Elites Religion List

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        {
            "id": 403,
            "polity": {
                "id": 236,
                "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_2",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II",
                "start_year": 1348,
                "end_year": 1412
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sunni Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“Although personal piety should not be discounted as a factor in Mamiuk support for Sunni Islam, the “deficient” status of mamluks in Islamic society as individuals of pagan birth and slave origin, who craved acceptance at the political, and probably at the personal, level must certainly have been a consideration, for faith was an integrating and unifying factor; it was the one thing the Mamiuk elite shared with their subjects. […] The widespread establishment of madrasas assured the creation of an educated Sunni religious elite with shared values, one which could articulate a response to any challenge to official religion and which also, incidentally, tended to cooperate with the regime. It was also from among the madrasa graduates that appointments to the judiciary, to secretarial posts, and to the religious establishment were usually made. But the Mamluk elite, both through piety and the need to win the support and cooperation of the masses among whom Sufism was gaining increasing strength, also endowed Sufi institutions. §REF§ (Northrup 1998, 268-270) Northrup, Linda. 1998. ‘The Bahri Mamlūk sultanate, 1250-1390’. In The Cambridge History of Egypt. Edited by Carl Petry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9WEQDXH2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 9WEQDXH2 </b></a>§REF§ NB the following, however. “Naturally, the highest offices, such as the vizierate of state, were normally reserved for Muslims. There are two or three notable exceptions of Christians who wielded the power of vizier, sometimes bearing the title and sometimes not. But those individuals of Jewish birth who achieved this exalted office, such as Ya'qub ibn Killis (died 991), Hasan ibn Ibrahim al-Tustari (died 1064), and Sadaqa ibn Yusuf al-Fallahi (died 1048), had all converted to Islam prior to becoming vizier.” §REF§ (Stillman 1998, 206) Stillman, Norman. 1998. ‘The non-Muslim Communities: the Jewish Community’. In The Cambridge History of Egypt. Edited by Carl Petry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/J7AB3ZRW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: J7AB3ZRW </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 404,
            "polity": {
                "id": 361,
                "name": "eg_thulunid_ikhshidid",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Tulunid-Ikhshidid Period",
                "start_year": 868,
                "end_year": 969
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sunni Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“The Tulunid and Ikhshidid rulers had much in common. They were Sunni Muslims who strived to carve out for themselves a patrimony in Egypt. They recognized Abbasid overall sovereignty and made every effort to obtain Abbasid authorization for their rule.” §REF§ (Lev 1997, 116) Lev, Yaacov. ‘Regime, Army, and Society in Medieval Egypt, 9th-12th Centuries’. In War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean 7th to 15th Centuries. Edited by Michael Whitby. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MFR3XX79\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: MFR3XX79 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 405,
            "polity": {
                "id": 200,
                "name": "eg_thebes_libyan",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Thebes-Libyan Period",
                "start_year": -1069,
                "end_year": -747
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 178,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Ancient Egyptian Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“It is an undeniable fact that, by the end of the 21st Dynasty and beginning of the 22nd Dynasty, the notable Theban elite, such as the families of Tjanefer and Nespakashuty, controlled the major positions of the priesthood of Amun, Mut and Khonsu; this is trend that will be seen to continue during the Libyan Period. When the prominent local families came onto the scene, they claimed already-established or new high-ranking offices from the hierarchies of the gods of the Theban triad, through which they extended their influence and grew in power. Indeed, the development of a ranking system among the Hm-nTr priests of Khonsu –and most likely Mut– must be bound together with the needs of a local booming elite.” §REF§ (Gómez 2015, 180) Gómez, Alba María Villar. 2015. The Personnel of Khonsu During the Third Intermediate Period at Thebes: A Prosopographical Study of the 21st Dynasty. Madrid: University of Madrid. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VMZ6S9ZB\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: VMZ6S9ZB </b></a>§REF§ “Some elite burials located within the Amun temple enclosure testify to the paramount importance of the devotion shown to Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonsu in the capital city.” §REF§ (Gómez 2015, 171) Gómez, Alba María Villar. 2015. The Personnel of Khonsu During the Third Intermediate Period at Thebes: A Prosopographical Study of the 21st Dynasty. Madrid: University of Madrid. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VMZ6S9ZB\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: VMZ6S9ZB </b></a>§REF§“The attempt to exert direct royal control over the whole of Egypt involved curtailing the virtually independent status of Thebes. To achieve this, the post of high priest of Amun was handed to one of Sheshonq’s sons, Prince Iuput, who was also army commander […] Other members of the royal family and supporters of the dynasty were also appointed to important offices, and loyalty on the part of local-powerholders was encouraged by marriages to daughters of the royal house.” §REF§ (Taylor 2000, 329) Taylor, John. 2000. ‘The Third Intermediate Period (1069-664 BC)’. In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/RM7U7FZK\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: RM7U7FZK </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 406,
            "polity": {
                "id": 203,
                "name": "eg_saite",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Saite Period",
                "start_year": -664,
                "end_year": -525
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 178,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Ancient Egyptian Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": null
        },
        {
            "id": 407,
            "polity": {
                "id": 521,
                "name": "eg_kushite",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Kushite Period",
                "start_year": -747,
                "end_year": -656
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 178,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Ancient Egyptian Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“Though only in general terms, it may be stated, however, that the political contacts established under his reign with Thebes resulted in an intense Egyptianisation of the Kushite elite and the emergence of an Egyptianised professional class. These processes are clearly indicated by the occurrence of Egyptian grave- and burial types in the necropoleis of the newly created administrative centre of the Butana (Begarawiya West and South at Meroe City, cf. Ch. IV.1.2) and in the cemeteries of Sanam and Kerma (ibid.). The Egyptian-type coffin burials as well as the archaeological remains of an Egyptianised mortuary cult at el Kurru also attest, at the same time, to the existence of Egyptian-type cult temples which were established and provided with professional personnel with the help of the Theban Amun sanctuary. These temples in Kush not only represented instruments for the spread of Egyptian cults and religious concepts and of the Egyptianising edition of native cults”.§REF§(Torok 1997: 152) Torok, Laszlo.1997. The Kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization. Brill, Leiden. Netherlands . <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACUM7N4G\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACUM7N4G </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 408,
            "polity": {
                "id": 520,
                "name": "eg_thebes_hyksos",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period",
                "start_year": -1720,
                "end_year": -1567
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 178,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Ancient Egyptian Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "The following quote is included to demonstrate that many members of the elite circle held religious titles, such as priests. “The second major area of government was the administration of law and justice, an obligation for which justification was found in the Egyptians’ concept of ma’at, to the extent that some high officials bore amongst their titles that of ‘priest of Ma’at’.” §REF§  (Trigger, Kemp, O’Connor, and Lloyd 1983, 83) Trigger, B. G., Kemp, B.J., O’Connor, D., and Lloyd, A. B. 1983. Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL:<a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WFHPVF36\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: WFHPVF36 </b></a> §REF§ The following quote suggests that Egyptians did not have a monopoly on elite circles during this time.  “As other Intermediate Periods of Egyptian history, the Second Intermediate Period is characterized by the loss of political and cultural unity. A protracted crisis of uncertain nature that struck the Egyptian centralized state at the end of the Late Middle Kingdom enabled or caused the division of its territory between several political entities. Rulers of these entities proclaimed themselves kings and adopted elements of Egyptian royal ideology, although some of the rival states were dominated by non-Egyptian elites. §REF§ (Ilin-Tomich 2016, 2) Ilin-Tomich, Alexander. ‘Second Intermediate Period’. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/KKTNWR92\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: KKTNWR92 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 409,
            "polity": {
                "id": 358,
                "name": "sa_rashidun_dyn",
                "long_name": "Yemen Hijaz",
                "start_year": 632,
                "end_year": 661
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“…no explicit distinction between religion and state could be made among the Muslims. As already in Muhammad's time, the head of the major undertakings of the Muslims was at once head of the Muslim community and head of the whole society which it controlled.”§REF§Hodgson 1977: 206. <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MFIHE3UI\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: MFIHE3UI </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 410,
            "polity": {
                "id": 205,
