 2014. The Assyrian Empire, c. 900-612 BC. The Emergence of European State Forms in Comparative Perspective - Panel \"Imperial States in Time\". §REF§  and were initially direct relations of the king until the reign of Shalmaneser III (r.859-824 BC) who instead made governors directly appointed eunuchs. §REF§ (Radler 2014) K Radler. 2014. The Assyrian Empire, c. 900-612 BC. The Emergence of European State Forms in Comparative Perspective - Panel \"Imperial States in Time\". §REF§  Historians believe governors had a lot of freedom over the day-to-day running of the regions since letters that have been recovered sent from governors to the king primarily concern unforeseeable problems. §REF§ (Radler 2014) K Radler. 2014. The Assyrian Empire, c. 900-612 BC. The Emergence of European State Forms in Comparative Perspective - Panel \"Imperial States in Time\". §REF§ <br>In the 7th Century population of Mesopotamia reached its height of about 2 million.  §REF§ (Stearns 2001, 28) P Stearns. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History. 6th Edition. James Clarke &amp; Co Ltd. Cambridge. §REF§  At its height, after Egypt was conquered in 671 CE, combined with south-eastern Anatolia, the Levant region and western Iran, the total population of the tribute-paying empire may have reached 7 million people. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 226) Colin McEvedy. Richard Jones. 1978. Atlas of World Population History, Allen Lane, London. §REF§ ",
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                "id": 8,
                "name": "Southern Mesopotamia",
                "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia",
                "longitude": "44.420000000000",
                "latitude": "32.470000000000",
                "capital_city": "Babylon (Hillah)",
                "nga_code": "IQ",
                "fao_country": "Iraq",
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                "id": 62,
                "name": "Mesopotamia",
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        {
            "id": 107,
            "name": "ir_achaemenid_emp",
            "start_year": -550,
            "end_year": -331,
            "long_name": "Achaemenid Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Achaemenid Empire was established by Cyrus II 'the Great', who inherited the small kingdom of Persia (named after the capital city, Persis) in southwest Iran, a vassal territory of the larger Median Empire to the Northwest. From 553 to 550 BCE, Cyrus led his fellow Persians against Median hegemony (even though the Medes were ruled by his own relatives), establishing the Persians as the dominant group in Iran. His kingdom became known as the Achaemenid Empire after the legendary first King of Persia, Achaemenes, claimed to be an ancestor of the Great Cyrus himself (Achaemenid essentially translates to 'children of Achaemenes'). §REF§ (Briant [1996] 2002) Pierre Briant. [1996] 2002. <i>From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire</i>, translated by Peter T. Daniels. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. §REF§ <br>Capitalizing on these early victories, Cyrus II the Great continued his military domination, conquering the wealthy Lydian Kingdom in modern-day Turkey along with most of Asia Minor and the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom in Mesopotamia, as well as consolidating Persia's hold over much of central Asia as far as modern Pakistan. His son and heir, Cambyses II, continued this tradition, expanding Achaemenid rule into the large and wealthy kingdom of Egypt. After Cambyses II's death in 522 BCE, a noble Persian named Darius came to power after overthrowing an alleged usurper to the throne (Gautama, supposedly posing as Cyrus II's son Bardiya, more commonly known by his Greek name Smerdis). §REF§ (Shayegan 2006) M. Rahim Shayegan. 2006. 'Bardiya and Gaumata: An Achaemenid Enigma Reconsidered'. <i>Bulletin of the Asia Institute</i> (n.s.) 20: 65-76. §REF§  Darius I, who also took the title of 'the Great', was a powerful ruler who inaugurated several military, administrative, and economic reforms, §REF§ (Cook 1983) J. M. Cook. 1983. <i>The Persian Empire</i>. London: J. M. Dent and Sons. §REF§  though is most well known for leading the Persian army to defeat at the hands of a coalition of small Greek city-states during the famous Persian Wars of the early 5th century BCE. Despite the fact that Darius' son and heir Xerxes I (the Great) also failed to conquer the Greek Aegean and lost a decisive battle to the same outnumbered coalition of Greeks, the Achaemenid Empire remained intact. §REF§ (de Souza 2003) Philip de Souza. 2003. <i>The Greek and Persian Wars, 499-386 BC</i>. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. §REF§ <br>In 330 BCE, Darius III became the twelfth and final emperor in the Achaemenid line when he succumbed to the conquests of Alexander the Great and his invading Macedonian army (twelfth not including the alleged usurper Bardiya/Smerdis nor the short-lived Artaxerxes V, who declared himself emperor for a brief moment after Darius III was killed as Alexander was completing his conquest). §REF§ (Kuhrt 2001, 94) Amelie Kuhrt. 2001. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (c. 550 - c. 330 BCE): Continuities, Adaptations, Transformations', in <i>Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History</i>, edited by Susan Alcock, Terence D'Altroy, Kathleen D. Morrison and Carla M. Sinopoli, 93-123. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Alexander became the ruler of all the territory formerly held by the Persians, incorporating it into the massive, though short-lived, Macedonian Empire and bringing an end to the great Persian Achaemenid Empire.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Achaemenid Empire was one of the largest empires in the pre-modern world, stretching nearly 6 million square kilometres across the Near East, Central Asia, the Indus Valley, Middle East, and into Egypt at its greatest extent. §REF§ (Broodbank 2015, 583) Cyprian Broodbank. 2015. <i>The Making of the Middle Sea</i>. London: Thames &amp; Hudson. §REF§  It was a massive, multi-ethnic society made up of Medes, Persians, Lydians, Greeks, Egyptians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Sogdians, and numerous other cultural-ethnic groups; indeed, Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian, Aramaic, hieroglyphic Egyptian, and Greek were all used in royal and provincial communication. §REF§ (Shahbazi 2012, 135) A. Shapour Shahbazi. 2012. 'The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE)', in <i>The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History</i>, edited by Touraj Daryaee, 120-41. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Between the Great rulers Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I, the Persians had stitched together an empire out of the centres of the oldest civilizations from Anatolia to Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. Persepolis and the grand Pasargadae were large ceremonial and ritual centres in the heartland of Persia, while Susa in western Iran was the major administrative capital. At its peak under Darius I, the empire covered a huge swathe of diverse territory from the eastern Mediterranean all the way to the Indus Valley, incorporating navigable seas and rivers, protected ports and fertile agricultural land as well as rough mountainous passes. This territory held a population of between 17 and 35 million people. §REF§ (Wiesehöfer 2009) Josef Wiesehöfer. 2009. 'The Achaemenid Empire', in <i>The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium</i>, edited by Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel, 66-98. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ ",
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                "id": 9,
                "name": "Susiana",
                "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia",
                "longitude": "48.235564000000",
                "latitude": "32.382851000000",
                "capital_city": "Susa (Shush)",
                "nga_code": "IR",
                "fao_country": "Iran",
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                "id": 45,
                "name": "Iran",
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        {
            "id": 108,
            "name": "ir_seleucid_emp",
            "start_year": -312,
            "end_year": -63,
            "long_name": "Seleucid Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Seleucid Empire arose in the years following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the subsequent division of his empire. Alexander’s generals each ruled part of the empire, including Seleucus I who became leader of the Babylonian territory in 319 BCE as a reward for having helped Alexander eliminate the regent Perdiccas  §REF§ (Sherwin-White and Kurht 1993, 10) S Sherwin-White. A Kurht. 1993. From Samarkhand to Sardis; A new approach to the Seleucid empire. London: Duckworth. §REF§ . This date does not however mark the start of the Seleucid Empire as Seleucus was ousted by the rival Antigonus in 315 BCE and did not return to power until 312 BCE, after which the Seleucid Empire truly began as Seleucus began to extent his domain to create an empire large enough to include territories in the Central Asian steppe to European Thrace  §REF§ (Kosmin 2013, 678) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. §REF§ . Seleucus’ territorial achievements were matched by only one of his successors, Antiochus III, whose rule began 60 years later. The last rulers of the empire could not match the charisma and drive of these earlier rulers, especially in the face of growing powers to the west and east of the empire (Rome and Parthia respectively). The empire declined in size and influence until it was taken over by Rome in 63 BCE.<br>The Seleucid Empire continued to exert the Hellenistic influences of Alexander the Great’s empire, but like Alexander, the rulers of the Seleucid Empire generally allowed other religions and languages to continue and flourish (a notable exception being the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus IV)  §REF§ (Kosmin 2013, 684-685) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. §REF§ . Most written documents are in Greek and contain valuable information about the empire, the battles fought and the kings who ruled. The documents are however far from complete and many aspects of the empire are either inferred from other sources or remain unknown. Overall it can be surmised that the Seleucid Empire was ruled by one king at a time who held central authority, but who exerted that authority through his commanders, or satraps, in the various territories of the empire  §REF§ (Kosmin 2013, 680) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. §REF§ . This both gave the king a great amount of power but also made him vulnerable to the ambitions of his satraps, the most notable example being the betrayal of the general Achaios who in 220 BCE took the territories of Asia Minor for himself after conducting campaigns there on behalf of Antiochus III  §REF§ (Ager 2012, 421) S L Ager. 2012. The Alleged Rapprochement between Achaios and Attalos I in 220 BCE. Historia. 61 (4), pp. 421-429. §REF§ .",
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                "name": "Southern Mesopotamia",
                "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia",
                "longitude": "44.420000000000",
                "latitude": "32.470000000000",
                "capital_city": "Babylon (Hillah)",
                "nga_code": "IQ",
                "fao_country": "Iraq",
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        {
            "id": 109,
            "name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_1",
            "start_year": -305,
            "end_year": -217,
            "long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom I",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Ptolemaic Kingdom (or Empire) was one of the successor states to the Macedonian Empire created by the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BCE. When Alexander died in Babylon in 323, Ptolemy, as one of his most favoured generals and bodyguards, was appointed satrap (governor) of Egypt, Libya and parts of Arabia. §REF§ (Hӧlbl 2001, 12, 14) Günther Hӧlbl. 2001. <i>A History of the Ptolemaic Empire</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§  §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 389) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The next few decades after 323 were characterized by incessant warfare between those who wished to maintain the unity of the Macedonian Empire, nominally still intact, §REF§ (Lloyd 2010, xl) Alan B. Lloyd. 2010. 'Chronology', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, xxxii-xliii. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  and those who aspired to rule their own kingdoms independently. §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 389) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Ptolemy was firmly on the separatist side, and in 305 BCE he successfully declared himself king of Egypt. In doing so, he became Ptolemy I Soter ('the saviour') §REF§ (Thompson 2005, 113) Dorothy J. Thompson. 2005. 'The Ptolemies and Egypt', in <i>A Companion to the Hellenistic World</i>, edited by Andrew Erskine, 105-20. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. §REF§ , founder of a powerful dynasty (sometimes known as the Lagides, after his father Lagos) §REF§ (Myśliwiec 2000, 179) Karol Myśliwiec. 2000. <i>The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: First Millennium B.C.E.</i>, translated by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. §REF§  that was to rule Egypt for almost three centuries.<br>Ptolemy I and his successors had expansionist ambitions, seeking to carve out more and more territory for their new kingdom, often at the expense of the other kingdoms that had splintered from Alexander's empire, especially the Seleucid Kingdom of the Middle East. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 169) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  At its greatest extent, the Ptolemaic Empire reached as far south as Lower Nubia (southern Egypt), west to Cyrenaica (modern-day Libya), east to Cyprus, Syria, Phoenicia and Asia Minor (Turkey), and north into the Aegean. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 169-71) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  In the words of one researcher, Egypt became for the first time a true 'Mediterranean power' under its new Macedonian rulers. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 169) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ <br>The peak of the Ptolemaic period is generally considered to correspond to the reigns of the first three Ptolemies in the 3rd century BCE. §REF§ (Chauveau 2000, 11) Michel Chauveau. 2000. <i>Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra</i>, translated by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. §REF§  We divide the kingdom into two polities: the first begins with Ptolemy I's accession in 305 and ends with the Battle of Raphia in 217. In this battle, Ptolemy IV defeated the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who had invaded Ptolemaic-controlled lands in Palestine. §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 394) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The late 3rd and early 2nd centuries saw conflict within the ruling family and revolts by the Egyptian population, representing an 'age of crisis' between two periods of relative stability. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 165-66) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  Our second polity runs from 217 up to the famous suicide of Cleopatra VII, the last ruler in the Ptolemaic line, and the Roman annexation of Egypt in 30 BCE. §REF§ (Lloyd 2010, xl) Alan B. Lloyd. 2010. 'Chronology', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, xxxii-xliii. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  §REF§ (Newman 2015) Frances Stickney Newman. 2015. 'Cleopatra VII', in <i>Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia</i>. Ipswich, MA: Salem Press. Accessed 22 February 2017. §REF§  Overall, the Ptolemies were a successful dynasty: in concert with their expansionist policies, they managed to transform Egypt ‒ and the new city of Alexandria in particular ‒ into the cultural and economic centre of the Hellenistic world. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 173-75) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ <br><i>Population and Political Organization</i><br>The Ptolemies were the longest-lived foreign dynasty ever to rule Egypt. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 159) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  They presided over a 'double society', portraying themselves as Graeco-Macedonian kings to the many resident Greeks and divine pharaohs to the 'native' Egyptian population. §REF§ (Chauveau 2000, 33, 37) Michel Chauveau. 2000. <i>Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra</i>, translated by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 171) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  Greeks and Egyptians were subject to different judicial systems and Greeks tended to dominate the highest echelons of society. §REF§ (Manning 2003, 53, 131) J. G. Manning. 2003. <i>Land and Power in Ptolemaic Egypt: The Structure of Land Tenure</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 409) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Alexandria, built as an ideal Greek-style Hellenistic city with its magnificent library, stadium, theatre, gymnasium and lighthouse, was always set apart from the rest of the country. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 174) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§  §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 400-01) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Over time, however, and especially from 200 BCE onwards, the boundaries between 'Greek' and 'Egyptian' became blurred. §REF§ (Vandorpe 2010, 171-73) Katelijn Vandorpe. 2010. 'The Ptolemaic Period', in <i>A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1</i>, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 159-79. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. §REF§ <br>The chief aim of government was to draw as much revenue ‒ in money and in wheat ‒ as possible from the population, and for this reason the burden of taxation was heavy. §REF§ (Chauveau 2000, 78) Michel Chauveau. 2000. <i>Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra</i>, translated by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. §REF§  The Ptolemies left many Pharaonic Egyptian institutions intact, such as the temple hierarchy with its priests and scribes. However, they used state functionaries and tax farmers to divert more and more wealth from temples, agricultural estates, especially those of granted to soldiers (known as cleruchs), and ordinary peasant farmers to the royal coffers. §REF§ (Lloyd 2000, 404-05) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. 'The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC)', in <i>The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt</i>, edited by Ian Shaw, 388-413. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Egypt under the Ptolemies also became more outward-looking, extending commercial and political power into the Levant, the Black Sea and the shores of the Mediterranean as far west as Sicily. §REF§ (Thompson and Buraselis 2013, 2-4) Dorothy J. Thompson and Kostas Buraselis. 'Introduction', in <i>The Ptolemies, the Sea and the Nile: Studies in Waterborne Power</i>, edited by Kostas Buraselis, Mary Stefanou and Dorothy J. Thompson, 1-18. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The population of Egypt during the Ptolemaic period has been estimated at around 4 million people in the 3rd century BCE, of which between 5 and 10 percent were Greeks. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2011, 135-37) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2011. 'Counting the Greeks in Egypt: Immigration in the First Century of Ptolemaic Rule', in <i>Demography in the Graeco-Roman World</i>, edited by C. Holleran and A. Pudsey, 135-54. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  The total population of the entire Ptolemaic Empire may have reached 7 million. §REF§ (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 149) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. <i>Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ ",
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                "id": 5,
                "name": "Upper Egypt",
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                "longitude": "32.714706000000",
                "latitude": "25.725715000000",
                "capital_city": "Luxor",
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                "fao_country": "Egypt",
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        },
        {
            "id": 110,
            "name": "il_judea",
            "start_year": -141,
            "end_year": -63,
            "long_name": "Yehuda",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Judea (originally Yehuda) polity of 141 - 63 BCE was formed when Simon Thassi, brother of the executed Jonathan Apphus who had waged war against the Seleucids, was elected as High King and Prince in a popular assembly in 141 BCE. Simon achieved a measure of quasi-independence from the Seleucids—though he remained a vassal and the population retained strong elements of Hellenism.<br>According to archaeologists, it seems that Galilee was only sparsely settled before this period, and that the conquering of territories and increase in Jewish communities coming into the area contributed to the rise in permanent settlements and population during this time. However, agreements over the population differs widely, with estimates on the largest settlement, Jerusalem, ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 people. §REF§ Leibner (2009:319). §REF§  §REF§ Broshi (1978). §REF§  §REF§ Geva (2013). §REF§ <br>Judea was a sophisticated, well-organised and equipped society, with markets, established trade routes, water transportation infrastructure, aqueducts and cisterns, temples and palaces, sporting arenas, libraries, and many other modern features. §REF§ Chanson (2002:56). §REF§   §REF§ Netzer (2001:13-39). §REF§   §REF§ See the Specialized Buildings section for more information from our expert §REF§ ",
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                "longitude": "35.303500000000",
                "latitude": "32.699600000000",
                "capital_city": "Nazareth",
                "nga_code": "IL",
                "fao_country": "Israel",
                "world_region": "Southwest Asia"
            },
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                "id": 61,
                "name": "Levant",
                "subregions_list": "Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria",
                "mac_region": 11
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        {
            "id": 111,
            "name": "in_achik_1",
            "start_year": 1775,
            "end_year": 1867,
            "long_name": "Early A'chik",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Garo Hills, located in Meghalaya in northeast India, have long been inhabited by the A’chik. The term 'Garo' is of unclear origin, but is believed to have originated with the neighbouring Boro people. §REF§ (Sangma 1995, 37) Sangma, Mihir N., and Milton S. Sangma. 1995. “The Garos: The Name, Meanings, and Its Origin.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, 32-41. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN</a>. §REF§  The Garo people refer to themselves as the A'chik ('hill') or A'chik Manderang ('hill people'). §REF§ (Sangma 1995, 33) Sangma, Mihir N., and Milton S. Sangma. 1995. “The Garos: The Name, Meanings, and Its Origin.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, 32-41. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN</a>. §REF§ <br>It is unknown precisely when the A’chik settled in their present location, but it is believed that they migrated to the hills from Tibet. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  The A’chik had little contact with their neighbours before 1775, when local <i>zamindars</i> (Indian land-owning nobility) led expeditions into the Garo Hills. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§ <br>1788 saw the first contact with the British, who began to occupy the district in 1867. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  Despite their initial resistance, the A’chik were overmatched by British firearms, and the British established full administrative control of the region around 1873. §REF§ (Majumdar 1978, 30) Majumdar, Dhirendra Narayan. 1978. Culture Change in Two Garo Villages. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India, Govt. of India. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5</a>. §REF§  The region remained a part of British India until Indian independence in 1947.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>During the precolonial period, the A’chik lacked elaborate political organization. The most important social unit was the matrilineal clan, the <i>machong</i>. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 6) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  The chief (<i>nokma</i>) had relatively little power beyond religious functions and resolving minor disputes under the guidance of the village elders. §REF§ (Majumdar 1978, 22) Majumdar, Dhirendra Narayan. 1978. Culture Change in Two Garo Villages. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India, Govt. of India. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5</a>. §REF§ <br>Once the region was under British control, executive offices were simply superimposed onto A’chik structures. The British created the office of <i>laskar</i>, with limited power over about ten villages. §REF§ (Marak 1997, 52) Marak, Kumie R. 1997. Traditions and Modernity in Matrilineal Tribal Society. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH</a>. §REF§  The A’chik were still left to settle their own disputes through the nokma, but they gained the right to appeal the nokma's decisions to the court of laskars. §REF§ (Marak 1997, 52) Marak, Kumie R. 1997. Traditions and Modernity in Matrilineal Tribal Society. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH</a>. §REF§ <br>Population estimates are unavailable for the precolonial period. The British colonial official and statistician W. W. Hunter estimated that the population of the Garo Hills was 80,000 in 1872. §REF§ (Kar 1995, 54) Kar, Biman. 1995. “Changing A’chik-Mande: Need for Further Research.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, edited by Milton S. Sangma, 52-58. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/W7PJ27C6\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/W7PJ27C6</a>. §REF§",
            "shapefile_name": null,
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            "home_nga": {
                "id": 16,
                "name": "Garo Hills",
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                "longitude": "90.518539010900",
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                "capital_city": "Tura",
                "nga_code": "ASM",
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                "world_region": "South Asia"
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                "id": 37,
                "name": "Eastern South Asia",
                "subregions_list": "Bangladesh + Indian states of West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim",
                "mac_region": 9
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        },
        {
            "id": 112,
            "name": "in_achik_2",
            "start_year": 1867,
            "end_year": 1956,
            "long_name": "Late A'chik",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Garo Hills, located in Meghalaya in northeast India, have long been inhabited by the A’chik. The term 'Garo' is of unclear origin, but is believed to have originated with the neighbouring Boro people. §REF§ (Sangma 1995, 37) Sangma, Mihir N., and Milton S. Sangma. 1995. “The Garos: The Name, Meanings, and Its Origin.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, 32-41. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN</a>. §REF§  The Garo people refer to themselves as the A'chik ('hill') or A'chik Manderang ('hill people'). §REF§ (Sangma 1995, 33) Sangma, Mihir N., and Milton S. Sangma. 1995. “The Garos: The Name, Meanings, and Its Origin.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, 32-41. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/M5IS3SBN</a>. §REF§ <br>It is unknown precisely when the A’chik settled in their present location, but it is believed that they migrated to the hills from Tibet. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  The A’chik had little contact with their neighbours before 1775, when local <i>zamindars</i> (Indian land-owning nobility) led expeditions into the Garo Hills. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§ <br>1788 saw the first contact with the British, who began to occupy the district in 1867. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 2) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  Despite their initial resistance, the A’chik were overmatched by British firearms, and the British established full administrative control of the region around 1873. §REF§ (Majumdar 1978, 30) Majumdar, Dhirendra Narayan. 1978. Culture Change in Two Garo Villages. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India, Govt. of India. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5</a>. §REF§  The region remained a part of British India until Indian independence in 1947.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>During the precolonial period, the A’chik lacked elaborate political organization. The most important social unit was the matrilineal clan, the <i>machong</i>. §REF§ (Roy 1999, 6) Roy, Sankar Kumar. 1999. “Culture Summary: Garo.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=ar05-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TXQNUE8P</a>. §REF§  The chief (<i>nokma</i>) had relatively little power beyond religious functions and resolving minor disputes under the guidance of the village elders. §REF§ (Majumdar 1978, 22) Majumdar, Dhirendra Narayan. 1978. Culture Change in Two Garo Villages. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India, Govt. of India. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TZXMWMN5</a>. §REF§ <br>Once the region was under British control, executive offices were simply superimposed onto A’chik structures. The British created the office of <i>laskar</i>, with limited power over about ten villages. §REF§ (Marak 1997, 52) Marak, Kumie R. 1997. Traditions and Modernity in Matrilineal Tribal Society. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH</a>. §REF§  The A’chik were still left to settle their own disputes through the nokma, but they gained the right to appeal the nokma's decisions to the court of laskars. §REF§ (Marak 1997, 52) Marak, Kumie R. 1997. Traditions and Modernity in Matrilineal Tribal Society. New Delhi: Inter-India Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CS3PXEIH</a>. §REF§ <br>Population estimates are unavailable for the precolonial period. The British colonial official and statistician W. W. Hunter estimated that the population of the Garo Hills was 80,000 in 1872. §REF§ (Kar 1995, 54) Kar, Biman. 1995. “Changing A’chik-Mande: Need for Further Research.” In Hill Societies, Their Modernisation: A Study of North East with Special Reference to Garo Hills, edited by Milton S. Sangma, 52-58. New Delhi: Omsons Publications. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/W7PJ27C6\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/W7PJ27C6</a>. §REF§",
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        {
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            "name": "gh_akan",
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            "end_year": 1701,
            "long_name": "Akan - Pre-Ashanti",
            "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,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "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": 2
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 114,
            "name": "gh_ashanti_emp",
            "start_year": 1701,
            "end_year": 1895,
            "long_name": "Ashanti Empire",
            "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,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "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": 2
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 115,
            "name": "is_icelandic_commonwealth",
            "start_year": 930,
            "end_year": 1262,
            "long_name": "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,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "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": 5
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 116,
            "name": "no_norway_k_2",
            "start_year": 1262,
            "end_year": 1396,
            "long_name": "Kingdom of Norway II",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kingdom of Norway (also Norwegian Empire or Old Norse <i>Noregsveldi</i>) originally covered the west coast of Norway and was allied with an earldom in Þrándheimur (modern Trøndelag). It then expanded to eastern Norway in the middle of the 11th century CE, around Viken and modern-day Oslo, including Båhuslen in modern Sweden, and northwards to Hålogaland, Lofoten and Finnmark.<br>Orkney and Shetland became part of the kingdom as early as 875, according to legend, and became an earldom. The Faroe Islands became part of the kingdom of Norway in 1035 CE, and the Hebrides and Man in the 12th century. Iceland and Greenland were added to its territory in 1256-64 and 1262 respectively. In 1266, however, Man and the Hebrides became part of the Kingdom of Scotland. The 'peak' of the kingdom was thus in the 1260s. Each part of the kingdom had its own assembly: four in Norway and a separate assembly for each of the islands or archipelagoes in the realm. Here the chieftains gathered yearly to discuss and decide on key matters for each assembly area. The Icelandic, Faroese and Man assemblies still exist.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The kingdom of Norway was originally a composite of kingdoms or earldoms, with the king of Norway a king of kings. Its extent and composition relied in large part on the fortunes of the royal dynasty, with repeated periods of partition by inheritance and reunification. A fully stable dynasty was only established in about 1240, after a long period of civil war. Royal power was instrumental in introducing Christianity to Norway around 1000, and the church was an important prop to royal power thereafter, providing the bureaucratic framework. The orientation of the Norwegian kingdom shifted after 1314, from North Atlantic expansion to an eastern emphasis, participating in intra-Scandinavian power struggles. In 1397 it joined the Kalmar Union, the kingdom covering the whole of the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian realms. From 1523 to 1814 it was a part of the Danish-Norwegian kingdom, and the Danish king was also the Norwegian king. The population reached about 400,000-600,000 in 1350, before the Black Death, but by 1520 repeated epidemics had reduced the population to around 120,000.<br><i>This description was provided by Árni Daniel Júlíusson and edited by Jenny Reddish.</i>",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "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": 5
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 117,
            "name": "pk_kachi_enl",
            "start_year": -7500,
            "end_year": -5500,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Aceramic Neolithic",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jarrige, Jean-François, and Jean-François Enault. 1976. “Fouilles de Pirak - Baluchistan.” Arts Asiatiques 32 (1): 29-70. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX</a>. §REF§  The earliest evidence for agriculture here was found in Mehrgarh and dates to 7000 BCE. It is impossible to say whether Mehrgarh was part of a wider network of agricultural communities in the region, or whether it was unique and/or isolated. Besides agriculture, the inhabitants of Mehrgarh also relied, at this time, on hunting and gathering, but not yet on pastoralism. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 57-61) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the region's population at this time, §REF§ (Possehl 1999, 472) Possehl, Gregory L. 1999. Indus Age: The Beginnings. New Delhi: Oxford &amp; IBH Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH</a>. §REF§  and the size of occupied Mehrgarh is uncertain, as the population shifted over time and part of the site has been cut away by the Bolan River. §REF§ (Jarrige 2013, 135-154) Jarrige, J.-F. 2013. Mehrgarh Neolithic. Paris: Éditions de Boccard. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B</a>. §REF§  Similarly, the literature does not provide many clues as to the political organization of Mehrgarh or any other site in the region at this time.",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 118,
            "name": "pk_kachi_lnl",
            "start_year": -5500,
            "end_year": -4000,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Ceramic Neolithic",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jarrige, Jean-François, and Jean-François Enault. 1976. “Fouilles de Pirak - Baluchistan.” Arts Asiatiques 32 (1): 29-70. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX</a>. §REF§  The earliest evidence for agriculture here was found in Mehrgarh and dates to 7000 BCE. By 5500, the people of Mehrgarh had begun to rely more on bovine and ovicaprine pastoralism for their meat, as opposed to hunting. Starting from around this time, there is also an increase in the number of known farming settlements in the region, most notably Kili Ghul Mohammad, Anjira, Siah Damb, and Rana Gundai. There is evidence for an increased range of craft activities and the first granaries appeared in Mehrgarh, as well as, perhaps, small-scale irrigation. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 57-61) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the region's population at this time, §REF§ (Possehl 1999, 472) Possehl, Gregory L. 1999. Indus Age: The Beginnings. New Delhi: Oxford &amp; IBH Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH</a>. §REF§  and the size of occupied Mehrgarh is uncertain, as the population shifted over time and part of the site has been cut away by the Bolan River. §REF§ (Jarrige 2013, 135-154) Jarrige, J.-F. 2013. Mehrgarh Neolithic. Paris: Éditions de Boccard. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B</a>. §REF§  Similarly, the literature does not provide many clues as to the political organization of Mehrgarh or any other site in the region during the period, although the appearance of granaries at Mehrgarh may suggest increasing social complexity. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 61) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 119,
            "name": "pk_kachi_ca",
            "start_year": -4000,
            "end_year": -3200,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Chalcolithic",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jarrige, Jean-François, and Jean-François Enault. 1976. “Fouilles de Pirak - Baluchistan.” Arts Asiatiques 32 (1): 29-70. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Q32UJUPX</a>. §REF§  The earliest evidence for agriculture here was found in Mehrgarh and dates to 7000 BCE. The occupation of the settlement continued throughout the period under consideration here, between the 4th and the 2nd millennia BCE. In the region generally, the number of sites increased, the sites themselves became larger, and they expanded into the Indus Basin; notable sites include Periano Ghundai, Mundigak, Faiz Mohammad, Togau, and Sheri Khan Tarakai. Mehrgarh itself became an important centre for craft production, and excavations suggest increased diversity in burial rites. Agriculture remained the main economic activity in the region and oats, a new variety of barley and two new varieties of bread wheat became new staple cultivars. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 57-61) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>It is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the region's population at this time, §REF§ (Possehl 1999, 472) Possehl, Gregory L. 1999. Indus Age: The Beginnings. New Delhi: Oxford &amp; IBH Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IWNUD7IH</a>. §REF§  and the size of occupied Mehrgarh is uncertain, as the population shifted over time and part of the site has been cut away by the Bolan River. §REF§ (Jarrige 2013, 135-154) Jarrige, J.-F. 2013. Mehrgarh Neolithic. Paris: Éditions de Boccard. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/4MKZA34B</a>. §REF§  Similarly, the literature does not provide many clues as to the political organization of Mehrgarh or any other site in the region during this period.",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 120,