                "name": "eg_inter_occupation",
                "long_name": "Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period",
                "start_year": -404,
                "end_year": -342
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 178,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Ancient Egyptian Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“A large percentage of the elite population, both male and female, served as some category of priest/priestess/temple musician. Even among the upper ranks, these individuals married and had children. Part-time priests reverted to their other occupations when off duty. This combination of a quasi-secular with a priestly title is a reflection of the way that religion was embedded into the overall society. […] By the New Kingdom, few women had priestly titles, but many elite women, some of them of the royal house, served as priestess-singers whose music was believed to placate and amuse the god(s). §REF§ (Teeter 2013, 22) Teeter, Emily. 2013. ‘Egypt’. In The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions. Edited by Barbette Stanley Spaeth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/EI8SESIG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: EI8SESIG </b></a>§REF§ There also appears to have been a steady influx of people, as well as linguistic and cultural influences, leading to the creation of a distinctly cosmopolitan and multicultural society from at least the New Kingdom onwards. The apparent tolerance of foreigners within Egyptian society was nevertheless accompanied by a tremendous continuity in terms of the core values and beliefs of the indigenous population (so far as we can tell, given the bias of surviving data towards the elite end of society). §REF§ (Shaw 2000, 309) Shaw, Ian. ‘Egypt and the Outside World’. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZZVJVCN6\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZZVJVCN6 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 411,
            "polity": {
                "id": 446,
                "name": "pg_orokaiva_colonial",
                "long_name": "Orokaiva - Colonial",
                "start_year": 1884,
                "end_year": 1942
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 146,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Orokaiva Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "The following quote seems to imply that people followed traditional beliefs, new cults, and Christianity. ’The traditional beliefs of the Orokaiva, though in many respects vague and locally variable, focused primarily on the \"spirits of the dead\" and their influence on the living. The Orokaiva had no high god. Formerly, they were animists, believing in the existence of souls (ASISI) in humans, plants, and animals. The taro spirit was of particular importance and was the inspiration and foundation of the Taro Cult. The Orokaiva have been swept recently by a series of new cults, indicative of their religious adaptability in the face of fresh experience. Mission influence is strong in the Northern District. Religious training is provided almost exclusively by the Anglican church, although mission influence has not totally eradicated traditional beliefs, producing an air of mysticism about the resultant religious system.’ §REF§ Latham, Christopher S.: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Orokaiva. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/V2AK2FR7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: V2AK2FR7 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 412,
            "polity": {
                "id": 446,
                "name": "pg_orokaiva_colonial",
                "long_name": "Orokaiva - Colonial",
                "start_year": 1884,
                "end_year": 1942
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 64,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Anglican Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "The following quote seems to imply that people followed traditional beliefs, new cults, and Christianity. ’The traditional beliefs of the Orokaiva, though in many respects vague and locally variable, focused primarily on the \"spirits of the dead\" and their influence on the living. The Orokaiva had no high god. Formerly, they were animists, believing in the existence of souls (ASISI) in humans, plants, and animals. The taro spirit was of particular importance and was the inspiration and foundation of the Taro Cult. The Orokaiva have been swept recently by a series of new cults, indicative of their religious adaptability in the face of fresh experience. Mission influence is strong in the Northern District. Religious training is provided almost exclusively by the Anglican church, although mission influence has not totally eradicated traditional beliefs, producing an air of mysticism about the resultant religious system.’ §REF§ Latham, Christopher S.: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Orokaiva. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/V2AK2FR7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: V2AK2FR7 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 413,
            "polity": {
                "id": 154,
                "name": "id_iban_2",
                "long_name": "Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial",
                "start_year": 1841,
                "end_year": 1987
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 156,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Iban Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "I found no distinction between religious practice of elites and that of the majority population. The Iban had a fairly egalitarian society with the bilek (family) as the primary unit. “One of the main findings of my researches in Borneo during the years of 1949-1951 was that Iban society was ‘classless and egalitarian’ (Freeman 1955b: 10). This conclusion has since been confirmed by other systematically trained ethnographers who have studied Iban society at depth.” (Freeman, 1891, 1) §REF§ Freeman, Derek. 1981. Some Reflections on the Nature of Iban Society. Canberra: SOCPAC Printery. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/D6R2GD4G\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: D6R2GD4G </b></a> §REF§ “This way of life, the religious focus on the rice cult, an economy based almost exclusively on hill rice cultivation and social organization centred on the longhouse community of separate bilek families – this way of life, which has survived for centuries, if not already close to extinction, is likely to disappear with the older generation of living Iban.” §REF§ (Jensen, 1974, 112-113) Jensen, Erik. 1974. The Iban and Their Religion. London: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/CVIQZD7C\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: CVIQZD7C </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 414,
            "polity": {
                "id": 92,
                "name": "in_badami_chalukya_emp",
                "long_name": "Chalukyas of Badami",
                "start_year": 543,
                "end_year": 753
            },
            "year_from": 543,
            "year_to": 654,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 6,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Vaisnavist Hinduism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“The Talamanchi Plates of his 6th regnal year refer to uet another preceptor of the king named Meghacharya. This indicates that Vaishnavism, the royal religion, was replaced by Saivism during the life-time of the Chalukyan monarch Vikramaditya I” §REF§ (Dikshit 1980: 205) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§“Patronage of temples by royalty reveals that they were initially non-sectarian in their religious beliefs, as numerous temples dedicated to Visnu and Siva, and Buddhist caityas and Jaina basadis,were built.” §REF§(Mahalakshmi in MacKenzie 2016: 2) Mahalakshmi, R. (2016). Chalukya Dynasty. In J. Mackenzie (Ed.), The encyclopedia of empire. Wiley.. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MG67SS8M\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: MG67SS8M </b></a>§REF§“The ceremony of royal consacretion or rajyabhisheka was performed according to the Vedic traditions.”§REF§(Dikshit 1980: 199) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§ “A few religious epithets, such as Paramabhagavata, Paramamahesvara and Dharmamaharaja, are used for the rulers of this [Chalukya] dynasty. These indicate the devotion of the monarchs towards Vishnu and Siva. According to Sastri, the title Dharmamaharaja indicated their active promotion of the Vedic dharma in preference to Buddhism and Jainism.” §REF§ (Dikshit 1980: 204) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§ “Among the nine kings that ruled this dynasty, the first four adhered mostly to the Vishnu sects, calling themselves in their inscriptions paramabhagavata, (the most devout worshipper [of Vishnu]); the latter five seem to have adhered to mainly Shiva worship, stylingthemselves Parameshwara (the highest Iswara or Shiva) (Tarr 1969; 1980; Bolon 1981; 1992; Rajashekhara 1975; Ramesh 1984).” §REF§ (Kadambi 2011:208) Hemanth Kadambi, 2011. Sacred Landscapes in Early Medieval South India: the Chalukya state and society (ca. AD 550-750), PhD dissertation, University of Michigan. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AEI5FSCM\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: AEI5FSCM </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 415,
            "polity": {
                "id": 92,
                "name": "in_badami_chalukya_emp",
                "long_name": "Chalukyas of Badami",
                "start_year": 543,
                "end_year": 753
            },
            "year_from": 655,
            "year_to": 753,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 5,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Saivist Hinduism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“The Talamanchi Plates of his 6th regnal year refer to uet another preceptor of the king named Meghacharya. This indicates that Vaishnavism, the royal religion, was replaced by Saivism during the life-time of the Chalukyan monarch Vikramaditya I” §REF§ (Dikshit 1980: 205) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§“Patronage of temples by royalty reveals that they were initially non-sectarian in their religious beliefs, as numerous temples dedicated to Visnu and Siva, and Buddhist caityas and Jaina basadis,were built.” §REF§(Mahalakshmi in MacKenzie 2016: 2) Mahalakshmi, R. (2016). Chalukya Dynasty. In J. Mackenzie (Ed.), The encyclopedia of empire. Wiley.. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MG67SS8M\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: MG67SS8M </b></a>§REF§“The ceremony of royal consacretion or rajyabhisheka was performed according to the Vedic traditions.”§REF§(Dikshit 1980: 199) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§ “A few religious epithets, such as Paramabhagavata, Paramamahesvara and Dharmamaharaja, are used for the rulers of this [Chalukya] dynasty. These indicate the devotion of the monarchs towards Vishnu and Siva. According to Sastri, the title Dharmamaharaja indicated their active promotion of the Vedic dharma in preference to Buddhism and Jainism.” §REF§ (Dikshit 1980: 204) Dikshit, D. P. (1980). Political history of the Chālukyas of Badami. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ACXSGNV5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ACXSGNV5 </b></a>§REF§ “Among the nine kings that ruled this dynasty, the first four adhered mostly to the Vishnu sects, calling themselves in their inscriptions paramabhagavata, (the most devout worshipper [of Vishnu]); the latter five seem to have adhered to mainly Shiva worship, stylingthemselves Parameshwara (the highest Iswara or Shiva) (Tarr 1969; 1980; Bolon 1981; 1992; Rajashekhara 1975; Ramesh 1984).” §REF§ (Kadambi 2011:208) Hemanth Kadambi, 2011. Sacred Landscapes in Early Medieval South India: the Chalukya state and society (ca. AD 550-750), PhD dissertation, University of Michigan. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AEI5FSCM\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: AEI5FSCM </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 416,