            "name": "pk_kachi_pre_urban",
            "start_year": -3200,
            "end_year": -2500,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Pre-Urban period in the Indus Valley, also known as the Early Harappan or Early Indus, started around 3200 and ended around 2600 BCE. Here we extend it to include the transitional century or so between the Early and the Mature Harappan. This period was characterized by the spread of farming communities across the Indus Basin, reaching as far as the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab in modern-day North India. Overall, this was not a period of great innovation, but precursors of writing appear to have emerged at this time, and, together with the appearance of seals and weights, these point to a shift in organizational complexity. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 67-72) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>No population estimates could be found in the literature. There is also no clear picture of political organization at this time - seals have been found in relevant archaeological contexts, but the existence of a bureaucratic apparatus remains unlikely. §REF§ A. Ceccarelli, personal communication to E. Cioni, February 2017. §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 121,
            "name": "pk_kachi_urban_1",
            "start_year": -2500,
            "end_year": -2100,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Urban Period I",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Mature Harappan culture, also known as the Indus Civilization, emerged around 2500 BCE and, from its core in the Indus and Saraswati Valleys, expanded to the Kachi plain and the Makran coast in the west, to Gujarat in the south, and to the foothills of the Himalayas and the northern borders of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in the north and east. This civilization was characterized by the establishment of several large cities, most notably Mohenjo-daro, the largest of these centres and the one best positioned to control trade and communications throughout the region. Rather than being united by a single shared ideology, it appears that the Indus people had a wide range of beliefs and/or religions. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 83-84) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§  Around 1900 or 1800 BCE, the Indus Civilization began to decline, possibly due to environmental factors. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 396-400) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>There is no clear or explicit evidence for the existence of rulers during the Mature Harappan period, though archaeologists have suggested a number of different possible ways its cities - or perhaps its entire territory - may have been governed, ranging from heterarchy to theocracy. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 391-92) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§  Certainly the Harappans could boast a well developed bureaucracy, as suggested by seals, tablets, and other inscribed artefacts. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 212) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br>The scholarly literature does not appear to provide population estimates for the Indus Valley as a whole, but one source suggests a population of 100,000 for the largest Harappan city, Mohenjo-daro. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 214) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 122,
            "name": "pk_kachi_urban_2",
            "start_year": -2100,
            "end_year": -1800,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Urban Period II",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Mature Harappan culture, also known as the Indus Civilization, emerged around 2500 BCE and, from its core in the Indus and Saraswati Valleys, expanded to the Kachi plain and the Makran coast in the west, to Gujarat in the south, and to the foothills of the Himalayas and the northern borders of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab in the north and east. This civilization was characterized by the establishment of several large cities, most notably Mohenjo-daro, the largest of these centres and the one best positioned to control trade and communications throughout the region. Rather than being united by a single shared ideology, it appears that the Indus people had a wide range of beliefs and/or religions. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 83-84) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§  Around 1900 or 1800 BCE, the Indus Civilization began to decline, possibly due to environmental factors. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 396-400) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>There is no clear or explicit evidence for the existence of rulers during the Mature Harappan period, though archaeologists have suggested a number of different possible ways its cities - or perhaps its entire territory - may have been governed, ranging from heterarchy to theocracy. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 391-92) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§  Certainly the Harappans could boast a well developed bureaucracy, as suggested by seals, tablets, and other inscribed artefacts. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 212) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§ <br>The scholarly literature does not appear to provide population estimates for the Indus Valley as a whole, but one source suggests a population of 100,000 for the largest Harappan city, Mohenjo-daro. §REF§ (McIntosh 2008, 214) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8</a>. §REF§",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 123,
            "name": "pk_kachi_post_urban",
            "start_year": -1800,
            "end_year": -1300,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Post-Urban Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  Here, the settlement of Pirak was established not long after the beginning of the second millennium BCE, and it was continuously occupied from that time up until the sixth or seventh century BCE. Here we consider Pirak I, that is, the phase of Pirak's occupation that corresponds to the best part of the second millennium BCE.  §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 32-33) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  It seems very likely that Pirak was part of a larger assemblage of culturally similar settlements, but, perhaps due to the erosive effects of nearby rivers, only Pirak remains. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 45-46) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  Notable archaeological finds from the site at this time include terracotta seals, horse and camel figurines, and zoomorphic game pieces, and the site's architecture and agricultural infrastructure is somewhat reminiscent of the Indus Valley Civilization. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 33-36) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Not much appears to be known about Pirak's political organization, although the retrieval of terracotta seals §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 36) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  suggests perhaps the existence of some form of bureaucracy.<br>The scholarly literature does not provide population estimates.",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 124,
            "name": "pk_kachi_proto_historic",
            "start_year": -1300,
            "end_year": -500,
            "long_name": "Kachi Plain - Proto-Historic Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  Here, the settlement of Pirak was established not long after the beginning of the second millennium BCE, and it was continuously occupied from that time up until the sixth or seventh century BCE. Here we consider Pirak II and III, that is, the phases of Pirak's occupation that go from the end of the second millennium to the middle of the first millennium BCE. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 32-33) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  It seems very likely that Pirak was part of a larger assemblage of culturally similar settlements, but, perhaps due to the erosive effects of nearby rivers, only Pirak remains. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 45-46) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  Notable archaeological finds from the site at this time include terracotta seals, horse and camel figurines, and zoomorphic game pieces, and the site's architecture and agricultural infrastructure is somewhat reminiscent of the Indus Valley Civilization. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 33-36) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Not much appears to be known about Pirak's political organization, although the retrieval of terracotta seals §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 36) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  suggests perhaps the existence of some form of bureaucracy.<br>The scholarly literature does not provide population estimates.",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
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            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 125,
            "name": "ir_parthian_emp_1",
            "start_year": -247,
            "end_year": 40,
            "long_name": "Parthian Empire I",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The first ruler of the Parthian dynasty was Arsaces who lived at about 240 BCE §REF§ (Neusner 2008, 16) JAcob Neusner. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf &amp; Stock. Eugene. §REF§  but the founder of the Parthian Empire (171 BCE - 40 CE period) was Mithridates I, who initiated the Parthian conquest of Persia and Babylonia from the Seleucids. §REF§ (Neusner 2008, 16) Jacob Neusner. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf &amp; Stock. Eugene. §REF§  The Parthians were essentially \"a military aristocracy\" §REF§ (Dabrowa 2012, 180) Edward Dabrowa. The Arcasid Empire. in Daryaee, Touraj ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. §REF§  that ruled the many different peoples (e.g. Persians, Greeks, Jews, Babylonians) who lived in Persia and Babylonia.<br>Parchments and ostra found at Dura-Europas show the Parthians had \"an extensive and developed bureaucracy\". §REF§ (Koshelenko and Pilipko 1999, 146) G A Koshelenko. V N Pilipko. in Ahmad Hasan Dani. 1999. History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. §REF§  The Parthians, who were originally a nomadic tribe (the Parni) from northeastern Iran §REF§ (Koshelenko and Pilipko 1999, 146) G A Koshelenko. V N Pilipko. in Ahmad Hasan Dani. 1999. History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. §REF§ , conquered Seleucid territory that already possessed municipal, provincial (satrapal) and central government. The Parthians had some centralized institutions but these were not based at a capital city but \"moved from city to city along with their administration.\" §REF§ Khodadad Rezakhani. 2016. Arsacid Society and Culture. Accessed 06.09.2016: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://iranologie.com/the-history-page/the-arsacid-empire/arsacid-society-and-culture/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://iranologie.com/the-history-page/the-arsacid-empire/arsacid-society-and-culture/</a> §REF§ <br>The Parthian nobility was inserted into the regional governance structures they inherited §REF§ (Neusner 2008, 18) Neusner, Jacob. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf &amp; Stock. Eugene. §REF§  as satraps appointed by the king, while much of the rest of the territory consisted of directly granted personal fiefs §REF§ (Neusner 2008, 18) Jacob Neusner. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf &amp; Stock. Eugene. §REF§  or vassal kingdoms. §REF§ (Koshelenko and Pilipko 1994, 141) G A Koshelenko. V N Pilipko. Parthia. in Janos Harmatta. B N Puri. G F Etemadi. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizatins 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing. §REF§  In terms of central government the Parthian Arsacids retained the Achaemenid model (as had the Seleucids) which had departments called diwans \"responsible for record-keeping, communication, budgeting, and taxation.\" The departments were run by individuals called dibirs who were themselves responsible to a first-minister. §REF§ Khodadad Rezakhani. 2016. Arsacid Society and Culture. Accessed 06.09.2016: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://iranologie.com/the-history-page/the-arsacid-empire/arsacid-society-and-culture/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://iranologie.com/the-history-page/the-arsacid-empire/arsacid-society-and-culture/</a> §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
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            "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": 11
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 126,
            "name": "pk_indo_greek_k",
            "start_year": -180,
            "end_year": -10,
            "long_name": "Indo-Greek Kingdom",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Indo-Greek 'kingdom' was created after the Greco-Bactrians invaded northern India from 180 BCE. It consisted of a number of dynastic polities that ruled from regional capitals and formed a single entity only to the extent their rulers were able to collaborate. More than 30 kings are known, who were often in conflict with each other. §REF§ (Bernard 2012, 42-52) Paul Bernard. 'Ai Khanum: A Greek Colony in Post-Alexandrian Central Asia, or How to Be Greek in an Oriental Milieu.' in Elisabetta Valtz Fino. Joan Aruz. ed. 2012. <i>Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations Along the Silk Road.</i> The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. §REF§ <br>Bopearachchi suggests the period was founded by two kings, Demetrius I and Agathocles, who ruled around 185 BCE, but Jakobsson (2009) believes that a later king known as Menander was \"instrumental in the creation of the era.\" §REF§ (Jakobsson 2009) Jakobsson, Jens. Who Founded the Indo-Greek Era of 186/5 B.C.E.? Dec 2009. The Classical Quarterly. New Series. Vol. 59. No.2. pp. 505-510. §REF§  The lack of consistent or reliable sources from either Western or Chinese sources means that much of what we know is speculative and reliant on numismatic evidence. §REF§ (Guillaume 1986, 1-16) Olivier Guillaume. 1986. \"An Analysis of the Modes of Reconstruction of the Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek History.\" Studies in History 2, no. 1 §REF§ <br>It is likely the rulers, who simultaneously produced their own coinage, ruled different parts of the Indo-Greek polity and employed their own administrators. §REF§ (Jakobsson 2009. 505-510) Jens Jakobsson. Who Founded the Indo-Greek Era of 186/5 B.C.E.? Dec 2009. The Classical Quarterly. New Series. Vol. 59. No.2. §REF§  Governance of the Indo-Greek region was for the most part through personal kingship and organization extended only to the limits of a particular king's power. §REF§ (Jakobsson 2009, 505-510) Jens Jakobsson, Jens. Who Founded the Indo-Greek Era of 186/5 B.C.E.? Dec 2009. The Classical Quarterly. New Series. Vol. 59. No.2. §REF§ <br>After 145 BCE, Successive nomadic invasions by Scythians and other nomads isolated the Indo-Greeks from the wider Hellenic world. By the beginning of the first century CE, the Greco-Bactrian state was extinguished as an independent entity. §REF§ (Bernard 2012, 42-52) Paul Bernard. 'Ai Khanum: A Greek Colony in Post-Alexandrian Central Asia, or How to Be Greek in an Oriental Milieu.' in Elisabetta Valtz Fino. Joan Aruz. ed. 2012. <i>Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations Along the Silk Road.</i> The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. §REF§ <br>Of the legacy of the civilization, the Greek alphabet survived until the Islamic conquest as the script of the Bactrian language, and the conversion of a Indo-Greek King to Buddhism became a part of the zeitgeist of the Indian collective historical memory. §REF§ (Bernard 2012, 42-52) Paul Bernard. 'Ai Khanum: A Greek Colony in Post-Alexandrian Central Asia, or How to Be Greek in an Oriental Milieu.' in Elisabetta Valtz Fino. Joan Aruz. ed. 2012. <i>Afghanistan: Forging Civilizations Along the Silk Road.</i> The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. §REF§",
            "shapefile_name": null,
            "unreliable_instability_events": false,
            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 127,
            "name": "af_kushan_emp",
            "start_year": 35,
            "end_year": 319,
            "long_name": "Kushan Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kushan Empire was a confederated state headed by an absolute or near absolute military monarchy. Little is known of its early history due to the scarcity of written records, but it appears to have been founded in Bactria, Central Asia in the mid-1st century CE when Kujula Kadphises united the five tribes of the Yuezhi confederation. §REF§ (Sinopoli 2005, 335-37) Sinopoli, Carla M. 2005. “Imperial Landscapes of South Asia.” In Archaeology of Asia, edited by Miriam T. Stark, 324-49. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF</a>. §REF§ <br>The Kushan state, as chronicled by the <i>Hou Hanshu</i> (a Chinese text), expanded from Bactria and Sogdiana into Gandhara (in modern-day Pakistan) and northern India. §REF§ (Sinopoli 2005, 335-37) Sinopoli, Carla M. 2005. “Imperial Landscapes of South Asia.” In Archaeology of Asia, edited by Miriam T. Stark, 324-49. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/JZ73UGSF</a>. §REF§  Kushan coins recovered from excavations across this region are a key source of evidence for the expansion of the empire and reveal that Kushan monarchs took a syncretistic approach to religion and culture, utilizing Buddhist, Iranian, Hellenistic and Indian iconography. §REF§ (Neelis n.d.) Neelis, Jason. nd. “The Kushan Empire.” University of Washington: Silk Road Seattle. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/kushans/essay.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/kushans/essay.html</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Historians are uncertain exactly how the Kushan Empire was governed. According to Rafi-us Samad, the Kushans were 'great conquerors but poor administrators' and the stable administration of the capital was to a large degree reliant on the Buddhist establishment. §REF§ (Samad 2011, 90-91) Samad, Rafi-us. 2011. The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys. New York: Algora Pub. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=777134\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=777134</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EI23K8AX\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EI23K8AX</a>. §REF§  Nevertheless, the historian B. N. Puri has described the Kushan king's powers as 'unfettered' by any kind of advisory body comparable to those found in the Mauryan period in northern India. §REF§ (Puri 1994, 254) Puri, B. N. 1994. “The Kushans.” In History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. II: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B.C. to A.D. 250, edited by János Harmatta, B. N. Puri, and G. F. Etemadi, 239-55. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CW6B4KVV\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/CW6B4KVV</a>. §REF§  The state chancery used both the Bactrian language, written using the Greek alphabet, and Gandhari, written in the Kharosthi script. §REF§ (Grenet 2012, 1-2) Grenet, Frantz. 2012. “The Nomadic Element in the Kushan Empire (1st-3rd Century AD).” Journal of Central Eurasian Studies, no. 3: 1-22. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TMRCJ9QP\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/TMRCJ9QP</a>. §REF§ <br>One theory holds that the political structure of the empire was characterized by 'hierarchical organization in a feudatory system'. Another view suggests the Kushan state included a mixture of both bureaucratic and feudal elements. The further south into the Indian subcontinent and the further from the capitals one went, the more independent the outer satraps became. §REF§ (Mukherjee 1998, 448) Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath. 1988. The Rise and Fall of the Kushānạ Empire. Calcutta: Firma KLM. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/97W9PEID\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/97W9PEID</a>. §REF§ <br>The literature does not provide reliable estimates for the population of the Kushan Empire.",
            "shapefile_name": null,
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            "home_nga": {
                "id": 23,
                "name": "Sogdiana",
                "subregion": "Turkestan",
                "longitude": "66.938170000000",
                "latitude": "39.631284000000",
                "capital_city": "Samarkand",
                "nga_code": "UZ",
                "fao_country": "Uzbekistan",
                "world_region": "Central Eurasia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Afghanistan",
                "subregions_list": "Afghanistan",
                "mac_region": 3
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 128,
            "name": "ir_sassanid_emp_1",
            "start_year": 205,
            "end_year": 487,
            "long_name": "Sasanid Empire I",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Sassanids came from the Parthian province of Persis near the Zagros mountains of western Iran. Ardashir I defeated the last Parthian ruler Ardawan (Artabanus IV) in 224 CE and claimed the title \"King of Kings\" in imitation of the ancient Archaemenids. The early Sassanid rulers claimed a divine descent until powerful Zoroastrian priests ended this by the 4th century. The long reign of Shapur II (309-379 CE) saw the peak of peace and security within the empire §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20, 200) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§  that had a total population of perhaps 5 million people.<br>In the early period royal cities were built and administered by shahrabs who ruled as petty kings. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) 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§  Centralization occurred in the later Sassanid period when the empire was split into four parts each ruled by a spahbad who had civil and military powers. §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) 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§ <br>The size of Persian court and bureaucracy notability increases between Ardashir I and Shapur I (240-270 CE). §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§  Institutions of administration continued to evolve from those present in the Parthian era §REF§ (Chegini 1996, 45) 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§  a grand vizier now present at the central government in the capital Ctesiphon whose remit encompassed control of the diwans, diplomatic affairs as well as occasional stints as commander of the army. §REF§ (Wilcox 1986, 24) P Wilcox. 1986. Rome's Enemies (3): Parthians and Sassanid Persians. Osprey Publishing.  §REF§  By the fifth century the centralized bureaucracy was sophisticated enough that \"the death of a king would not bring the empire down.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 196) Daryaee, Touraj. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ <br>Rise of Zoroastrian Church under Kerdir 274 CE had monumental impact on Persia with the persecution of religious minorities (Christians, Manichaeans, Mandeans, Jews and Buddhists) §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 191) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ . The Zoroastrian priests had initially tolerated rival religious such as Manichaeism until Shapur I (240-270 CE) but Mani was eventually executed. §REF§ (Daryaee 2009, 2-20) Touraj Daryaee. 2009. Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B. Tauris. London. §REF§  By the time of Bahram II (274-293 CE) the Sasanian kings themselves had lost their own religious freedom as caretakers of the Anahid fire temple to a priest called Kerdir \"who became the judge of the whole empire. ... from this point on, the priests acted as judges throughout the empire, and court cases were probably based on Zoroastrian law except when members of other religious minorities had disputes with each other.\" §REF§ (Daryaee 2012, 191) Touraj Daryaee. The Sasanian Empire (224-651 CE). in Daryaee, Touraj. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Iranian History. Oxford University Press. Oxford. §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
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            "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": 11
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 129,
            "name": "af_hephthalite_emp",
            "start_year": 408,
            "end_year": 561,
            "long_name": "Hephthalite Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Hepthalites were one group of a series of nomadic tribal confederations that are sometimes referred to as the White Huns. The evidence seems to indicate that they were a second wave of Hunnish migration. §REF§ <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf</a> p. 140  §REF§  Despite the name, some scholars think the White Huns were in fact not a Turkic people, but rather the easternmost group of Iranian nomads. §REF§  Docherty, Paddy. The Khyber Pass: a history of empire and invasion. Union Square Press, 2008. p. 105  §REF§ <br>At their peak territorial coverage the Hephthalite lands may have enclosed 26 million people but most subjects likely had a great deal of autonomy. As a nomadic confederation, the Hepthalites may not have possessed a central administration, although evidence indicates at least the adoption of local administrations for the purposes of exacting tribute. §REF§  encyclopedia iranica vol. XII, HAREM I - ILLUMINATIONISM, 2004. Fasc. 2, pp. 198-201  §REF§  During the peak of their power, they seem to have become increasingly sedentary, and this may have increased the degree of centralization. Coins show Hephthalites practiced skull deformation §REF§ (West 2009, 276) West, B A. 2009. Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing.  §REF§  which may provide indirect evidence for strong social hierarchy and status competition.<br>Commentators at the time differed in their opinions as to what the structure of the group was and to what degree they differed from the other nomadic peoples of the area. The Byzantian commentator Procopius of Caesarea stressed that, 'They are not nomadic like the other Hunnish peoples, but have long since settled on fertile land.' He further explained that unlike the other peoples of central asia, the Hepthalites were,'ruled by one king and possess a legal state structure, observing justice among themselves and with their neighbours in no lesser measure than the Byzantines and Persians.' §REF§ <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebankarticle/vol_III%20silk%20road_the%20hephthalite%20empire%20BIS.pdf</a> p. 140  §REF§",
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            "home_nga": {
                "id": 23,
                "name": "Sogdiana",
                "subregion": "Turkestan",
                "longitude": "66.938170000000",
                "latitude": "39.631284000000",
                "capital_city": "Samarkand",
                "nga_code": "UZ",
                "fao_country": "Uzbekistan",
                "world_region": "Central Eurasia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Afghanistan",
                "subregions_list": "Afghanistan",
                "mac_region": 3
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 130,
            "name": "ir_sassanid_emp_2",
            "start_year": 488,
            "end_year": 642,
            "long_name": "Sasanid Empire II",
            "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§ ",
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        {
            "id": 131,
            "name": "sy_umayyad_cal",
            "start_year": 661,
            "end_year": 750,
            "long_name": "Umayyad Caliphate",
            "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§",
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                "name": "Southern Mesopotamia",
                "subregion": "Levant-Mesopotamia",
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                "capital_city": "Babylon (Hillah)",
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                "name": "Levant",
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        {
            "id": 132,
            "name": "iq_abbasid_cal_1",
            "start_year": 750,
            "end_year": 946,
            "long_name": "Abbasid Caliphate I",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "In 750 CE, following a revolt, Abbasid rulers took power from the Umayyad Dynasty under Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah. To secure his rule, Abu al-'Abbass al-Saffah sought to destroy the male line descending from Fatima and Ali, §REF§ (Zayzafoon 2005, 139) Lamia Ben Youssef Zayzafoon. 2005. <i>The Production of the Muslim Woman: Negotiating Text, History, and Ideology</i>. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. §REF§  and had about 300 members of the Umayyad family killed. §REF§ (Uttridge and Spilling, eds. 2014, 186) S. Uttridge and M. Spilling, eds. 2014. <i>The Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare</i>. London: Amber Books. §REF§  The last 80 Umayyads were tricked into attending a banquet with their hosts in Damascus and massacred there. §REF§ (Schwartzwald 2015, 24) Jack L. Schwartzwald. 2016. <i>The Collapse and Recovery of Europe, AD 476-1648</i>. Jefferson, NC: McFarland &amp; Company. §REF§  (One twenty-year-old prince, Abd al-Rahman, famously managed to escape this fate: he dodged assassins all the way to Spain, where he founded an Umayyad Emirate). The First Abbasid Caliphate Period ended in 946 CE when the Daylamite Buyids from northwestern Iran reduced the caliph to a nominal figurehead. Ironically, given the bloody manner in which the dynasty began, the final Abbasid caliph was rolled up in his own carpet and trampled to death by Mongol horsemen in 1258 CE. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 164) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§  The zenith of the Abbasid period is considered to be the reign of Harun al Rashid (763-809 CE), whose rule is described in <i>The Thousand and One Nights</i>. §REF§ (Esposito, ed. 2003, 699) John L. Esposito, ed. 2003. <i>The Oxford Dictionary of Islam</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate eventually settled at Baghdad, but in the earlier years the central administration was run from Kufa (750-762 CE), Al-Raqqah (796-809 CE), Merv (810-819 CE), §REF§ (Starr 2013, xxxii) S. Frederick Starr. 2013. <i>Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane</i>. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. §REF§  and Samarra (836-870 CE). §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 53-54) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 106) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  The Abbasid caliph, spiritual leader of the Sunni Muslim world and commander-in-chief of its army, left the day-to-day administration to his vizier and heads of the diwans in the complex bureaucracy.<br>The departments were divided into three main areas of responsibility: the chancery (<i>diwan-al-rasa'il</i>); tax collection (<i>diwan al-kharif</i>); and army administration (<i>diwan al-jaysh</i>). §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 60-66) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§  Professional officials and soldiers were paid both in cash and in kind. §REF§ (Lapidus 2012, 250) Ira M. Lapidus. 2012. <i>Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  The task of organizing the 'collection and payment of revenues' fell to the Abbasid military. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 21) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§  However, while it was a professional institution, it lacked a rigid hierarchy or a well-defined officer class. §REF§ (Kennedy 2001, 21) Hugh N. Kennedy. 2001. <i>The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State</i>. London: Routledge. §REF§  Below the caliph himself, the top military rulers were the provincial governors in Iraq, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria, Western Iran and Khuzistan. In Iraq and Egypt, local government was divided into a hierarchy of districts, with subdivisions (<i>kura</i>, <i>tassuj</i> and <i>rustaq</i>) used for assessing taxation, which was passed to the governor. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 61) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Within the Abbasid Caliphate there were also relatively independent vassals, who were required to pay tribute to the central government at Baghdad. §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 61) Ira M. Lapidus. 2002. <i>A History of Islamic Societies</i>. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  The law code was based largely on <i>sharia</i> law and the <i>ijma' </i>(legal opinions of religious scholars). §REF§ (Zubaida 2005, 74-84) Sami Zubaida. 2005. <i>Law and Power in the Islamic World</i>. London: I. B. Tauris. §REF§ <br>The Abbasid state provided centres of medical care, built ornate public markets, often with drinking fountains, and furnished welfare for the poor. §REF§ (Pickard 2013, 431) John Pickard. 2013. <i>Behind the Myths: The Foundations of Judaism, Christianity and Islam</i>. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. §REF§  As paper technology diffused from China, libraries became a common fixture in the cities of the caliphate. In Baghdad, the Khizanat al-Hikma, or 'treasury of wisdom', became a refuge for scholars, providing access to a large collection as well as free lodgings and board. §REF§ (Bennison 2009, 180) Amira K. Bennison. 2009. <i>The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Empire</i>. London: I. B. Tauris. §REF§  Each important city included an official called the <i>saheb al-sorta</i>, who was responsible for maintaining public order, and the <i>amir al-suq</i>, in charge of regulating the bazaar. §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§ <br>The territory possessed by the caliphate was lost in dramatic fashion, shrinking from 11.1 million square kilometres in 750 CE, to 4.6 million around 850 CE, to just 1 million square kilometres half a century later as Egypt, Afghanistan and Central Asia were all lost. §REF§ Christopher Chase-Dunn 2001, personal communication. §REF§  Nevertheless, in 900 CE the core region of Abbasid control in the Middle East still had a substantial population of about 10 million people. §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§  Over 300,000 (or maybe 900,000) of these lived in Baghdad, §REF§ Christopher Chase-Dunn 2001, personal communication. §REF§  which by this date had probably outgrown Byzantine Constantinople.",
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            "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",
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        },
        {
            "id": 133,
            "name": "pk_sind_abbasid_fatimid",
            "start_year": 854,
            "end_year": 1193,
            "long_name": "Sind - Abbasid-Fatimid Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  The region it is part of, Sindh (also known as Sind), was a vital tribute paying territory of the Arab empire, first under the Ummayad and then the Abbasid Caliphates. However, in 836 CE, the Abbasid Caliphate lost control of its western territories, and Sind plunged into a civil war. §REF§ (Panwhar 1983, 178-179) M.H. Panwhar.  1983. <i>Chronological Dictionary of Sindh</i>. Karachi: Institute of Sindology. §REF§  Here we consider the period going from the middle of the ninth century, when the Habari lineage became rulers of an independent Sind, to the middle of the thirteenth, when the Samma dynasty seized power. Throughout these centuries, Sind experienced a peaceful power transition from the Habari to the Soomra, in 1010, annexation to the Delhi Sultanate, and a long civil war caused by political instability resulting from Mongol invasions.  §REF§ (Panwhar 1983, 19-33, 188, 293-294) M.H. Panwhar.  1983. <i>Chronological Dictionary of Sindh</i>. Karachi: Institute of Sindology. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Panwhar believes that the population of Sind at this time is unlikely to have exceeded one million. §REF§ (Panwhar 1983, 189) M.H. Panwhar.  1983. <i>Chronological Dictionary of Sindh</i>. Karachi: Institute of Sindology. §REF§  As for political organization, the polity was ruled by an emir, who delegated power over regions and districts to specially appointed governors, who were closely related to the emir himself. §REF§ (Panwhar 2003, 134) M.H. Panwhar.  2003. <i>An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh</i>. Karachi: Sangam Publications. §REF§ ",
            "shapefile_name": null,
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            "is_empty_on_polaris_release": false,
            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Pakistan",
                "subregions_list": "Pakistan",
                "mac_region": 9
            }
        },
        {
            "id": 134,
            "name": "af_ghur_principality",
            "start_year": 1025,
            "end_year": 1215,
            "long_name": "Ghur Principality",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Ghurids were an Islamic Turkish dynasty that ruled the Persian Principality of Ghur between 1025-1215 CE. The peak of their power occurred with their defeat of the Ghaznavid Empire in 1186 CE. For the majority of its existence the Ghurid rulers were in a state of vassalage of the Ghaznavids and the sultans of the Seljuk Turks, to whom they sent tribute. §REF§ (Bosworth 2012) Bosworth, Edmund C. 2012. GHURIDS. Encyclopaedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids</a> §REF§ <br>While \"the early history of the Sansabani family had been full of feuds and disputes\" the successful rebellion against the Ghaznavids resulted in a legacy of at least a degree of cooperation. §REF§ (Bosworth 2012) Edmund C Bosworth. 2012. GHURIDS. Encyclopaedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids</a> §REF§  Bosworth (2012) talks of a polity with two power-bases: one at the newly-acquired Firuzkuh, at Gazna; the other at Bamian. §REF§ (Bosworth 2012) Edmund C Bosworth. 2012. GHURIDS. Encyclopaedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids</a> §REF§ <br>When Mo'ezz-al-Din, conquered Gazna he took the title of sultan. §REF§ (Bosworth 2012) Edmund C Bosworth. 2012. GHURIDS. Encyclopaedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids</a> §REF§  Government was based on the Persian model with a professional vizier who oversaw civil affairs. We also know of a treasurer (khazin), an overseer of public morality and inspector of the markets (muhtasib), and qadis who enforced the Shari'a law. §REF§ (Jackson 2003, 25) Peter Jackson. 2003. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>Literary and artistic activities under the Ghurids were Persian in style and literature was sponsored by Ghurid sultans. §REF§ (Bosworth 2012) Bosworth, Edmund C. 2012. GHURIDS. Encyclopaedia Iranica. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids</a> §REF§  One of the major cultural achievements of the Ghurid period was the building of the double-helical Minaret of Jam c1190 CE.",
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                "name": "Kachi Plain",
                "subregion": "Indo-Gangetic Plain",
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                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
                "world_region": "South Asia"
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                "name": "Afghanistan",
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            "id": 135,
            "name": "in_delhi_sultanate",
            "start_year": 1206,
            "end_year": 1526,