            "polity": {
                "id": 636,
                "name": "et_jimma_k",
                "long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma",
                "start_year": 1790,
                "end_year": 1932
            },
            "year_from": 1790,
            "year_to": 1829,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 48,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Oromo Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“About 1830 Sanna Abba Jifar succeeded in uniting many of Jimma Galla under his rule as king of Jimma-Kakka, known also as Jimma Abba Jifar. As Bofo before him, Abba Jifar adopted Islam and encouraged the spread of Islam among his subjects. Before long the ruling merchant classes were all Muslim.” §REF§ (Rubenson 2008, 85) Rubenson, Sven. 2008. ‘Ethiopia and the Horn’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c.1790 – c.1870. Edited by John E. Flint. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FH7WCJKR\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: FH7WCJKR </b></a> §REF§ “The Qadiriyya was the oldest and most popular order, but the Tijaniyya and Ahmdiyya also had a presence.” §REF§ (Kapteijns 2000, 234) Kapteijns, Lidwien. 2000. ‘Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.’ In The History of Islam in Africa. Edited by Nehemia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9UB7CXC7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 9UB7CXC7 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 417,
            "polity": {
                "id": 636,
                "name": "et_jimma_k",
                "long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma",
                "start_year": 1790,
                "end_year": 1932
            },
            "year_from": 1830,
            "year_to": 1932,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sunni Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“About 1830 Sanna Abba Jifar succeeded in uniting many of Jimma Galla under his rule as king of Jimma-Kakka, known also as Jimma Abba Jifar. As Bofo before him, Abba Jifar adopted Islam and encouraged the spread of Islam among his subjects. Before long the ruling merchant classes were all Muslim.” §REF§ (Rubenson 2008, 85) Rubenson, Sven. 2008. ‘Ethiopia and the Horn’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c.1790 – c.1870. Edited by John E. Flint. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FH7WCJKR\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: FH7WCJKR </b></a> §REF§ “The Qadiriyya was the oldest and most popular order, but the Tijaniyya and Ahmdiyya also had a presence.” §REF§ (Kapteijns 2000, 234) Kapteijns, Lidwien. 2000. ‘Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.’ In The History of Islam in Africa. Edited by Nehemia Levtzion and Randall L. Pouwels. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9UB7CXC7\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 9UB7CXC7 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 418,
            "polity": {
                "id": 647,
                "name": "er_medri_bahri",
                "long_name": "Medri Bahri",
                "start_year": 1310,
                "end_year": 1889
            },
            "year_from": 1310,
            "year_to": 1750,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 61,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Eritrean Orthodox Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "NB the literature consulted does not provide an exact date when Islam overtook Christianity as the most widespread religion; very tentatively marking this date as 1750, but in need of expert confirmation.  “By the 14th century, all the Bilen, Tirgrinya, and Tigre-speaking peoples were Orthodox Christians as were many of the Belew in the lowlands. During this period, the Eritrean region was a center for a monastic revival that accompanied the preaching of Ewostatewos and led to the founding of the great monasteries of Debre Bizen, Debre Maryam, and Debre Merqorewos. In the 15th century, these institutions received huge land grants from Ethiopian emperors anxious to appease the regionalist sentiments of the Tigrinya-based Ewostatian movement. But during the 1500s, Islam spread in the region, and by the mid-1800s, Orthodox Christians were confined almost exclusively to the Tigrinya-speaking population of Kebessa.” §REF§ (Connell and Killion 2011, 40) Connell, Dan and Killion, Tom. 2011. Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Second Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/24ZMGPAA\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 24ZMGPAA </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 419,
            "polity": {
                "id": 647,
                "name": "er_medri_bahri",
                "long_name": "Medri Bahri",
                "start_year": 1310,
                "end_year": 1889
            },
            "year_from": 1751,
            "year_to": 1889,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "NB the literature consulted does not provide an exact date when Islam overtook Christianity as the most widespread religion; very tentatively marking this date as 1750, but in need of expert confirmation.  “By the 14th century, all the Bilen, Tirgrinya, and Tigre-speaking peoples were Orthodox Christians as were many of the Belew in the lowlands. During this period, the Eritrean region was a center for a monastic revival that accompanied the preaching of Ewostatewos and led to the founding of the great monasteries of Debre Bizen, Debre Maryam, and Debre Merqorewos. In the 15th century, these institutions received huge land grants from Ethiopian emperors anxious to appease the regionalist sentiments of the Tigrinya-based Ewostatian movement. But during the 1500s, Islam spread in the region, and by the mid-1800s, Orthodox Christians were confined almost exclusively to the Tigrinya-speaking population of Kebessa.” §REF§ (Connell and Killion 2011, 40) Connell, Dan and Killion, Tom. 2011. Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Second Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/24ZMGPAA\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 24ZMGPAA </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 420,
            "polity": {
                "id": 658,
                "name": "ni_kwararafa",
                "long_name": "Kwararafa",
                "start_year": 596,
                "end_year": 1820
            },
            "year_from": 1500,
            "year_to": 1789,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 62,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Kwararafa Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“It was towards the final phase of this era of conquest [1610-1790] that Kwararafan history began to merge into Jukun history. Now situated in the Benue Valley, Kwararafan began to experience waves of Jukun migrations, and the Jukun before long became the dominant group in the region.” §REF§ (Afolayan 2005: 247-248) Afolayan, Funso, 2005. “Benue Valley Peoples: Jukun and Kwararafa”, in Shillington, K., ed. Encyclopedia of African History (1st Ed., Vol. 1–3). (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn), pp.247-248. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZGGEJWF9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZGGEJWF9 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 421,
            "polity": {
                "id": 658,
                "name": "ni_kwararafa",
                "long_name": "Kwararafa",
                "start_year": 596,
                "end_year": 1820
            },
            "year_from": 1790,
            "year_to": 1820,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 58,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Jukun Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“It was towards the final phase of this era of conquest [1610-1790] that Kwararafan history began to merge into Jukun history. Now situated in the Benue Valley, Kwararafan began to experience waves of Jukun migrations, and the Jukun before long became the dominant group in the region.” §REF§ (Afolayan 2005: 247-248) Afolayan, Funso, 2005. “Benue Valley Peoples: Jukun and Kwararafa”, in Shillington, K., ed. Encyclopedia of African History (1st Ed., Vol. 1–3). (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn), pp.247-248. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZGGEJWF9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: ZGGEJWF9 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 422,
            "polity": {
                "id": 115,
                "name": "is_icelandic_commonwealth",
                "long_name": "Icelandic Commonwealth",
                "start_year": 930,
                "end_year": 1262
            },
            "year_from": 930,