            "long_name": "Delhi Sultanate",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE) was created when Muhammad Qutb-ud-din declared his independence from the Ghurids, which in turn followed the defeat of the last Hindu ruler of Delhi in 1192 CE. §REF§ (Wolpert 1997, 110, 212) S A Wolpert. 1997. A new history of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press §REF§  Qutb-ud-din's successor, his son, had his rule as Sultan of Delhi legitimized by a representative of the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. §REF§ (Kulke 1990, 157) H Kulke D Rothermund. 1990. A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition). §REF§  The Sultanate lasted 320 years which spanned five successive Turko-Afghan dynasties (Mamluk Dynasty, Khalji Dynasty, Tughlaq Dynasty, Sayyid Dynasty and Lodi Dynasty) that spread Islam and the Persian language of administration in northern India. §REF§ (Wolpert 1997, 110, 212) S A Wolpert. 1997. A new history of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press §REF§  §REF§ (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>The Delhi Sultanate had a highly-complex central administration but was not a centralized state. In the provinces, much of its power was devolved to local Hindu rulers and landholders. §REF§ (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Only the area around Delhi was ruled directly by the Sultan, and here units of land given to military commanders, in return for the right to collect revenue. §REF§ (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. §REF§  According to Habib (2005) any centralisation that existed only lasted for a few decades before the polity become much more loosely organised. §REF§ (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>Ala al-Din (r.1296-1316 CE) reorganized the revenue and administrative systems in order to support a large standing army. A successful army was crucial for maintaining the personal authority of the Delhi Sultan in India and for expanding, or defending, territory.  §REF§ (Asher 2006, 39-40) Catherine B Asher. Cynthia Talbot. 2006. India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  By the fourteenth century, the vizier of the Sultan became more powerful. Whilst earlier his duties were confined only to the military, they were extended to revenue affairs. The vizier was responsible for fiscal administration, income and expenditure, appointment of officials, and the collection of taxes. §REF§ (Ahmed 2011, 98) Farooqui Salma Ahmed. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. §REF§ <br>Hindus joined the ranks of the administrative class §REF§ (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. §REF§  and \"many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, were incorporated into the Turkish administration in India.\" §REF§ (Ahmed 2011, 96) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. §REF§  Under the later dynasties, revenue collection began to be less efficient, and conflicts between elite power-holders emerged. The Sultanate ended when Ibrahim was defeated by Babur, the Mongol ruler, in 1526 CE. §REF§  Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.  §REF§",
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                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
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                "id": 64,
                "name": "North India",
                "subregions_list": "Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal",
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        {
            "id": 136,
            "name": "pk_samma_dyn",
            "start_year": 1335,
            "end_year": 1521,
            "long_name": "Sind - Samma Dynasty",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kachi Plain, in modern-day Pakistan, is hemmed in on two of its three sides by the mountains of Baluchistan, while its southeastern side opens up to the Indus Valley. §REF§ (Jarrige &amp; Enault 1976, 29) Jean-Francois Jarrige and Jean-Francois Enault. 1976. Fouilles de Pirak. <i>Arts Asiatiques</i> 32: 29-70. §REF§  The region it is part of, Sindh (also known as Sind), was ruled, between the mid-fourteenth century and the 1520s, by the Samma dynasty. In the fourteenth century, the latter faced a precarious geopolitical position, courting friendship with the Mongols as a counterbalance of the more immediate threat presented by the Delhi Sultanate. After that, the Samma were able to rule over Sind somewhat uneventfully, until 1520, when Shah Begh Argun, followed swiftly by Babur, founder of Mughal dynasty, conquered the region. The Arguns continued to govern Sind up until 1591, when it was fully integrated into the Mughal empire. §REF§ (Lakho 2006, 3-5) Ghulam Muhammad Lakho. 2006. The Samma Kingdom of Sindh. Karachi: Institute of Sindhology §REF§  §REF§ (Asimov and Bosworth 1998, 300-302) M.S. Asimov and C.E. Bosworth. 1998. \"History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, The Age of Achievement, AD 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century, Part One, The Historical, Social and Economic Setting, Multiple History Series.\" Paris: UNESCO. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Panwhar believes that the population of Sind at this time is unlikely to have exceeded one million §REF§ (Panwhar 1983, 189) M.H. Panwhar.  1983. <i>Chronological Dictionary of Sindh</i>. Karachi: Institute of Sindology. §REF§ , though Lakho provides an estimate of 2,200,000. §REF§ (Lakho 2006, 185-186) Ghulam Muhammad Lakho. 2006. The Samma Kingdom of Sindh. Karachi: Institute of Sindhology §REF§  As for political organization, the polity was ruled by a jam, who delegated power over regions and districts to specially appointed governors, who were closely related to the emir himself. §REF§ (Panwhar 2003, 134) M.H. Panwhar.  2003. <i>An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh</i>. Karachi: Sangam Publications. §REF§ ",
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            "home_nga": {
                "id": 13,
                "name": "Kachi Plain",
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                "longitude": "67.628836000000",
                "latitude": "29.377664000000",
                "capital_city": "Mehrgarh",
                "nga_code": "PK",
                "fao_country": "Pakistan",
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        {
            "id": 137,
            "name": "af_durrani_emp",
            "start_year": 1747,
            "end_year": 1826,
            "long_name": "Durrani Empire",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Duranni Empire (1747-1826 CE) was a political entity that lasted 79 years by plundering its higher populated and wealthier neighbors. §REF§ (Barfield 2010, 97-109) Thomas Barfield. 2010. Afghanistan: a cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. §REF§  Founded by a former soldier of the Afsharid Kingdom named Ahmad Shah Durrani, at its maximum extent it covered over 1.5 million KM2 of territory surrounding modern-day Afganistan. §REF§ (Barfield 2010, 97-109) Thomas Barfield. 2010. Afghanistan: a cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. §REF§ <br>Ahmad Shah Durrani had been elected to the monarchy by an inter-tribal assembly called the Loya Jirga. §REF§ (Barfield 2010, 97-109) Thomas Barfield. 2010. Afghanistan: a cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. §REF§  Following his death in 1772 CE , rebellion and internal strife led to a loss of power so that by 1818 CE, the Durrani controlled a small territory surrounding the capital of Kabul. §REF§ (Runion 2007, 69-73) Meredith L Runion. 2007. <i>The history of Afghanistan</i>. Greenwood Publishing Group. §REF§  The regime was finally extinguished when Afghanistan fell into a period of sustained civil war. The eventual victors were members of the Barkzai dynasty, who came to power in 1837 CE . §REF§ (Runion 2007, 69-73) Meredith L Runion. 2007. <i>The history of Afghanistan</i>. Greenwood Publishing Group. §REF§ <br>The Durrani state was an empire sustained and governed through the maintenance of a large number of armed horseman primarily recruited from the Pashtun peoples, although conquests in the period of 1747-1752 CE added horsemen from the Turkmen, Uzbek, Tajik, and Hazara tribes to the King's army. §REF§ (Runion 2007, 69-73) Meredith L Runion. 2007. <i>The history of Afghanistan</i>. Greenwood Publishing Group. §REF§  The army was organized under a hierarchical tribal confederacy. §REF§ (Barfield 2010, 100) Thomas Barfield. 2010. Afghanistan: a cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. §REF§ <br>As a loose confederation of tribes there was not much in the way of an administration except for that possessed by conquered elites, who were largely left alone if they made their tribute payments.  What short term central administrative posts that did exist were given to members of the governing tribes. §REF§ (Saikal 2006, 22-24) Amin Saikal. 2006 <i>Modern Afghanistan: A struggle for Survival</i>. I.B. Tauris. §REF§  Soldiers received almost all the money: paid through generous land grants called Jegeirs, while the remaining revenue was spent on meeting the costs of the large army §REF§ Lothar Brock. Hans-Henrik Holm. Georg Sørensen. Michael Stohl. 2011. <i>Fragile states</i>. polity, 2011 comments on the problems of governing such a loose confederation; for a brief look at the decline, see <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21395/Nadir-Shah\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21395/Nadir-Shah</a> §REF§  which expanded rapidly from 16,000 in 1747 to about 120,000 in 1761 CE. §REF§ (Barfield 2010, 97-109) Thomas Barfield. 2010. Afghanistan: a cultural and political history. Princeton University Press. §REF§ <br><br/>",
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        {
            "id": 138,
            "name": "jp_jomon_1",
            "start_year": -13600,
            "end_year": -9200,
            "long_name": "Japan - Incipient Jomon",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "\"Following the discovery of 'pre-Jomon' pottery in Kyushu and elsewhere, Yamanouchi added an earlier stage that he called Soso-ki (the 'grass-roots' stage). It has been adopted by some and rejected by others on the ground that the pottery is not 'Jomon' and that the subsistence system of this phase was Paleolithic-style hunting. Some Westerners use this term, which I call Subearliest in order to distin- guish the phase from, and to show its relationship to, Earliest Jomon. Some prefer 'Incipient'.<br>\"[...]<br>\"By and large, the sites of this phase are rather few, and their cultural content is relatively meager. Bone fishhooks, usually not barbed, were rapidly improved along the northern coast. Arrowheads were small, used more frequently by inland hunters. Plant bulbs and starchy roots were dug with large, adzlike tools that were made of sandstone, slate, or other soft stone. Nuts and possibly seeds were pulverized with grinding stones. Hanawadai in Ibaragi Prefecture is the first recognizable Earliest Jomon community site. Five house pits lying about 10 meters apart contained two successive Hanawadai pottery subtypes, probably meaning that not more than three houses were occupied at any one time. The little bands of occupants could hardly have numbered more than ten or fifteen. One pit is not quite square, measuring 4.6 by 3.8 meters, and has twelve holes for posts. Outdoor fireplaces were used. Seemingly inconvenient bullet-shaped pots stood upright in the soft, loose surface soil. Dogs were kept around the house, the <i>Canis familiaris japonica</i> (small, short-haired, Spitz-like dogs) that were perhaps ancestors of the present-day Shiba.<br>\"Most of the few human skeletons excavated from sites of this phase have been found intentionally buried among the shells, lying on their backs in flexed positions. They dramatize the severe conditions faced by the people of that day. The earliest known Jomon man was uncovered in 1949 below a shell layer in the Hirasaka shell mound in Yokohoma City. He stood rather tall for a Jomon person: about 163 centimeters. His lower left molars were worn down to the jawbone, probably caused by years of pulling leather thongs across them, and X-rays of his bones showed growth interruptions, interpreted as near-fatal spells of extreme malnutrition during childhood. The joints testify to early aging. Virtually unused wisdom teeth are partial evidence for a life expectancy of about thirty years, an estimated average through the Middle Jomon, with an increase of only one year during the next two millennia, until the adoption of rice as a dietary staple.<br>\"[...]<br>\"Koyama Shuzo calculated the population of the Earliest Jomon to be around 21,900. Inhabitants had moved to higher land in the valleys of the lower-central mountains and established communities to the north-east. Concentration in these areas throughout most of the Jomon period can be accounted for by a variety and abundance of plant, mammal, and sea life, where northern and southern environmental zones overlap in central Japan. With the exception of the Latest Jomon, and possibly the Middle Jomon, the Kanto sites are usually more numerous and frequently larger. Over half of the Earliest Jomon population was strung out along the banks of Kanto streams, with ready access to water supplies, for the same reason that earlier and later people - amounting to teeming millions in modern times - congregated there.\"  §REF§ (Kidder, Jr. 2008, 60-61) §REF§ ",
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                "name": "Kansai",
                "subregion": "Northeast Asia",
                "longitude": "135.762200000000",
                "latitude": "35.025280000000",
                "capital_city": "Kyoto",
                "nga_code": "JP",
                "fao_country": "Japan",
                "world_region": "East Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
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                "name": "Northeast Asia",
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        {
            "id": 139,
            "name": "jp_jomon_2",
            "start_year": -9200,
            "end_year": -5300,
            "long_name": "Japan - Initial Jomon",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "\"Following the discovery of 'pre-Jomon' pottery in Kyushu and elsewhere, Yamanouchi added an earlier stage that he called Soso-ki (the 'grass-roots' stage). It has been adopted by some and rejected by others on the ground that the pottery is not 'Jomon' and that the subsistence system of this phase was Paleolithic-style hunting. Some Westerners use this term, which I call Subearliest in order to distin- guish the phase from, and to show its relationship to, Earliest Jomon. Some prefer 'Incipient'.<br>\"[...]<br>\"By and large, the sites of this phase are rather few, and their cultural content is relatively meager. Bone fishhooks, usually not barbed, were rapidly improved along the northern coast. Arrowheads were small, used more frequently by inland hunters. Plant bulbs and starchy roots were dug with large, adzlike tools that were made of sandstone, slate, or other soft stone. Nuts and possibly seeds were pulverized with grinding stones. Hanawadai in Ibaragi Prefecture is the first recognizable Earliest Jomon community site. Five house pits lying about 10 meters apart contained two successive Hanawadai pottery subtypes, probably meaning that not more than three houses were occupied at any one time. The little bands of occupants could hardly have numbered more than ten or fifteen. One pit is not quite square, measuring 4.6 by 3.8 meters, and has twelve holes for posts. Outdoor fireplaces were used. Seemingly inconvenient bullet-shaped pots stood upright in the soft, loose surface soil. Dogs were kept around the house, the <i>Canis familiaris japonica</i> (small, short-haired, Spitz-like dogs) that were perhaps ancestors of the present-day Shiba.<br>\"Most of the few human skeletons excavated from sites of this phase have been found intentionally buried among the shells, lying on their backs in flexed positions. They dramatize the severe conditions faced by the people of that day. The earliest known Jomon man was uncovered in 1949 below a shell layer in the Hirasaka shell mound in Yokohoma City. He stood rather tall for a Jomon person: about 163 centimeters. His lower left molars were worn down to the jawbone, probably caused by years of pulling leather thongs across them, and X-rays of his bones showed growth interruptions, interpreted as near-fatal spells of extreme malnutrition during childhood. The joints testify to early aging. Virtually unused wisdom teeth are partial evidence for a life expectancy of about thirty years, an estimated average through the Middle Jomon, with an increase of only one year during the next two millennia, until the adoption of rice as a dietary staple.<br>\"[...]<br>\"Koyama Shuzo calculated the population of the Earliest Jomon to be around 21,900. Inhabitants had moved to higher land in the valleys of the lower-central mountains and established communities to the north-east. Concentration in these areas throughout most of the Jomon period can be accounted for by a variety and abundance of plant, mammal, and sea life, where northern and southern environmental zones overlap in central Japan. With the exception of the Latest Jomon, and possibly the Middle Jomon, the Kanto sites are usually more numerous and frequently larger. Over half of the Earliest Jomon population was strung out along the banks of Kanto streams, with ready access to water supplies, for the same reason that earlier and later people - amounting to teeming millions in modern times - congregated there.\"  §REF§ (Kidder, Jr. 2008, 60-61) §REF§ ",
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                "name": "Kansai",
                "subregion": "Northeast Asia",
                "longitude": "135.762200000000",
                "latitude": "35.025280000000",
                "capital_city": "Kyoto",
                "nga_code": "JP",
                "fao_country": "Japan",
                "world_region": "East Asia"
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                "id": 14,
                "name": "Northeast Asia",
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        {
            "id": 140,
            "name": "jp_jomon_3",
            "start_year": -5300,
            "end_year": -3500,
            "long_name": "Japan - Early Jomon",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "\"Consistent warming and a rising sea level pushed the coastal population farther inland during the Early Jomon period, with the temperature peaking several degrees higher than today toward the end of this stage. Water flooded low valleys, and some Kanto sites are as much as fifty kilometers from the present shore. [...].<br>\"The shell mounds of this stage contain chiefly freshwater clams (<i>Yamato shijimi</i> or <i>Corbicula japonica</i>, and marine haigai or <i>Anada granosa</i>) and oysters (magaki or <i>Crossostrea gigas</i>). Animal bones - not numerous - are chiefly those of deer, boars, flying squirrels, and Siberian mountain lions. Investigations indicate that mainly older deer were hunted, that the fast-breeding wild boars were killed indiscriminately, and that mountain lions were dying out. In the more isolated areas of western Japan, animal life was reduced, leaving fewer resources for human survival. The higher temperature encouraged the growth of the evergreen oak forests (Quercus) that covered much of west Japan.<br>\"The warmer temperature was also conducive to the growth of warm-water <i>Anadara granosa</i> as far north as the Daigi shell mound near Matsushima Bay, although its habitat is now south of Tokyo. On the other hand, the coldwater mollusk (Pecten yesoensis), now thriving in northeast Honshu, could not stand the warmth and is therefore missing from the Early Jomon shell mounds of that area.<br>\"Around the middle of the Early Jomon, reliable food sources and somewhat longer stays near the coast produced a dramatic increase in population. According to Koyama's calculations, the Early Jomon population numbered around 106,000, or five times that of the Earliest Jomon, an increase unmatched at any other stage of the Jomon period.<br>\"Small Early Jomon villages, developed on bluffs, had pit houses grouped in the form of a horseshoe. The presence of pottery of several successive types at a single site indicates continuous habitation. As this occurred, family demands fostered advances in house construction. The older, poorer shelters or huts were now transformed by the introduction of substantial inner posts strong enough to hold a roof over a rectanguloid floor. Rainwater shed by the pitched roof was drained off through surrounding ditches. Kaya (a miscanthus) was probably the roofing grass, fifteen centimeters of which would have been enough to keep the interior dry. Toward the end of the Early Jomon, the inner space took the form of a square with rounded corners. Some fireplaces were moved inside, though rarely were placed in the middle of the floor. Indoor living now offered more attractions.<br>\"Houses were occasionally extended to accommodate growing families, but archaeological evidence reveals few repairs and almost no overlapped houses so often found at Middle Jomon sites. The forty-eight houses of the Minabori shell mound, located on a rather level plateau in Yokohama and distributed to form a rough arc, had doors facing an open space to the north. Because successive rebuilding did not alter this fundamental plan, it is thought that use of the common area had become well established. An improving economy is suggested by storage pits found both inside and outside houses. Such pits were lined by alternating layers of leaves and nuts in order to keep most of the pit's contents dry, allowing cupboard raids to expose only a little at a time.<br>\"Most of the house pits of Minabori contained Kurohama-type pottery belonging to the middle years of the Early Jomon. These flat-bottomed pots were designed for cooking, and their new shapes made them more practical for indoor living on intensely used floors that were tamped hard. A short-lived spell of tempering the clay with small fibers - a practice that perhaps started in the Tohoku and moved south - may have been connected with attempts to strengthen the walls of the pots when increasing their size and experimenting with flat bottoms. Heavy cord marking is typical, and before the Early Jomon phase was over, Moroiso-type pottery appeared, bearing imprinted and incised decorative arcs and parallel lines made with the end of a small split bamboo stick.<br>\"Recent excavations at the Torihama shell mound in Mikata-cho of Fukui Prefecture point up hitherto unknown advances in the Early Jomon. One of the rather few kitchen middens found on the west side of Japan, it lies beside the Hasu River in a laurel (laurilignosa) forest area dominated by oak. These excavations show that boars, deer, monkeys, raccoon-dogs, bear, serows, otters, martens, and badgers were hunted; several kinds of fish were caught; and a variety of freshwater shellfish, saltwater mollusks, clams, oysters, and ark shells were collected. Walnuts, hazelnuts, and acorns were also gathered. But of special interest are the bottle gourds {Lagenaria siceraria) and \"green beans\" (Phaseolus sp.) that were pea shaped and found in long narrow pods averaging eleven centimeters in length and thirteen beans to a pod. Many Japanese archaeologists regard both as cultivated plants, indeed suggesting that pollen changes indicate environmental alterations caused by clearing and that trees of foothill forests were cut and used for building materials, wooden tools, and firewood.<br>\"Preserved remarkably well are ropes, reed baskets, and many wooden objects, including oars, boards, adzes, bows, and carved bowls and a comb which are the oldest pieces of lacquer ever found in Japan. Other innovations were polished stone axes, bone needles, and thimblelike bone rings. Vertically angled blades were changed to adze-shaped tools by the use of right-angled tree forks, probably for better hacking and digging of new forms of vegetation.<br>\"Torihama is no longer an isolated case. Gourd seeds have also been found in the Early and Latest Jomon sites of Gifu and Saitama. The Middle Jomon Idojiri \"bread,\" which has long defied analysis, is now thought to have contained some eight skins of beans. The Middle Jomon Tsurune settlement site in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, yielded two carbonized beans (Leguminosae) that are reportedly similar to a cultivated continental Asian bean for which there was nothing comparable in Japan.\"  §REF§ (Kidder, Jr. 2008, 62-65) §REF§ ",
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            "name": "jp_jomon_4",
            "start_year": -3500,
            "end_year": -2500,
            "long_name": "Japan - Middle Jomon",
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                "capital_city": "Kyoto",
                "nga_code": "JP",
                "fao_country": "Japan",
                "world_region": "East Asia"
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                "name": "Northeast Asia",
                "subregions_list": "Korea, Japan, forest part of Manchuria, Russian Far East",
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        },
        {
            "id": 142,
            "name": "jp_jomon_5",
            "start_year": -2500,
            "end_year": -1200,
            "long_name": "Japan - Late Jomon",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "",
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            "name": "jp_jomon_6",
            "start_year": -1200,
            "end_year": -300,
            "long_name": "Japan - Final Jomon",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "",
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        {
            "id": 144,
            "name": "jp_yayoi",
            "start_year": -300,
            "end_year": 250,
            "long_name": "Kansai - Yayoi Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Yayoi period in the Kansai region (Yayoi period in the Kinki region) is an Iron Age period in Japan marked by the introduction of rice farming, metalworking, cloth making, and new forms of pottery from continental Asia. §REF§  (Mason 1997, 22) Mason, R,H.P and J.G. Caiger. 1997. A History of Japan. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HC5A5QFR\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/HC5A5QFR</a>  §REF§  The beginning of the Yayoi period was characterized by substantial changes and the introduction of new cultural features in the daily life. In the early Yayoi period (ca. 400 BCE - 200 BCE; 300 - 100 BCE) such innovations consisted of new type of houses, burial practices, settlement structures and more importantly of the introduction of full scale farming. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 79-80. §REF§   §REF§ Hudson, M. J., 2007. \"Japanese beginnings.\"In: W. Tsutsui (ed.), A Companion to Japanese History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 20. §REF§  The new type of house, consisting of a rectangular or round sub-types,spread throughout western Japan (from Kyushu to Kansai) by the end of the Early Yayoi period. In this period settlements started being enclosed by V-sectioned ditches. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 84-85. §REF§  Another important change was that, in a given settlement, burial grounds were separated by the dwelling area. The dead were mostly buried in rectangular ditch-enclosed burial compounds covered by low earthen mounds. The introduction of rice paddy field agriculture had big impact in the social structure of the Japanese Yayoi communities. The archaeological evidence of paddy fields suggest that Yayoi communities were able to set up paddies in different topographic and climatic environments. Their maintenance and construction required an unprecedented scale of collaboration and social organization. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 120. §REF§ <br>The Middle Yayoi period saw also an increase of stone and metal tools, bronze mirrors and weapons deposited mainly as grave goods and <i>Dokatu</i> bronze bells deposited as ritual tools. The spread of bronze mirrors and metal objects can be interpreted as the result of trade contacts between western japanese chiefdoms and the Chinese Lelang commandery in Korean peninsula. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 61-65. §REF§  During the Late Yayoi period (1/50-200 CE; 100 - 300 CE) we have marked evidence of social stratification. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 202-203. §REF§ <br>During the Yayoi/Kofun Transition Period (200-250/75 CE), according to Mizoguchi's periodization, §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 214. §REF§  or the final Late Yayoi period, according to Barnes' periodization, in western Japan emerged the polity (perhaps a chiefdom) of Yamatai ruled by the queen Himiko. Unfortunately, the evidence of the presence of this polity come from the Chinese dynastic histories and there is not agreement among the scholars about the location of Yamatai. Some scholars located Yamatai in northern Kyushu, §REF§ Takemoto, T. 1983. ‘The Kyishi Dynasty’. Japan Quarterly 30 (4): 383-97. §REF§  while others located it in Kansai. §REF§ Miller, R. 1967. The Japanese language. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 16-18. §REF§  §REF§ Edwards, W., 1999. ‘Mirrors on ancient Yamato’. Monumenta Nipponica 54 (1, spring): 75-110. §REF§  The queen Himiko may have seized the power between the 189 and the 238 CE and her death could be dated to the 248 CE. §REF§ Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan's elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 161. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>In the Early Yayoi period, significant features such as ditch-enclosed settlements, paddy fields and irrigation systems required a hierarchical structure able to mobilize the needed labour force and coordinate different tasks. As consequence, the Early Yayoi period saw the emergence of a ranked society, where members of a \"warrior class\" were responsible for guaranteeing and protecting communal interests. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 102. §REF§ <br>In the Middle Yayoi period (ca. 200 BCE - 1/50 CE; 100 BCE - 100 CE) there is a significant increase in the population, which results in the emergence of large central-type settlements. Hence, there is a two-tiered settlement hierarchy characterized by larger villages acting as regional centres and smaller satellite settlements. A Middle Yayoi settlement was composed of several residential units (hamlets)that were part of a larger kin-based corporate group cross-cutting several different villages. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 120. §REF§  This would have favoured the relations and cooperation between villages on regional scale. There is a peer-polity interaction between the chiefdoms distributed in Western Japan. Each hamlet had its own burial ground and storage facilities and perhaps was occupied by 30 individuals. The regional centres of Western Japan often contained more than 3-4 hamlets and could reach an overall population higher than 200 inhabitants. More research is needed on total Yayoi population.<br>We know from the Chinese documents that the Japanese chiefs acquired the title of <i>wang</i> (king) ad consequence of the tribute they submitted to the Chinese Han dynasty trough the Lelang commandery. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 71. §REF§  In the Middle Yayoi period burial compounds, mortuary rectangular allotments usually enclosed by a ditch and covered by an earth mound, are introduced. The spatial distribution of these burial features (usually located beside large regional centres), their skeletal remains (almost all adult males) and their grave good assemblages (bronze weapons, bronze mirrors, cylindrical beads, etc.) suggest that the individuals buried in the compounds were regional chiefs or leaders belonging to a number of corporate groups. §REF§ Mizoguchi, K., 2002. An archaeological history of Japan, 30,000 B.P. to A.D. 700. University of Pennsylvania Press, 142-47. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 150-154. §REF§  Overall, the evidence suggest that the status of the elite was achieved rather than being ascribed.<br>In the Late Yayoi period, the elites started showing their dominance within a settlement by living in clear marked compounds enclosed by ditches and containing raised-floor storage buildings. In addition, clustering of iron tools have been found in proximity of the elites compounds. This evidence suggest that the elites controlled the means of production and the storage and distribution of products. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 202-203. §REF§  In this period in the rectangular burial compounds, not only adults, but also children and infants were buried, suggesting that the elite status was no longer achieved during their lifetimes but inherited at birth. The population saw also an intensification of inter-communal competition.",
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        {
            "id": 145,
            "name": "jp_kofun",
            "start_year": 250,
            "end_year": 537,
            "long_name": "Kansai - Kofun Period",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kofun period is commonly defined by the emergence and spread of mounded tombs, from which derive the word <i>Kofun</i> meaning \"old tumulus\"(Ko (=ancient) + fun(=tumulus)). §REF§ Mizoguchi, K., 2009.Nodes and edges: A network approach to hierarchisation and state formation in Japan. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28, 15. §REF§  §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 7. §REF§  The most visually prominent type of these mounds is the monumental keyhole shaped tomb that spread from northern Kyushu to Kanto from the middle of the third century onwards. §REF§ Hirose, K. 1992. ‘Zenphkhenfun no Kinai hennen [Chronology of keyhole tombs in the Kinai]’. In Y. Kondh (ed.). Kinki-hen, pp. 24-6. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 221-226. §REF§  The large-sized keyhole shaped tombs have been interpreted as the burials of regional leaders. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 7. §REF§  Most of the largest keyhole shaped tumuli are distributed in the present-day Nara basin and Osaka plain of the Kansai region, which could have played a prominent political role in Japan during the Kofun period. §REF§ Mizoguchi, K., 2009.Nodes and edges: A network approach to hierarchisation and state formation in Japan. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28, 15. §REF§  The Kofun period is sub-divided into three sub-periods: Early (250-400 CE), Middle (400-475 CE), and Late (475-710 CE). §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 9.   §REF§  This sub-division is based on changes in tomb structures and their assemblages, in settlement patterns and in ruling dynasties. In fact, the seat of the political centre shifted from Miwa, during the Early Kofun, to Kawachi, in the Middle Kofun, and finally to Asuka in the Late Kofun period. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Early Kofun period is characterized by the spatial distribution of many contemporaneous large keyhole shaped tumuli, which represent the presence of several different polities and regional leaders. §REF§ Mizoguchi, K., 2009.Nodes and edges: A network approach to hierarchisation and state formation in Japan. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28, 15. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 243. §REF§  In this period, bronze mirrors, beads of jasper and green tuff, <i>haniwa</i> vessels, iron weapons and tools were deposited in the large mounded tombs, which likely hosted the burial of a regional chief. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 259-264. §REF§  The burial chambers were either cists made of slate stone in oblong plan or vertical pitsdug on the top of the mound. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 249-250. §REF§  The political centre was Miwa, in the south-eastern Nara basin. Thi centres incorporated the Makimuku district, which housed the large Hashikaka keyhole-shaped tomb (280 m long), considered to be the burial place of the queen Himiko. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 9.   §REF§  The power was held at Miwa by the Sujin dynasty. §REF§ Kawamura, Y. 2004. ‘Shoki Wa seiken to tamazukuri shidan [Early Wa authority and bead production]’. Khkogaku Kenkyi 50 (4): 55-75. §REF§  §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 9-10. §REF§ <br>The Middle Kofun period is characterized by the spread of large keyhole-shaped mounds in the Osaka Plains.The grave assemblage met substantial change: bronze mirrors and fine beadstone objects were no longer deposited. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 260-263. §REF§  Instead, the amount of iron deposited in the tombs in form of weapons and/or tools increased. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10. §REF§  Beads, armlets and talismans begant to be made of talc, and they were not only deposited in burials but also used in landscape rituals. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 262. §REF§  §REF§ Barnes, G., 2006. ‘Ritualized beadstone in Kofun-period society’. East Asia Journal: studies in material culture 2(1). §REF§  §REF§ Kaner, Simon. \"The Archaeology of Religion and Ritual in the Prehistoric Japanese Archipelago.\" The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion (2011): 457-469. §REF§  Horse trappings, gilt-bronze ornaments and gold jewellery began being deposited in the grave assemblage of large burial mounds. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10. §REF§  In this period, the power was exerted by the Ojin dynasty in the centre of Kawachi, in the east central Osaka prefecture. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10. §REF§ <br>In the Late Kofun Period the size of the burial mounds decreased significantly and the construction of large keyhole-shaped tumuli ceased, except for the Kanto region. Thereafter, the tumuli of the regional leaders were downsized and built in a rectangular and square shape. §REF§ Shiraishi, T., 1999. ‘Kofun kara mita yamato Hken to Azuma [Viewing Yamato kingly authority and the eastern provinces from mounded tombs]’. Khkai khkogaku khza, pp. 15-17 (conference pamphlet). Maebashi: Gunma-ken Maizhbunkazai Chhsajigyhdan. §REF§  §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10-11. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 297-298. §REF§  This decline was followed by the proliferation of clusters of small round tumuli called \"packed tumuli clusters\". §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 298. §REF§  They have been interpreted as the result of the emulation of the chiefly habits by powerful extended family-scale groupings. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 298-299. §REF§  In this period were also introduced the corridor-chamber tombs and the cliff-cut cave tombs. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 14. §REF§  The power was held by the Keitai dinasty in the centre of Asuka, in southern Nara prefecture. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 10, 14. §REF§  The introduction of Buddhism in 552 CE, determined a new Buddhism-based culture in the area. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 14. §REF§ <br>We have estimated the population of Kansai to be between 150,000 and 200,000 people in 300 CE, and between 1.5 million and 2 million by 500 CE. An estimated 16.8% of the Japanese population lived in Kansai from 250-599 CE. §REF§  Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan's elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 60.  §REF§   §REF§  Koyama, S., 1978. Jomon Subsistence and Population. Senri Ethnological Studies 2. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology §REF§ ",
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        {
            "id": 146,
            "name": "jp_asuka",
            "start_year": 538,
            "end_year": 710,