            "year_to": 999,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 154,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Old Norse Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“The government of the country was in the hands of men of authority who were called chieftains (godar); the office of chieftain was called a chieftaincy (godord). Scholars have put forward conflicting theories on both the origin of the chieftaincies and the authority held by chieftains. Only the two most important of these will be outlined here. The most widely held opinion is that the authority of chieftains was derived from their ownership of temples as well as from their leading role at sacrificial feasts. Contrary to this claim, the German scholar Friedrich Boden has maintained that the Icelandic chieftains, like their counterparts among other Germanic nations, attained their positions of power through high birth and the backing of supporters. The etymologies of godi and godord clearly indicate that, essentially, the first theory must be the correct one, since the noun godi originally denoted a man conducting sacrificial ceremonies; in the heathen era the chieftain or godi therefore served as a temple-priest. Indeed, this assumption derives support from many other sources, some of which will be further explored below. But while the ownership of temples and leadership at sacrificial feasts undoubtedly constituted the chief basis for the power of chieftains, their authority must have rested on other factors as well, such as aristocratic lineage and wealth.” §REF§ (Johannesson 2006, 53) Johannesson, Jon. 2006. A History of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QSG2227N\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: QSG2227N </b></a> §REF§ The following quote refers to the Althing of 999 “The pagans were in the majority precisely among those men; the Christians seem, on the other hand, to have been relatively strong in those districts which were closest to the location of the Althing. The Christians also seem to have consulted with one another and preparedthemselves for an anticipated attack at the next parliament, where a final decision could be expected as to who would control the country, the Christians or the pagans. Although the Christians were a minority among the chieftains, they were, nonetheless, so numerous that they could no longer be excluded from all participation in the governance of the country.” §REF§ (Gíslason 1990, 239) Gíslason, Jónas. 1990. ‘Acceptance of Christianity in Iceland in the year 1000 (999)’. In Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, N. 13. Pp. 223–255. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/62IIU8CI\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 62IIU8CI </b></a> §REF§  “G. Turville-Petre and E. S. Olszewska succinctly described the situation that prevailed after the conversion: ‘Just as their pagan ancestors had built temples to Thor and Frey, so the Christian goðar built churches upon their lands, and maintained these churches as their private property. Until the question of patronage became acute, towards the end of the twelfth century, and until the Icelandic Church, under foreign influence, began to press for separate jurisdiction for the clergy, there were scarcely grounds for a quarrel between Church and state. Isleif, Iceland’s first bishop in 1056, was not only a bishop, he was also a goði and, it seems, his son Gizur (died 1118) succeeded him in both these offices.’” §REF§ (Byock 2001, 297-298) Byock, Jesse L. 2001. Viking Age Iceland. New York, NY: Penguin. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/952TGMR9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 952TGMR9 </b></a> §REF§ “Contemporaries were very well aware of the importance of this reform. Ari the Learned thought its success nothing less than “miraculous” and was doubtless thinking of the impact on the state of Christianity in the country. But this reform also altered the power balance in the country. The bulk of the farmers now had to pay taxes to the church as an institution, and half of this tax went to their local church, to pay for the upkeep of both priest and building. This tax would have been of no small importance to those farmers who owned the churches. We can of course not assume that they simply pocketed this money or neglected to spend it in the manner required. But, in many instances (Ari the Learned being one) a church-owner decided to assume the function of a priest and thus collected the tithe income for himself. In fact, priestly chieftains were common in the twelfth century in Iceland, although this constituted a remarkable concatenation of secular and clerical authority. […] Although chieftains welcomed the introduction of organized religion in Iceland, and used its resources to their maximum advantage, the new institution soon demonstrated that it had its own agenda. The creation of the secular-clerical amalgam of the twelfth century (often called the “national church”) was very much to the benefit of the great magnates, but in the late twelfth century, following the creation of an independent archbishopric in Nidaros in Norway, the international church made its presence felt in Iceland. The subject on which the archbishop of Nidaros first addressed Icelandic clerics and laymen, in 1174, is one very familiar to any student of European medieval history. The main topic dealt with in his first letter to his Icelandic flock was the protection of clergy, as well as women and unarmed people, i.e., essential features of the Peace of God movement. […] The issue concerning violence towards the clergy brought into focus an anomaly of the Icelandic Church organization. Chieftains were supposed to secure the interests of their clients, by force if necessary, and in a stateless society force was indeed often required. Yet, a great number of them had also assumed ecclesiastical functions. By the 1180s it was becoming obvious that these two functions could not be reconciled. By a decree issued by the archbishop in 1190, therefore, chieftains were barred from holding ecclesiastical office, and vice-versa. This decree has generally been seen as a minor issue in Icelandic political history but in fact its effects were wide-ranging. Firstly, the church now gained an opportunity to become an independent institution, even though the change did not seem significant at first. Within the most powerful families some sons often still opted for an ecclesiastical career even if those designated for secular power could not. Indeed, the first bishop elected after this change, Páll Jónsson (r. 1195–1211), successor to the formidable Þorlákr, was a scion of the most powerful clan in Iceland at the time, the Oddaverjar. In 1238 the archbishop in Nidaros made a further decision to separate the secular and ecclesiastical offices more decisively, as he rejected a bishop-elect who had formerly been a chieftain.” §REF§ (Jakobsson 2009, 160-161) Jakobsson, Sverrir. 2009. ‘The Process of State-Formation in Medieval Iceland’. In Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Vol. 40:2. Pp. 151-170. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4G4VPVNG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 4G4VPVNG </b></a> §REF§ “It goes without saying that being householders these priests already belonged to the upper strata of society Where indications are available it seems however that they were furthermore the affluent and locally influential householders. Some may have been aristocrats who did not have grand political aspirations and were content to be well respected focally, but it seems that a sizeable proportion of householding priests were men of non-aristocratic parentage who had in one way or other acquired wealth. The prejudice in Icelandic society against wealth accumulation, especially by nonaristocrats, is well known and it seems likely that by becoming priests wealthy men of low birth sought social respectability. If we surmise that their aim was to have political influence in proportion to their economic strength, being priests served this aim in two ways: as it did for the chieftains it formalised and strengthened their relationship with, and influence over, their immediate neighbours and it may also have made them more acceptable company in polite circles. […] It seems therefore that the priesthood facilitated social mobility among the landowning classes, making it easier for men of non-anstocratic status to increase their influence and possibly even move their families up a rung in the social ladder. This helped bring about a change in the system of social distinctions, where family and lineage became less significant and the type of land owned, and office held, more important as definitions of an individual's social standing. §REF§ (Vésteinsson 1996, 252-253) Vésteinsson, Orri. 1996. The Christianisation of Iceland: Priests, Power and Social Change 1000-1300. PhD Thesis. London: University College London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TZ3CH4G3\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: TZ3CH4G3 </b></a> §REF§ “The effects of the presence of a series of foreign missionary bishops in the country from the 1020s to the 1060s is difficult to assess, but it is clear that pastoral care in Iceland did not come to rely on foreign priests or Icelanders dependent on foreign patronage. Instead members of aristocratic families begin as early as the 1020s to invest in clerical education for their sons. By the last quarter of the 11th century these aristocratic priests had begun to provide clerical education in Iceland for their peers' sons. By the beginning of the 12th century a significant number of the country's chieftains were ordained and most of those who were not had their eldest sons ordained.” §REF§ (Vésteinsson 1996, 315) Vésteinsson, Orri. 1996. The Christianisation of Iceland: Priests, Power and Social Change 1000-1300. PhD Thesis. London: University College London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TZ3CH4G3\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: TZ3CH4G3 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 423,
            "polity": {
                "id": 115,
                "name": "is_icelandic_commonwealth",
                "long_name": "Icelandic Commonwealth",
                "start_year": 930,
                "end_year": 1262
            },
            "year_from": 1000,
            "year_to": 1262,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 14,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“The government of the country was in the hands of men of authority who were called chieftains (godar); the office of chieftain was called a chieftaincy (godord). Scholars have put forward conflicting theories on both the origin of the chieftaincies and the authority held by chieftains. Only the two most important of these will be outlined here. The most widely held opinion is that the authority of chieftains was derived from their ownership of temples as well as from their leading role at sacrificial feasts. Contrary to this claim, the German scholar Friedrich Boden has maintained that the Icelandic chieftains, like their counterparts among other Germanic nations, attained their positions of power through high birth and the backing of supporters. The etymologies of godi and godord clearly indicate that, essentially, the first theory must be the correct one, since the noun godi originally denoted a man conducting sacrificial ceremonies; in the heathen era the chieftain or godi therefore served as a temple-priest. Indeed, this assumption derives support from many other sources, some of which will be further explored below. But while the ownership of temples and leadership at sacrificial feasts undoubtedly constituted the chief basis for the power of chieftains, their authority must have rested on other factors as well, such as aristocratic lineage and wealth.” §REF§ (Johannesson 2006, 53) Johannesson, Jon. 2006. A History of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QSG2227N\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: QSG2227N </b></a> §REF§ The following quote refers to the Althing of 999 “The pagans were in the majority precisely among those men; the Christians seem, on the other hand, to have been relatively strong in those districts which were closest to the location of the Althing. The Christians also seem to have consulted with one another and preparedthemselves for an anticipated attack at the next parliament, where a final decision could be expected as to who would control the country, the Christians or the pagans. Although the Christians were a minority among the chieftains, they were, nonetheless, so numerous that they could no longer be excluded from all participation in the governance of the country.” §REF§ (Gíslason 1990, 239) Gíslason, Jónas. 1990. ‘Acceptance of Christianity in Iceland in the year 1000 (999)’. In Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, N. 13. Pp. 223–255. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/62IIU8CI\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 62IIU8CI </b></a> §REF§  “G. Turville-Petre and E. S. Olszewska succinctly described the situation that prevailed after the conversion: ‘Just as their pagan ancestors had built temples to Thor and Frey, so the Christian goðar built churches upon their lands, and maintained these churches as their private property. Until the question of patronage became acute, towards the end of the twelfth century, and until the Icelandic Church, under foreign influence, began to press for separate jurisdiction for the clergy, there were scarcely grounds for a quarrel between Church and state. Isleif, Iceland’s first bishop in 1056, was not only a bishop, he was also a goði and, it seems, his son Gizur (died 1118) succeeded him in both these offices.’” §REF§ (Byock 2001, 297-298) Byock, Jesse L. 2001. Viking Age Iceland. New York, NY: Penguin. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/952TGMR9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 952TGMR9 </b></a> §REF§ “Contemporaries were very well aware of the importance of this reform. Ari the Learned thought its success nothing less than “miraculous” and was doubtless thinking of the impact on the state of Christianity in the country. But this reform also altered the power balance in the country. The bulk of the farmers now had to pay taxes to the church as an institution, and half of this tax went to their local church, to pay for the upkeep of both priest and building. This tax would have been of no small importance to those farmers who owned the churches. We can of course not assume that they simply pocketed this money or neglected to spend it in the manner required. But, in many instances (Ari the Learned being one) a church-owner decided to assume the function of a priest and thus collected the tithe income for himself. In fact, priestly chieftains were common in the twelfth century in Iceland, although this constituted a remarkable concatenation of secular and clerical authority. […] Although chieftains welcomed the introduction of organized religion in Iceland, and used its resources to their maximum advantage, the new institution soon demonstrated that it had its own agenda. The creation of the secular-clerical amalgam of the twelfth century (often called the “national church”) was very much to the benefit of the great magnates, but in the late twelfth century, following the creation of an independent archbishopric in Nidaros in Norway, the international church made its presence felt in Iceland. The subject on which the archbishop of Nidaros first addressed Icelandic clerics and laymen, in 1174, is one very familiar to any student of European medieval history. The main topic dealt with in his first letter to his Icelandic flock was the protection of clergy, as well as women and unarmed people, i.e., essential features of the Peace of God movement. […] The issue concerning violence towards the clergy brought into focus an anomaly of the Icelandic Church organization. Chieftains were supposed to secure the interests of their clients, by force if necessary, and in a stateless society force was indeed often required. Yet, a great number of them had also assumed ecclesiastical functions. By the 1180s it was becoming obvious that these two functions could not be reconciled. By a decree issued by the archbishop in 1190, therefore, chieftains were barred from holding ecclesiastical office, and vice-versa. This decree has generally been seen as a minor issue in Icelandic political history but in fact its effects were wide-ranging. Firstly, the church now gained an opportunity to become an independent institution, even though the change did not seem significant at first. Within the most powerful families some sons often still opted for an ecclesiastical career even if those designated for secular power could not. Indeed, the first bishop elected after this change, Páll Jónsson (r. 1195–1211), successor to the formidable Þorlákr, was a scion of the most powerful clan in Iceland at the time, the Oddaverjar. In 1238 the archbishop in Nidaros made a further decision to separate the secular and ecclesiastical offices more decisively, as he rejected a bishop-elect who had formerly been a chieftain.” §REF§ (Jakobsson 2009, 160-161) Jakobsson, Sverrir. 2009. ‘The Process of State-Formation in Medieval Iceland’. In Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Vol. 40:2. Pp. 151-170. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4G4VPVNG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 4G4VPVNG </b></a> §REF§ “It goes without saying that being householders these priests already belonged to the upper strata of society Where indications are available it seems however that they were furthermore the affluent and locally influential householders. Some may have been aristocrats who did not have grand political aspirations and were content to be well respected focally, but it seems that a sizeable proportion of householding priests were men of non-aristocratic parentage who had in one way or other acquired wealth. The prejudice in Icelandic society against wealth accumulation, especially by nonaristocrats, is well known and it seems likely that by becoming priests wealthy men of low birth sought social respectability. If we surmise that their aim was to have political influence in proportion to their economic strength, being priests served this aim in two ways: as it did for the chieftains it formalised and strengthened their relationship with, and influence over, their immediate neighbours and it may also have made them more acceptable company in polite circles. […] It seems therefore that the priesthood facilitated social mobility among the landowning classes, making it easier for men of non-anstocratic status to increase their influence and possibly even move their families up a rung in the social ladder. This helped bring about a change in the system of social distinctions, where family and lineage became less significant and the type of land owned, and office held, more important as definitions of an individual's social standing. §REF§ (Vésteinsson 1996, 252-253) Vésteinsson, Orri. 1996. The Christianisation of Iceland: Priests, Power and Social Change 1000-1300. PhD Thesis. London: University College London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TZ3CH4G3\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: TZ3CH4G3 </b></a> §REF§ “The effects of the presence of a series of foreign missionary bishops in the country from the 1020s to the 1060s is difficult to assess, but it is clear that pastoral care in Iceland did not come to rely on foreign priests or Icelanders dependent on foreign patronage. Instead members of aristocratic families begin as early as the 1020s to invest in clerical education for their sons. By the last quarter of the 11th century these aristocratic priests had begun to provide clerical education in Iceland for their peers' sons. By the beginning of the 12th century a significant number of the country's chieftains were ordained and most of those who were not had their eldest sons ordained.” §REF§ (Vésteinsson 1996, 315) Vésteinsson, Orri. 1996. The Christianisation of Iceland: Priests, Power and Social Change 1000-1300. PhD Thesis. London: University College London. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TZ3CH4G3\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: TZ3CH4G3 </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 424,
            "polity": {
                "id": 278,
                "name": "mn_rouran_khaganate",
                "long_name": "Rouran Khaganate",
                "start_year": 300,
                "end_year": 555
            },
            "year_from": 300,
            "year_to": 499,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 166,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Rouran Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"The Juan-juan kaghans and nobles were well acquainted with Buddhist teachings and were probably Buddhists as early as the beginning of the sixth century. It is known that in 511 they sent a Buddhist monk and preacher to China with the gift of an image of the Buddha ornamented with pearls for the emperor.\" §REF§ (Kyzlosov, 1996, 317) Kyzlasov, L. R. 1996. Northern Nomads. In Litvinsky, B. A. (ed.) History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III, pp. 310-329. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3WXJW9QS\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 3WXJW9QS </b></a> §REF§ “They had invented their own system of writing and developed their own local culture and Buddhist learning flourished.\" §REF§ (Kyzlosov, 1996, 317) Kyzlasov, L. R. 1996. Northern Nomads. In Litvinsky, B. A. (ed.) History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III, pp. 310-329. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3WXJW9QS\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 3WXJW9QS </b></a> §REF§ Note that the sources consulted do not specify the denomination of Buddhism prevalent in this polity at this time, though given the broader region it seems likely it would have been Mahayana."
        },
        {
            "id": 425,
            "polity": {
                "id": 278,
                "name": "mn_rouran_khaganate",
                "long_name": "Rouran Khaganate",
                "start_year": 300,
                "end_year": 555
            },
            "year_from": 500,
            "year_to": 551,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 1,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Buddhism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"The Juan-juan kaghans and nobles were well acquainted with Buddhist teachings and were probably Buddhists as early as the beginning of the sixth century. It is known that in 511 they sent a Buddhist monk and preacher to China with the gift of an image of the Buddha ornamented with pearls for the emperor.\" §REF§ (Kyzlosov, 1996, 317) Kyzlasov, L. R. 1996. Northern Nomads. In Litvinsky, B. A. (ed.) History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III, pp. 310-329. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3WXJW9QS\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 3WXJW9QS </b></a> §REF§ “They had invented their own system of writing and developed their own local culture and Buddhist learning flourished.\" §REF§ (Kyzlosov, 1996, 317) Kyzlasov, L. R. 1996. Northern Nomads. In Litvinsky, B. A. (ed.) History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Volume III, pp. 310-329. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3WXJW9QS\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 3WXJW9QS </b></a> §REF§ Note that the sources consulted do not specify the denomination of Buddhism prevalent in this polity at this time, though given the broader region it seems likely it would have been Mahayana."