            "long_name": "Asuka",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The last segment of the Kofun period is often designated by historians as Asuka period on the basis of the intoduction of the Buddhism religion in 538 CE. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 15. §REF§  §REF§ Brooks, T, 2013. \"Early Japanese Urbanism: A Study of the Urbanism of Proto-historic Japan and Continuities from the Yayoi to the Asuka Periods.\"Unpublished thesis, Sydney University, 11. §REF§  As a consequence the historical period \"Asuka\" overlaps with the archaeological period \"Kofun\" until 710 CE.The Asuka period can be divided into two main phases. The first phase covers the period (572-645 CE) when four successive heads of the Soga clan were leading figures at court: Saga no Iname, Saga no Umako, Siga no Emishi, and Soga no Ir. The second period is the phase after the violent overthrow of the Soga which was dominated by Tenchi Tenno, his brother Temmu Tenno, and Temmu's widow Jito Tenno from 645 to 692. It ends with the abdication of Jito Tenno in favor of her son Mommu and the move of the capital to the Heijō Palace of Nara. §REF§ Brown, D., 1993.The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 2.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 164-190. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>In this period there is the establishment of a central administrative control with the introduction of the Ritsuryo law system based on Chinese style law codes. §REF§ G. Barnes, 2007. State formation in Japan: Emergence of a 4th-century ruling elite. Routledge, 15. §REF§  §REF§ Farris, WW 1998, Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues in Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu. §REF§ The introduction of Buddhism in Japan was favoured by the Soga clan, a Japanese court family, which acquired political prominence with the ascension of the emperor Kimmei in 531. §REF§ McCallum, D. F., 2009. The Four Great Temples: Buddhist Archaeology, Architecture, and Icons of Seventh-Century Japan. Honolulu: University of Haway Press, 19-21. §REF§  The Soga clan intoduced Chinese model-based fiscal policies, etsablished the first national treasury and promoted trade links with the Korean peninsula. §REF§ Brown, D., 1993.The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 2.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 163-164. §REF§  With the Taika reform the size of large burial tumuli (kofun) was strongly decreased by imperial decree. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013 The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 319. §REF§  The disappearance of large tumuli coincided with the emergence of a marked pyramidal hierarchy indicated by the difference in the burial assemblage. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 320. §REF§  In the seventh century a deceased person was buried in individual, very small round tumuli, which were much smaller than the preceding monumental mounded tombs. However, burial tumuli disapperead at the end of the seventh century. §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 320. §REF§  §REF§ Barnes, GL 1993, China, Korea and Japan: The Rise of Civilization in East Asia, Thames and Hudson, London, 251-255. §REF§  During this period elites began devoting resources to the building of Buddhist temples, which explains the reduction in size of tombs §REF§ Brooks, T, 2013. \"Early Japanese Urbanism: A Study of the Urbanism of Proto-historic Japan and Continuities from the Yayoi to the Asuka Periods.\"Unpublished thesis, Sydney University, 43. §REF§  §REF§ K. Mizoguchi, 2013. The Archaeology of Japan. From the Earliest Rice Farming Villages to the Rise of the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 322-323. §REF§ <br>We have estimated the population of Kansai to be between 1.5 million and 2 million people in 600 CE, and between 2 million and 3 million by 700 CE. §REF§  Kidder, J. E., 2007. Himiko and Japan's elusive chiefdom of Yamatai: archaeology, history, and mythology. University of Hawaii Press, 60.  §REF§   §REF§  Koyama, S., 1978. Jomon Subsistence and Population. Senri Ethnological Studies 2. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology §REF§",
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            "id": 147,
            "name": "jp_heian",
            "start_year": 794,
            "end_year": 1185,
            "long_name": "Heian",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Heian period (794-1185 CE) began when the Emperor Kammu (r. 781-806 CE) moved the capital from Nara to Heian (Kyoto) in 794 CE. The imperial court maintained centralized control over the main islands of Japan and was the centre of a vast, highly bureaucratic administration system. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 89) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Mason 2011, 67) Richard H. P. Mason. 2011. <i>A History of Japan</i>. Revised ed. New York: Tuttle Publishing. §REF§  The period's peak can be considered to run from 794 to 930 CE, a phase of prosperity and cultural and artistic florescence. §REF§ (Shively and McCullough 2008, 1-2) Donald H. Shively and William H. McCullough. 2008. <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 2: Heian Japan</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  However, the imperial court's isolation from the realities of government, elaborate internal power dynamics and court intrigues eventually weakened the central government and contributed to the rise of the provincial warrior class. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 29-30) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  The period ends with the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate.<br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Beginning in the proceeding Nara period, the imperial court had based its bureaucratic system on that of the 'statutory' (<i>ritsuryō</i>) regime of the Chinese T'ang court. The Nara style of administration continued to be implemented by the Heian emperors until the 850s CE. While the government still maintained 'the conception and rhetoric of Confucian government', its functions were carried out by other means, with increased competition for offices, and, due to the dominance of the Fujiwara family, an increasingly narrow focus on factional concerns. §REF§ (Shively and McCullough 2008, 342-43) Donald H. Shively and William H. McCullough. 2008. <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 2: Heian Japan</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Mason 2011, 64) Richard H. P. Mason. 2011. <i>A History of Japan</i>. Revised ed. New York: Tuttle Publishing. §REF§  Although knowledge of Chinese culture had been considered the mark of a cultured individual for much of the Heian period, by its end a distinctly Japanese cultural identity had started to emerge. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 30) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§ <br>Over the course of the Heian period, the imperial family and nobility became increasingly divorced from the realities of government, preoccupying themselves with 'dilettantish pastimes' and matters of protocol above matters of state. While this led to a florescence of the arts and the refinement of etiquette, it also indirectly allowed the provincial warrior class to increase their power because the day-to-day tasks of governance in the provinces were left to them. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 28-29) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  Another factor in the rise and consolidation of power by the warrior class at the expense of the nobility was the changing patterns of land ownership. By the late 10th century CE, with the end of public land allotment, private land ownership had proliferated, much of which was exempt from taxation, significantly affecting the revenue of the government. The nobles' presence at court meant that vast private land holdings were controlled by estate managers on behalf of absentee landlords - further weakening the centralized government and contributing to the emergence of feudalism in Japan. §REF§ (Mason 2011, 76) Richard H. P. Mason. 2011. <i>A History of Japan</i>. Revised ed. New York: Tuttle Publishing. §REF§  §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 29) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  The personal power of the emperors also waned throughout the period, with the rising prominence of imperial regents, consolidating the power of the Fujiwara family, and the early abdication of emperors in attempts to form a 'cloister government' to counter the Fujiwara regents' control of young puppet rulers. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 29-30) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§ <br>The institution of a standing army of professional warriors contributed to the rise of a class of militarized landed gentry in the provinces. This in turn laid the foundation for the rise of the shogunate, the military government which would dominate Japan until the 1800s, leaving the emperor as little more than a figurehead. §REF§ (Lorge 2011, 47) P. A. Lorge. 2008. <i>The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to the Bomb</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>The polity population ranged from roughly four million in 800 CE to five or six million by 1100 CE. §REF§ (Farris 2006, 9) William Wayne Farris. 2006. <i>Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. §REF§  §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 181) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§  Kyoto became the largest settlement, with an estimated population of 200,000 from 800 to 925 CE; 175,000 in the 11th century; and 150,000 by 1150 CE. §REF§ (Chandler 1987) Tertius Chandler. 1987. <i>Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census</i>. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press. §REF§ ",
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                "subregion": "Northeast Asia",
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                "latitude": "35.025280000000",
                "capital_city": "Kyoto",
                "nga_code": "JP",
                "fao_country": "Japan",
                "world_region": "East Asia"
            },
            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 14,
                "name": "Northeast Asia",
                "subregions_list": "Korea, Japan, forest part of Manchuria, Russian Far East",
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        {
            "id": 148,
            "name": "jp_kamakura",
            "start_year": 1185,
            "end_year": 1333,
            "long_name": "Kamakura Shogunate",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) begins with the victory of the Minamoto family over the Taira clan in the Gempei War. In 1192 CE, Minamoto military victory received official recognition when Minatomo no Yoritomo was appointed shogun (great general) by the emperor. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 35) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  Although the emperor in Kyoto remained the nominal ruler, as the first shogun, Yoritomo managed to avoid court influence and intrigues by locating his base of operations close to his traditional support base in Kamakura, near present day Tokyo, from which the period takes its name. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 3) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 35) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  The Kamakura Shogunate marks the beginning of Japan's medieval era, which saw the rise of warrior rule combined with a feudal system of landholding and administration. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 3) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  While the borders to the east, west and south remained roughly constant, the exact extent of the polity's territory to the north was not rigidly defined. §REF§ (Batten 1999, 173-74) Bruce Batten. 1999. 'Frontiers and Boundaries of Pre-Modern Japan'. <i>Journal of Historical Geography</i> 25 (2): 166-82. §REF§ <br>The 'peak' of the Kamakura Shogunate could be considered to coincide with the reign of the Hōjō regent Hōjō Yasutoki (r. 1224-1242 CE), who was responsible for institutionalizing the way the <i>bakufu</i> (military government) mediated disputes and governed. §REF§ (Mass 2008, 74) Jeffrey P. Mass. 2008. 'The Kamakura Bakufu', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 3: Medieval Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 46-88. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  The period ends in 1333 CE with the overthrow of the shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor Go-Daigo. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 4) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The shogunate, also known as the <i>bakufu</i> (literally 'tent headquarters'), issued in a new period of military governance. However, many of the older institutions inherited from the Heian period persisted, albeit in weakened form. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 35) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  The degree to which the imperial court lost its power is still somewhat uncertain, and some scholars have argued that there was more cooperation between the court and shogunate than previously thought. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 35-36) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  The central political relationship now became that between the lord and his vassals: loyalty, either willing or enforced, formed the basis of governance. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 88) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The shogun rewarded loyalty with grants of estates and offices. Vassals collected taxes but retained a portion, depleting the revenue of the central government. Warriors became the political, social and economic elite, drawing their economic power from their landholdings. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 2, 4) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>Echoing developments in the preceding Heian period, when imperial power was tempered by that of powerful regents, the shogun became functionally subordinate to hereditary regents from the Hōjō family (who lacked the necessary social rank to become shoguns in their own right) after the death of Yoritomo in 1199. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 4-5) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  In 1274 and 1281 CE, there were two failed Mongol invasions; this external threat may have helped to mute any internal dissent until the restoration of Emperor Go-Daigo. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 37-38) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§ <br>The historian William Wayne Farris gives an estimate of between five and six million for the population of the Kamakura Shogunate. §REF§ (Farris 2006, 9, 100) William Wayne Farris. 2006. <i>Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. §REF§ ",
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        {
            "id": 149,
            "name": "jp_ashikaga",
            "start_year": 1336,
            "end_year": 1467,
            "long_name": "Ashikaga Shogunate",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The period between 1336 and 1467 CE in Japan is known by several different names but is referred to here as 'Muromachi Ashikaga', a combination of two designations used in isolation in some sources. Muromachi, a district of Kyoto, was the base of the shogunate's power, while Ashikaga is the name of the family who served as shoguns throughout the period. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 3) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The Muromachi Ashikaga period sometimes includes the sub-periods known as 'the Northern and Southern Courts' and the 'Warring States', although we have decided to separate the Warring States period into its own polity. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 3) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>The period begins with the disintegration of Emperor Go-Daigo's brief 'Kenmu Restoration', an unsuccessful attempt to restore direct imperial control in Japan, and the appointment of Ashikaga Takauji as shogun by another branch of the imperial line with the support of other disillusioned lords. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 88) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  This initiated the divide between the Northern and Southern Courts (1336-1392 CE), both of which claimed to be the legitimate ruling authority. The Northern Court was located in Kyoto and headed by Emperor Komyo (from the senior imperial line) and the Ashikaga shoguns. The Southern Court was located at Yoshino and was the seat of the Emperor Go-Daigo (from the junior imperial line) and his supporters. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 7) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>The peak of the Ashikaga period corresponds to the reign of Shogun Yoshimitsu (r. 1368-1394 CE), who helped to broker the unification of the Northern and Southern Courts (1392 CE), with imperial succession reinstated through the Northern line. An able statesman, he helped advance many aspects of government and policy and was an active patron of the arts. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 8) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  His death in 1408 left a power vacuum that enabled provincial lords to gain greater independence from the court and shogunate.<br>The Onin War (1467-1477 CE) effectively brought an end to this period, although the Ashikaga shogunate remained in power nominally until the overthrow of their last shogun by Oda Nobunaga in 1573. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 9) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  This civil war, precipitated by economic problems, famine and conflicts over succession (both to the shogunate and to provincial military offices) initiated the period of instability known as the Warring States period. The conflict destroyed much of Kyoto, and spilled out into the provinces. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 8) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>Initially, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate had theoretically extended throughout the main islands of Japan; however, by the time of the Onin War, the area under its direct control had shrunk to Kyoto and its hinterland. §REF§ (Totman 1993, 3-4) Conrad Totman. 1993. <i>Early Modern Japan</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Hall 2008, 216) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'The Muromachi Bakufu', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 3: Medieval Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 231-59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Despite this territorial disintegration, the 'idea' of a larger unified culture did not disappear. §REF§ (Batten 1999, 175) Bruce Batten. 1999. 'Frontiers and Boundaries of Pre-Modern Japan'. <i>Journal of Historical Geography</i> 25 (2): 166-82. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>During the period of the Northern and Southern Courts, the respective imperial heads were nominally in power, while the Ashikaga shogunate controlled the government. In contrast to the preceding Kamakura military regime, the Ashikaga shoguns did not have absolute control: their power was in tension with 'other court families, other members of the military aristocracy, and the religious orders'. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 10) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Initially the Ashikaga shogunate retained much of the Kamakura administrative structure, even continuing to occupy the government buildings in Kamakura before moving their administration to the Muromachi district in 1378 CE. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 7-8) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Because the Ashikaga clan 'lacked significant landholdings and military might', these shoguns relied on their relationships with powerful vassals and provincial military governors to enforce their policies and keep other lords in line. However, as personal ties of loyalty deteriorated over time, the control of the shogunate over powerful provincial lords loosened and the latter were able to increase their independence from the central government. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 7-8) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Friday 2004, 59) Karl F. Friday. 2004. <i>Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan</i>. New York: Routledge. §REF§ <br>Population estimates for this period range from roughly 10 million around 1300 CE to approximately 17 million in 1500 CE. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 181) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§  §REF§ (Farris 2006, 94) William Wayne Farris. 2006. <i>Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. §REF§ ",
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        {
            "id": 150,
            "name": "jp_sengoku_jidai",
            "start_year": 1467,
            "end_year": 1568,
            "long_name": "Warring States Japan",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "During the Sengoku Period Japan was fought over by armies of samurau their nobles called the daimyo ('the  great names'). The shogun became a prize to control and the capital at Kyoto was devastated by war. The period is also known as the Onin War and the Age of the Warring States (which translated into Japanese becomes the Sengoku jidai or Sengoku Period). §REF§ (Turnbull 2002) S Turnbull. 2002. War in Japan: 1467-1615. Osprey Publishing. §REF§ <br>There was no central government. The daimyo, supported by their close kinsmen and vassals, often had an inner council to decide on matters of administration and military policy. Military administrators known as bugyo are known to have been employed in a non-fighting capacity.<br>The dominant territory (kokka) was not defined by the borders of the traditional kuni (province) and was split into fiefs which the daiymo either directly maintained or controlled through a vassal. At times the daimyo made alliances with each other in the quest for more power. §REF§ (Turnbull 2008) S Turnbull. 2008. Samurai Armies 1467-1649. Osprey Publishing. §REF§ <br>Despite the turmoil the population during this period probably increased by five million over 100 years to about 20 million in 1568 CE.<br><br/>",