        },
        {
            "id": 426,
            "polity": {
                "id": 172,
                "name": "ir_il_khanate",
                "long_name": "Ilkhanate",
                "start_year": 1256,
                "end_year": 1339
            },
            "year_from": 1256,
            "year_to": 1294,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 171,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Tengrism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"The first few Ilkhans – Hülegü, Abaqa, Arghun, and even Ghazan (initially) – favoured Buddhism, albeit they also continued to adhere to elements of their old belief system, which historians have clumped together under the term “shamanism.” You might say that Shamanism, or perhaps Tenggerism, was a kind of state religion, insofar as it informed the Hülegüids idea of the world and their place in it, but classing them simply as believers in “Mongolian Shamanism” is misleading.\" (Michael Hope, pers. comm. to R. Ainsworth, December 2023)\r\n\r\n\"These pieces of evidence may also shed some light on Tegüder's failure to remain Ilkhan, while his nephew Ghazan (1295-1304) not only succeeded in gaining the throne waving the flag of Islam, but had no serious internal trouble on this account during his reign. The anti-Islamic feelings of the senior Mongol officers, skillfully exploited by Arghun, show that on the whole Islam had failed to penetrate the upper reaches of Mongol society in the Ilkhanate. These were the generals and nobles who had accompanied Hülegù into Iran in the 1250s. By the early 1280s, they were surely getting long in the tooth, but they still remained the dominant element in the Mongol army, keeping their adherence to the traditional Mongol religion. Half a generation later, their ranks had been thinned by old age, war and internal struggles, and the awlad al-mughul of the early 1280s were increasingly the mainstay of the army and state. We have seen that the seeds of Islamization were already planted in the time of Tegüder. It remained to Ghazan to harvest their fruit.\"§REF§(Amitai 2001, 43) Amitai, R. 2001. The Conversion of Tegüder Ilkhan to Islam. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 25: 15-43. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/amitai/titleCreatorYear/items/SVU7SRNW/item-list §REF§\r\n\r\n“During the reign of Ghazan Khan (1295-1304), the Ilkhanate truly emerged as an Islamic Empire; Islamization, however, was not the only method by which the Mongols legitimized their state. Nor was it the way that subjects dwelling within the Ilkhanate viewed the state. Naturally, before Ghazan’s reign it is difficult to argue that the Ilkhanate was an Islamic state. Indeed, the Ilkhans made no pretence of it and adhered to the traditional forms of legitimization: that the Mongols ruled through the strength and will of the Eternal Blue Heaven (mongke koke tengri).” §REF§ (May et al. 2020, 6) May, Timothy et al. 2020. ‘Introduction’ In New Approaches to Ilkhanid History. Edited by Timothy May et al. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NCUDTFG4\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: NCUDTFG4 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 427,
            "polity": {
                "id": 172,
                "name": "ir_il_khanate",
                "long_name": "Ilkhanate",
                "start_year": 1256,
                "end_year": 1339
            },
            "year_from": 1295,
            "year_to": 1339,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"These pieces of evidence may also shed some light on Tegüder's failure to remain Ilkhan, while his nephew Ghazan (1295-1304) not only succeeded in gaining the throne waving the flag of Islam, but had no serious internal trouble on this account during his reign. The anti-Islamic feelings of the senior Mongol officers, skillfully exploited by Arghun, show that on the whole Islam had failed to penetrate the upper reaches of Mongol society in the Ilkhanate. These were the generals and nobles who had accompanied Hülegù into Iran in the 1250s. By the early 1280s, they were surely getting long in the tooth, but they still remained the dominant element in the Mongol army, keeping their adherence to the traditional Mongol religion. Half a generation later, their ranks had been thinned by old age, war and internal struggles, and the awlad al-mughul of the early 1280s were increasingly the mainstay of the army and state. We have seen that the seeds of Islamization were already planted in the time of Tegüder. It remained to Ghazan to harvest their fruit.\"§REF§(Amitai 2001, 43) Amitai, R. 2001. The Conversion of Tegüder Ilkhan to Islam. Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 25: 15-43. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/amitai/titleCreatorYear/items/SVU7SRNW/item-list §REF§\r\n\r\n“During the reign of Ghazan Khan (1295-1304), the Ilkhanate truly emerged as an Islamic Empire; Islamization, however, was not the only method by which the Mongols legitimized their state. Nor was it the way that subjects dwelling within the Ilkhanate viewed the state. Naturally, before Ghazan’s reign it is difficult to argue that the Ilkhanate was an Islamic state. Indeed, the Ilkhans made no pretence of it and adhered to the traditional forms of legitimization: that the Mongols ruled through the strength and will of the Eternal Blue Heaven (mongke koke tengri).” §REF§ (May et al. 2020, 6) May, Timothy et al. 2020. ‘Introduction’ In New Approaches to Ilkhanid History. Edited by Timothy May et al. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NCUDTFG4\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: NCUDTFG4 </b></a>§REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 428,
            "polity": {
                "id": 71,
                "name": "tr_roman_dominate",
                "long_name": "Roman Empire - Dominate",
                "start_year": 285,
                "end_year": 394
            },
            "year_from": 285,
            "year_to": 380,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 239,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Roman Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"In contrast, however, to Aurelian’s recent preference for Sol Invictus, the Tetrarchs turned to more traditional polytheism. They identified themselves most closely with Jupiter, ruler of the gods and (as Jupiter Optimus Maximus) Rome’s protector, and with Hercules, Jupiter’s son and mankind’s helper. Moreover, the Tetrarchs openly articulated the belief that the maintenance of Rome’s rule rested on respect for religion and tradition, and on ritual worship of the state gods. At the same time, unlike Augustus, Trajan, and most other emperors, the Tetrarchs personally exploited religious conventions as a means to distance themselves from their subjects. They encouraged the practice of prostration (Latin, adoratio, Greek, proskynesis), whereby anyone coming into their presence had to fall to his knees in a gesture customary in prayer and supplication. They decorated their clothing and shoes with brilliant gems and gold; the diadems they wore also had religious significance. According to some later authors, Diocletian even allowed himself to be adored and greeted as a god. Although Constantine was ultimately to associate himself with a very different god, he still retained the quasi-religious court rituals instituted by Diocletian, and so did his successors for centuries.” §REF§ (Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert 2004, 445-446) Boatwright, Mary T., Gargola, Daniel J., and Talbert, Richard J. A. 2004. Romans: From Village to Empire. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AKNJNXWG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: AKNJNXWG </b></a> §REF§  “Although Christianity (p.93) was not declared the official state religion of the empire until 380 (by Emperor Theodosius), the adoption of the religion by Constantine was the linchpin of Christianity’s legitimacy. Constantine, who claimed to have had a battlefield apparition- conversion in 312 (defeating his coregent Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in Rome), united the western and eastern parts of the empire and created at least a regional homogenization of Christianity three centuries after Jesus Christ.\"§REF§ (Ekelund Jr. and Tollison 2011, 92-93) Ekelund Jr., Robert B. and Robert D. Tollison. 2011. Economic Origins of Roman Christianity. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8UUZNR4E\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8UUZNR4E </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 429,
            "polity": {
                "id": 71,
                "name": "tr_roman_dominate",
                "long_name": "Roman Empire - Dominate",
                "start_year": 285,
                "end_year": 394
            },
            "year_from": 380,
            "year_to": 394,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 14,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "\"In contrast, however, to Aurelian’s recent preference for Sol Invictus, the Tetrarchs turned to more traditional polytheism. They identified themselves most closely with Jupiter, ruler of the gods and (as Jupiter Optimus Maximus) Rome’s protector, and with Hercules, Jupiter’s son and mankind’s helper. Moreover, the Tetrarchs openly articulated the belief that the maintenance of Rome’s rule rested on respect for religion and tradition, and on ritual worship of the state gods. At the same time, unlike Augustus, Trajan, and most other emperors, the Tetrarchs personally exploited religious conventions as a means to distance themselves from their subjects. They encouraged the practice of prostration (Latin, adoratio, Greek, proskynesis), whereby anyone coming into their presence had to fall to his knees in a gesture customary in prayer and supplication. They decorated their clothing and shoes with brilliant gems and gold; the diadems they wore also had religious significance. According to some later authors, Diocletian even allowed himself to be adored and greeted as a god. Although Constantine was ultimately to associate himself with a very different god, he still retained the quasi-religious court rituals instituted by Diocletian, and so did his successors for centuries.” §REF§ (Boatwright, Gargola, and Talbert 2004, 445-446) Boatwright, Mary T., Gargola, Daniel J., and Talbert, Richard J. A. 2004. Romans: From Village to Empire. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/AKNJNXWG\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: AKNJNXWG </b></a> §REF§  “Although Christianity (p.93) was not declared the official state religion of the empire until 380 (by Emperor Theodosius), the adoption of the religion by Constantine was the linchpin of Christianity’s legitimacy. Constantine, who claimed to have had a battlefield apparition- conversion in 312 (defeating his coregent Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in Rome), united the western and eastern parts of the empire and created at least a regional homogenization of Christianity three centuries after Jesus Christ.\"§REF§ (Ekelund Jr. and Tollison 2011, 92-93) Ekelund Jr., Robert B. and Robert D. Tollison. 2011. Economic Origins of Roman Christianity. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/8UUZNR4E\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 8UUZNR4E </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 430,
            "polity": {
                "id": 144,
                "name": "jp_yayoi",
                "long_name": "Kansai - Yayoi Period",
                "start_year": -300,
                "end_year": 250
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 221,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Yayoi Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": "“A hierarchical social structure, the formation of small kingdoms in certain regions, and the shamanic nature of the religion and government in at least one region of Japan are documented in the Chinese chronicle Wei chih, compiled in the third century. According to a report by contemporary Chinese envoys who visited Japan, the small kingdom of Yamatai - whose exact location is still the subject of much scholarly debate - was ruled by a woman named Himiko. [Himiko] occupied herself with magic and sorcery, bewitching the people. Though mature in age, she remained unmarried. She had a younger brother who assisted her in ruling the country. After she became the ruler, there were few who saw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink and acted as a medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, and her armed guards were in a state of constant vigilance. The text also indicates that political actions were guided by a divination method in which heat was applied to a deer's scapula and answers to questions were deduced from the length and shape of the fissures that resulted. Such practices are found all over north Asia, perhaps the best-known case being that of Shang dynasty China. Some scholars have pointed to the parallels between Himiko and female shamans active in more recent times in Okinawa. Like Himiko, the Okinawa shamans dealt with religious affairs, whereas their brothers handled secular affairs. Though it is clear that Himiko was a shaman, we know little about her religious duties. Possibly they involved some form of sun worship, as the name Himiko suggests a child or priestess of the sun. Furthermore, the Wei chih depicts Himiko's people as \"water people\" who \"were fond of diving into the water to get fish and shells\" and \"decorated their bodies in order to keep away large fish and waterfowl.\" It seems likely that these fishermen and divers were related to south Chinese or southeast Asian seafarers who worshiped the sun.” §REF§ (Takaeshi 1993, 333-334) Takaeshi, M. 1993. ‘Early Kami Worship’. In The Cambridge History of Japan: Ancient Japan. Edited by Delmer E. Brown. Vol 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5FDFQIWT\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: 5FDFQIWT </b></a> §REF§ “One gets some insight into the intricacies of this cooperative relationship and how it worked in the story of Jingû as understood and told by Yamato scribes. This is not an exercise in historicity, which is irrelevant here. These details are the best existing account of the divination process in early Japanese pseudo-history. […] Much has been made of the whole divination ritual, for which Jingû is the archetypal militant practitioner. She led in battle, worshiped the deities of heaven and earth, built shrines and offered spears and swords, scanned the network of deities for helpful ones, publicized the received word, isolated herself in a special darkened hut with mesmerizing music, and became entranced until she heard the message from the kami. She had imaginative ways of verifying the course of action recommended by the kami. All of this was deemed for the good of the people. All was done in quest of riches, it was said, a virtuous goal in itself. Divination was, in this story, directed exclusively toward the acquisition of power and resources. The raw materials in Korea were still coveted, and conquest was a more effective method of acquisition than trade. […] Regarding the characteristics of the female shaman, there may be a significant difference between Himiko and the female shamans dealt with above since she never married. By choice or otherwise, she was not going to contribute to the royal line. Nevertheless, she may mark the turning point from the community wide, spontaneously selected female to the hereditary, more formally appointed type. The others were daughters of court families, and most were expected to provide offspring for the continuation of the line. Their shamanic abilities were the major factor in their choice. Normally the dead emperor would have been replaced with another male, but since these women had abnormal powers, it was more desirable to retain those services that had determined their initial selection. While the power was indivisible, secular authority came from divine sources. Those arguing that female rulers were simply stakeholders put in office until a suitable male reached maturity underestimate the will, determination, and cunning of individuals such as Kògyoku and Jitò. §REF§ (Kidder 2007, 133, 137) Kidder, J. Edward Jr. 2007. Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SF4WRPAW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: SF4WRPAW </b></a> §REF§ “Not even all agree that Himiko was a shaman (miko), a term not used by the Wei zhi historian. Kuroiwa, a popular writer, says she was nothing but a pharmacist, dispensing medicines, but even among those who do consider her a shaman, the nature and extent of her power are points of disagreement. By way of understanding, in her closeted way she was awesomely mysterious, by virtue of which she had public support.[…] The multigenerational views of Japanese scholars tend to fall into three categories: those who assume her obligations were exclusively sacral in nature, the political business the province of others, such as Shiratori (writing in 1910), Hashimoto (1932), Inoue (1965), and Sakurai (1966); those who see her as a shaman, but also fully involved in every facet of government—political, military, judicial, economic, and social—in other words, endowed with indistinguishable secular and religious authority, such as Maki (1968); and those who see divided but equal authority, Himiko and a male counterpart, neither able to totally separate the secular from the religious, such as Inoue (1965). §REF§ (Kidder 2007, 132-133) Kidder, J. Edward Jr. 2007. Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SF4WRPAW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: SF4WRPAW </b></a> §REF§ “Because of their political importance, the religious activities of Sujin’s reign need close scrutiny, particularly since Sujin was either a contemporary of Himiko or in the next generation. Sujin, it is said, took the occasion of years of natural disasters to initiate a series of religious reforms. Paralleling Chinese thought, he now recognized the conditions as the kami venting their displeasure at his management style. He assembled the 800,000 deities, and reached them by divining with a tortoise shell. The medium was Princess Yamato-totohi-momoso. The princess admonished him, “If the emperor would worship properly there would be peace in the land.” Sujin asked which deity she had quoted. The voice came from Òmononushi himself. “I live in the land of Yamato,” he said. Sujin worshiped as directed, but natural calamities continued unabated. He then bathed, assumed a state of abstinence, purified the interior of the (abstinence) building, and prayed in his agony for a dream. Who have we missed? Who is still angry? In other words, which deities are still neglected and sulking?” §REF§ (Kidder 2007, 152) Kidder, J. Edward Jr. 2007. Himiko and Japan's Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Seshat URL: <a href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SF4WRPAW\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"fw-bolder\"> <b> Zotero link: SF4WRPAW </b></a> §REF§"
        },
        {
            "id": 431,
            "polity": {
                "id": 111,
                "name": "in_achik_1",
                "long_name": "Early A'chik",
                "start_year": 1775,
                "end_year": 1867
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 157,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Achik Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": null
        },
        {
            "id": 432,
            "polity": {
                "id": 112,
                "name": "in_achik_2",
                "long_name": "Late A'chik",
                "start_year": 1867,
                "end_year": 1956
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 157,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Achik Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": null
        },
        {
            "id": 433,
            "polity": {
                "id": 697,
                "name": "in_pandya_emp_2",
                "long_name": "Pandya Dynasty",
                "start_year": 590,
                "end_year": 915
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 5,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Saivist Hinduism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 434,
            "polity": {
                "id": 442,
                "name": "mn_mongol_early",
                "long_name": "Early Mongols",
                "start_year": 1000,
                "end_year": 1206
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 171,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Tengrism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 435,
            "polity": {
                "id": 442,
                "name": "mn_mongol_early",
                "long_name": "Early Mongols",
                "start_year": 1000,
                "end_year": 1206
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 107,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Nestorian Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 436,
            "polity": {
                "id": 459,
                "name": "fr_valois_k_2",
                "long_name": "French Kingdom - Late Valois",
                "start_year": 1450,
                "end_year": 1589
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 38,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Calvinist Christianity",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 437,
            "polity": {
                "id": 639,
                "name": "so_ajuran_sultanate",
                "long_name": "Ajuran Sultanate",
                "start_year": 1250,
                "end_year": 1700
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 9,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Shia Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“At the top of the Ajuran hierarchy was the imam, a title used only by Shi’ite Islamic administrations.” §REF§ (Mukhtar 2016, Encyclopedia of Empire) Mukhtar, Mohamed H. 2016. ‘Ajuran Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie. Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL:  https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/5U3NQRMR/library §REF§",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 438,
            "polity": {
                "id": 646,
                "name": "so_ifat_sultanate",
                "long_name": "Ifat Sultanate",
                "start_year": 1280,
                "end_year": 1375
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 10,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sufi Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“Ifat was the second sultanate to be formed in the region of Shawa, in what is currently central Ethiopia. It was Umar Walasma who founded the Walasma dynasty (1280–1520s), which spearheaded Muslim resistance to the expanding Christian kingdom.” §REF§ (Hassen 2016,  Encyclopedia of Empire) Hassen, Mohammed, 2016. ‘Ifat Sultanate.’ In J. Mackenzie Encyclopedia of Empire. Wiley. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/FXDQBFFT/library §REF§ \"African Islam, at least south of the Sahara, has been strongly influenced by Sufism. This has made it much more eclectic, flexible, and less vulnerable, if not wholly immune, to external stridency than might otherwise have been the case.\" §REF§ (Reid 2011, 59) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/CZB48WKQ/collection§REF§",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 439,
            "polity": {
                "id": 654,
                "name": "so_isaaq_sultanate",
                "long_name": "Isaaq Sultanate",
                "start_year": 1300,
                "end_year": 1886
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "IFR",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 10,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sufi Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“With a long tradition of trading connections to the Arabian Peninsula, the Somalis were converted to Islam at an early date[...].” §REF§ (Lewis 2008, 1-2) Lewis, Ioan M. 2008. Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History, Society. New York, Columbia University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Understanding%20Somalia/titleCreatorYear/items/7J425GTZ/item-list §REF§ \"African Islam, at least south of the Sahara, has been strongly influenced by Sufism. This has made it much more eclectic, flexible, and less vulnerable, if not wholly immune, to external stridency than might otherwise have been the case.\" §REF§ (Reid 2011, 59) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/CZB48WKQ/collection§REF§",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 440,