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            "home_nga": {
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                "name": "Kansai",
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                "latitude": "35.025280000000",
                "capital_city": "Kyoto",
                "nga_code": "JP",
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            "home_seshat_region": {
                "id": 14,
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        {
            "id": 151,
            "name": "jp_azuchi_momoyama",
            "start_year": 1568,
            "end_year": 1603,
            "long_name": "Japan - Azuchi-Momoyama",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568-1603 CE), also known as the Shokuho period, is named for the castles built by the warrior rulers Oda Nobunaga (Azuchi) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Momoyama). §REF§ (Deal 2005, 11) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The Azuchi-Momoyama period marked the beginning of a process of national unification after the disorder of the Warring States period. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 12) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  The period starts with the rise to power of the military commander and regional lord Oda Nobunaga. With his defeat of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he set about bringing the lesser <i>daimyō</i> (lords) under the control of a single military command. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 1) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  §REF§ (Deal 2005, 11) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  In 1568 Nobunaga marched on, and occupied, the imperial capital of Kyoto, gaining effective control of the government. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 11) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his general Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued this process, gaining control of most of Japan by 1590 CE. In an attempt to expand Japan's territory overseas, Hideyoshi led two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 11) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Hideyoshi's death in 1598, leaving a council of lords in charge until his young son came of age, sparked off a succession struggle. The general Tokugawa Ieyasu, a former ally of Oda Nobunaga, emerged victorious from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, cementing his power. After his victory, he was appointed shogun in 1603, founding the Tokugawa Shogunate which would dominate Japan for the next 200 years. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 12, 17) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>While the generals Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu consolidated power into a military confederation, the emperor remained the nominal head of state throughout the period. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 3) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Although the older social order remained largely intact, with peasants subservient to feudal lords, Oda Nobunaga's policy of annexing lands and awarding them to his loyal retainers reshaped the power relations between lords and enabled the consolidation of his own power. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 1) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Toyotomi Hideyoshi was instrumental in creating a strict and finely graded social hierarchy of warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants, a structure that would be institutionalized in the succeeding Tokugawa period. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 12) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br>Population estimates for the area under Azuchi-Momoyama control range from roughly 17 million in 1500 CE to 22 million in 1600 CE. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 181) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§  The imperial capital, Kyoto, remained the largest settlement with approximately 300,000 inhabitants. §REF§ (Chandler 1987) Tertius Chandler. 1987. <i>Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census</i>. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press. §REF§",
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        {
            "id": 152,
            "name": "jp_tokugawa_shogunate",
            "start_year": 1603,
            "end_year": 1868,
            "long_name": "Tokugawa Shogunate",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Tokugawa period, also known as the Edo period, ran from 1603 to 1868 CE. Sometimes the slightly earlier start date of 1600 is chosen in recognition of Tokugawa Ieyasu's decisive victory at the Battle of Sekigahara; however, we have selected the 1603 date, which marks his official appointment as shogun. Although the emperor remained the official head of state, the Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan. The rise to power of the Tokugawa Shogunate marked an end to the internal strife and warfare that had characterized the preceding century. Tokugawa Ieyasu and his immediate successors set about limiting the power of their rivals and instituting new policies aimed at maintaining stability and centralizing Japan's government. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 54) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§ <br>The 'peak' of the Tokugawa period corresponds to the years between 1688 and 1704 CE, known as the Genroku period, which saw the development of a distinct urban culture and the proliferation of art, theatre and fiction. §REF§ (Totman 1993, 280) Conrad Totman. 1993. <i>Early Modern Japan</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§  During the early modern period the Japanese polity consisted of three major islands: Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. §REF§ (Totman 1993, 3-4) Conrad Totman. 1993. <i>Early Modern Japan</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ <br>Eventually, economic difficulties and the threat of Western encroachment helped to bring about the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The period came to an end with the resignation of the last Tokugawa shogun in 1867 and the imperial restoration in 1868. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 12) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>The Tokugawa shogunate built on the work of the generals Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582 CE) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598 CE), who between 1568 and 1590 succeeded in uniting all the daimyō (local military lords) under the command of a military leader into a 'national confederation'. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 1) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  Theoretically, the daimyō maintained administrative authority in their own territories, but in practice they were expected to follow the guidance of the shogunate. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 56) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  Tokugawa Ieyasu and his successors pursued a policy of 'orthodoxy and stability', §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 56) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  aimed at consolidating their own power and limiting the ability of their rivals to amass enough power or wealth to enable them to challenge the shogunate. The success of these policies enabled the Tokugawa family to preside over a period of peace and prosperity and rule Japan for the next 268 years. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 6) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§  As well as peace, political stability and the centralization of power by the shoguns, the Tokugawa period was characterized by economic prosperity, rising urbanization and the closings of Japan's borders to the wider world in the 1630s. §REF§ (Hall 2008, 1, 6) John Whitney Hall. 2008. 'Introduction', in <i>The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan</i>, edited by Kozo Yamamura, 1-39. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. §REF§ <br>Theoretically, class was determined by birth and social mobility was prohibited. Influenced by Chinese models, the social order was formalized and essentially frozen in a hierarchy known as <i>shi-nō-kō-shō</i>, 'warrior-peasant-artisan-merchant'. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 56) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  Despite the shogunate's concerted attempts to maintain a strict social orthodoxy, however, the stable and economically prosperous conditions led to a range of social changes, including increasing urbanization and the rise of the merchant class, who (although they were theoretically socially inferior) now held much of the country's wealth. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 56) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§  Now that there was no need for the majority of those of samurai rank to be actively engaged in military activities, the warrior class became bureaucratized, a development that went hand-in-hand with a romanticization of the warrior ideal and the codification of proper rules of behaviour. §REF§ (Henshall 2012, 56) Kenneth Henshall. 2012. <i>A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower</i>. 3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. §REF§ <br>During the Tokugawa period, population censuses were carried out. However, they did not take all members of the population into account and various scholars have therefore used supplementary data to produce what they hope are more accurate estimates. §REF§ (Deal 2005, 63) William E. Deal. 2005. <i>Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. §REF§  Estimates for the beginning of the period (1600 CE) range from around 15 §REF§ (Farris 2006, 212) William Wayne Farris. 2006. <i>Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age</i>. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. §REF§  to 22 §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 181) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§  million. The population rose to around 30 million by the end of the period. §REF§ (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 181) Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones. 1978. <i>Atlas of World Population History</i>. London: Penguin Books. §REF§  §REF§ (Totman 1993, 251) Conrad Totman. 1993. <i>Early Modern Japan</i>. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. §REF§ ",
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        {
            "id": 153,
            "name": "id_iban_1",
            "start_year": 1650,
            "end_year": 1841,
            "long_name": "Iban - Pre-Brooke",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kapuasi basin is located in Western Kalimantan, in Borneo, and has long been inhabited by the Iban or Dayak. These are a river people whose culture emphasizes individual resourcefulness, egalitarianism, personal mobility, and opening new land for settlement. §REF§ (Sandin 1980, xi) Sandin, Benedict. 1980. Iban Adat And Augury. Penang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia for School of Comparative Social Sciences. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3I4RXPUZ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3I4RXPUZ</a>. §REF§  The Iban in fact trace their origins to the Kapuasi basin, and it was from there that they aggressively expanded their territory between the 17th and the 19th centuries, practising headhunting and slavery. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§  In 1841, Iban expansion was checked by British adventurer James Brooke, of the so-called Brooke Raj. This pushed some Iban westward, while others became part of the Raj itself. The governed Iban communities were relatively autonomous in the regulation of local matters, although a colonial administrative structure was superimposed onto the Iban system. The White Rajahs sought to suppress infighting and mobilize Iban communities for their own military interests.  §REF§ (Gomes 1911, 77) Gomes, Edwin H. 1911. Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: A Record of Intimate Association with the Natives of the Bornean Jungles. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott &amp; Co. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/N6JNADA8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/N6JNADA8</a>. §REF§  With the exception of a period of Japanese control during the Second World War, §REF§ (Andaya and Andaya 2016, 261-68) Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. 2016. A History of Malaysia. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VXPWW92R\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VXPWW92R</a>. §REF§  the British maintained control over this particular region up until Brunei's independence in 1984. §REF§ (Andaya 2008, 455) Andaya, Barbara Watson. 1992. “Political Development between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries.” In The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 1: From Early Times to C. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 402-59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/UQTUBXM2\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/UQTUBXM2</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Before the establishment of the Brooke Raj, there were no permanent leaders among the Iban: instead, groups of family leaders directed the affairs of each house. Warriors, bards, augurs and other specialists could all become men of influence. James Brooke, as Rajah of Sarawak, created political positions, such as headman, regional chief and paramount chief, to better control Iban society, particularly in terms of extracting taxes and suppressing headhunting. Iban political organization also changed profoundly with the creation of permanent political positions and the establishment of political parties in the early 1960s. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§ <br>It seems that the Iban lived in autonomous longhouse communities of about 500 inhabitants each, both before and probably for some time after the imposition of Brooke Raj authority. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§  More recently, we know that the 1985 census for Sarawak estimates the number of Iban at around 439,000 people. §REF§ (Davison and Sutlive 1991, 158) Davison, Julian, Vinson H. Sutlive, and Vinson H. Sutlive. 1991. “Children of Nising: Images of Headhunting and Male Sexuality in Iban Ritual and Oral Literature.” In Female and Male in Borneo: Contributions and Challenges to Gender Studies, 153-230. Williamsburg, VA: Borneo Research Council. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5U8X7Q5P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5U8X7Q5P</a>. §REF§ ",
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            "home_nga": {
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                "name": "Kapuasi Basin",
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        {
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            "name": "id_iban_2",
            "start_year": 1841,
            "end_year": 1987,
            "long_name": "Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial",
            "polity_tag": "LEGACY",
            "general_description": "The Kapuasi basin is located in Western Kalimantan, in Borneo, and has long been inhabited by the Iban or Dayak. These are a river people whose culture emphasizes individual resourcefulness, egalitarianism, personal mobility, and opening new land for settlement. §REF§ (Sandin 1980, xi) Sandin, Benedict. 1980. Iban Adat And Augury. Penang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia for School of Comparative Social Sciences. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3I4RXPUZ\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3I4RXPUZ</a>. §REF§  The Iban in fact trace their origins to the Kapuasi basin, and it was from there that they aggressively expanded their territory between the 17th and the 19th centuries, practising headhunting and slavery. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§  In 1841, Iban expansion was checked by British adventurer James Brooke, of the so-called Brooke Raj. This pushed some Iban westward, while others became part of the Raj itself. The governed Iban communities were relatively autonomous in the regulation of local matters, although a colonial administrative structure was superimposed onto the Iban system. The White Rajahs sought to suppress infighting and mobilize Iban communities for their own military interests.  §REF§ (Gomes 1911, 77) Gomes, Edwin H. 1911. Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo: A Record of Intimate Association with the Natives of the Bornean Jungles. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott &amp; Co. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/N6JNADA8\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/N6JNADA8</a>. §REF§  With the exception of a period of Japanese control during the Second World War, §REF§ (Andaya and Andaya 2016, 261-68) Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. 2016. A History of Malaysia. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VXPWW92R\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/VXPWW92R</a>. §REF§  the British maintained control over this particular region up until Brunei's independence in 1984. §REF§ (Andaya 2008, 455) Andaya, Barbara Watson. 1992. “Political Development between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries.” In The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia, Vol. 1: From Early Times to C. 1800, edited by Nicholas Tarling, 402-59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/UQTUBXM2\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/UQTUBXM2</a>. §REF§ <br><i>Population and political organization</i><br>Before the establishment of the Brooke Raj, there were no permanent leaders among the Iban: instead, groups of family leaders directed the affairs of each house. Warriors, bards, augurs and other specialists could all become men of influence. James Brooke, as Rajah of Sarawak, created political positions, such as headman, regional chief and paramount chief, to better control Iban society, particularly in terms of extracting taxes and suppressing headhunting. Iban political organization also changed profoundly with the creation of permanent political positions and the establishment of political parties in the early 1960s. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§ <br>It seems that the Iban lived in autonomous longhouse communities of about 500 inhabitants each, both before and probably for some time after the imposition of Brooke Raj authority. §REF§ (Sutlive and Beierle 1995) Sutlive Jr., Vinson H., and John Beierle. 1995. “Culture Summary: Iban.” eHRAF World Cultures. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ehrafworldcultures.yale.edu/document?id=oc06-000</a>. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/B4RV87D4</a>. §REF§  More recently, we know that the 1985 census for Sarawak estimates the number of Iban at around 439,000 people. §REF§ (Davison and Sutlive 1991, 158) Davison, Julian, Vinson H. Sutlive, and Vinson H. Sutlive. 1991. “Children of Nising: Images of Headhunting and Male Sexuality in Iban Ritual and Oral Literature.” In Female and Male in Borneo: Contributions and Challenges to Gender Studies, 153-230. Williamsburg, VA: Borneo Research Council. Seshat URL: <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5U8X7Q5P\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5U8X7Q5P</a>. §REF§ ",
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            "home_nga": {
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                "latitude": "0.774120813650",
                "capital_city": "Borneo",
                "nga_code": "KAL",
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                "name": "Maritime Southeast Asia",
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}