            "polity": {
                "id": 614,
                "name": "cd_kanem",
                "long_name": "Kanem",
                "start_year": 800,
                "end_year": 1379
            },
            "year_from": 1080,
            "year_to": 1893,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"After the eleventh century the Sayfuwa [dynasty] began to incorporate Islamic principles into their political system\" (Gronenborn 2002: 103)",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 441,
            "polity": {
                "id": 433,
                "name": "ml_segou_k",
                "long_name": "Segou Kingdom",
                "start_year": 1650,
                "end_year": 1712
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 12,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Bamana Religion",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"Historically, Bamana culture was distinguished from other Mandekan peoples such as the Soninke and Maninka by the relatively slow progress that Islam was able to make against local traditional religion. Muslim families who were mostly of Soninke origin were present in the Bamana Segou state beginning with the time of its founder, Mamary Biton Kulubali (c. 1712-c. 1755), but the rulers (''faamaw'') and most of the population continued in the traditional system of belief until the burning of the ''boliw'' and forced conversions following the Islamic conquest of Al-Hajj Umar in 1861. There were Muslims in Segou from the time of its founding, but the four great ''boliw'' were the cornerstones of the state religion and power structure, and the profound faith in their protective qualities doubtless had a good deal to do with the Bamana's extended resistance to Islam. A Segou ''faama'' could not govern without control of the four great ''boliw'', which were critical to the acquisition and maintenance of political power.\"§REF§D. Conrad , 2008, in J.P. Colleyn (ed.) ''Bamana: the art of existence in Mali'' pp. 35-43. New York: Museum of African Art.§REF§\"Historically, Bamana culture was distinguished from other Mandekan peoples such as the Soninke and Maninka by the relatively slow progress that Islam was able to make against local traditional religion. Muslim families who were mostly of Soninke origin were present in the Bamana Segou state beginning with the time of its founder, Mamary Biton Kulubali (c. 1712-c. 1755), but the rulers (''faamaw'') and most of the population continued in the traditional system of belief until the burning of the ''boliw'' and forced conversions following the Islamic conquest of Al-Hajj Umar in 1861. There were Muslims in Segou from the time of its founding, but the four great ''boliw'' were the cornerstones of the state religion and power structure, and the profound faith in their protective qualities doubtless had a good deal to do with the Bamana's extended resistance to Islam. A Segou ''faama'' could not govern without control of the four great ''boliw'', which were critical to the acquisition and maintenance of political power.\"§REF§D. Conrad , 2008, in J.P. Colleyn (ed.) ''Bamana: the art of existence in Mali'' pp. 35-43. New York: Museum of African Art.§REF§",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 442,
            "polity": {
                "id": 610,
                "name": "gu_futa_jallon",
                "long_name": "Futa Jallon",
                "start_year": 1725,
                "end_year": 1896
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"Furthermore, the Islamic religious cause had triumphed with Fulbe political ascendancy.\"  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/M3J4HTAF\">[Sanneh 1981, p. 46]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 443,
            "polity": {
                "id": 261,
                "name": "cn_tang_dyn_1",
                "long_name": "Tang Dynasty I",
                "start_year": 617,
                "end_year": 763
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 159,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Daoism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“Although Daoism was officially the highest religion of Tang China, Buddhism remained the most popular and influential faith. Along with Daoism, Buddhism also became a fundamental part of the political order and the economy, sponsored and regulated by the state. Fully established within Chinese society, Tang Buddhism became truly sinicized through the separation of China from Central Asia and India, which made China its own Buddhist heartland, and through the emergence within China itself of new, indigenous Buddhist intellectual and ritual traditions. To begin at the highest level, Buddhism was a spiritual arm of the state. Its primary instruments were the imperial monasteries established in each prefecture of the empire and the palace chapels established by the ruling family within imperial precincts. The imperial monasteries were inhabited by the intellectual elite of the monastic order and supported by funds from the imperial treasury.”  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P9RSHZKQ\">[Lewis 2009, pp. 214-215]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 444,
            "polity": {
                "id": 261,
                "name": "cn_tang_dyn_1",
                "long_name": "Tang Dynasty I",
                "start_year": 617,
                "end_year": 763
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 1,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Buddhism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“Although Daoism was officially the highest religion of Tang China, Buddhism remained the most popular and influential faith. Along with Daoism, Buddhism also became a fundamental part of the political order and the economy, sponsored and regulated by the state. Fully established within Chinese society, Tang Buddhism became truly sinicized through the separation of China from Central Asia and India, which made China its own Buddhist heartland, and through the emergence within China itself of new, indigenous Buddhist intellectual and ritual traditions. To begin at the highest level, Buddhism was a spiritual arm of the state. Its primary instruments were the imperial monasteries established in each prefecture of the empire and the palace chapels established by the ruling family within imperial precincts. The imperial monasteries were inhabited by the intellectual elite of the monastic order and supported by funds from the imperial treasury.”  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/P9RSHZKQ\">[Lewis 2009, pp. 214-215]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 445,
            "polity": {
                "id": 473,
                "name": "iq_ubaid",
                "long_name": "Ubaid",
                "start_year": -5500,
                "end_year": -4000
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 290,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Mesoamerican Religions",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"Hard to say what the elite religion was but the fact some of the key temples, such as at Eridu, begin to be built by this period in the same places used in later historical periods suggests the traditions of the elites begins in this period. So a society-level belief systems is likely evolving and devleoping.\" (pers. comm. Mark Altaweel 2024) <br> \"Ubaid society may have experienced some social differentiation, but it may have been masked, as political leaders sought to provide economic backing to their supporters, sometimes using religion to bolster their positions.”  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3CZGVV6T\">[Ross_Steadman 2017, p. 60]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 446,
            "polity": {
                "id": 483,
                "name": "iq_parthian_emp_2",
                "long_name": "Parthian Empire II",
                "start_year": 41,
                "end_year": 226
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "IFR",
            "is_disputed": true,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 28,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Zoroastrianism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "“Since, moreover, it is politically expedient for ruler and ruled to be of one faith, it may reasonably be assumed that, at least from the time they seized power, the Arsacids were professed Zoroastrians.”  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DGMIWEDZ\">[Boyce 2012]</a> “There is neither proof of the Arsacid rulers ’ religious orientation nor any indication that the kings of kings interfered with the various cults. The simultaneous reverence of such a diversity of traditional Mesopotamian, Greek, Arab, and Iranian, as well as monotheistic gods which is mirrored in the diversity of local temple architecture (Downey 1988 ), makes the Arsacid period a most interesting field for research.”  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GEH35732\">[Hauser 2012]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 447,
            "polity": {
                "id": 643,
                "name": "et_showa_sultanate",
                "long_name": "Shoa Sultanate",
                "start_year": 1108,
                "end_year": 1285
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 4,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"The precise use of the Islamic calendar and of Arabic script and language are strong evidence of the presence of an Islamic scholarly elite. This literate elite is represented by the faqīh Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan, “ qāḍī al-quḍā (lit. “cadi of the cadis”) of Šawah” whose death occurred in 1255. The title “cadi of the cadis” refers to the judge at the head of the judiciary of a state or of a city, and therefore presupposes a sophisticated judicial hierarchy.\"  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TA84VGHX\">[Chekroun_Hirsch_Kelly 2020, pp. 94-95]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 448,
            "polity": {
                "id": 130,
                "name": "ir_sassanid_emp_2",
                "long_name": "Sasanid Empire II",
                "start_year": 488,
                "end_year": 642
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 28,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Zoroastrianism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"the Sasanian empire [...] held Zoroastrianism as the official religion\"  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MUKJ4G5K\">[Daryaee 2009, p. 96]</a>",
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 449,
            "polity": {
                "id": 406,
                "name": "in_kalachuri_emp",
                "long_name": "Kalachuris of Kalyani",
                "start_year": 1157,
                "end_year": 1184
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 5,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Saivist Hinduism",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": null,
            "description": ""
        },
        {
            "id": 450,
            "polity": {
                "id": 242,
                "name": "ml_songhai_2",
                "long_name": "Songhai Empire - Askiya Dynasty",
                "start_year": 1493,
                "end_year": 1591
            },
            "year_from": null,
            "year_to": null,
            "tag": "TRS",
            "is_disputed": false,
            "is_uncertain": false,
            "name": "Elites_religion",
            "coded_value": {
                "id": 8,
                "name": "Religion",
                "religion_name": "Sunni Islam",
                "religion_family": null,
                "religion_genus": null
            },
            "comment": "\"[...] it was necessary for the Askias throughout the sixteenth century to maintain a delicate balance between Islam and Songhay religion in the structure of state power. It seems equally apparent that, on the whole, Islam had little popular support and remained largely an alien religion of foreign and élite groups [...]\"  <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4BMBC2JJ\">[Hunwick_Lewis 1966, p. 314]</a>",
            "description": ""
        }
    ]
}