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{
"id": 462,
"polity": {
"id": 350,
"name": "af_greco_bactrian_k",
"long_name": "Greco-Bactrian Kingdom",
"start_year": -256,
"end_year": -125
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "The Greco-Bactrians came to incorporate multiple highly moralizing religions in the official ideology, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QE37R7HS\">[Mairs_Eidinov_Kindt 2015]</a> For example: \"Dharma, as an epicenter of Hindu systems of [moralistic supernatural enforcement], is associated with two key mechanisms through which retribution or reward is experienced by a human for actions toward another human. The first mechanism is through the action of a divine or supernatural being or deity, characterized as Deva or Devi, or Parama Brahman, the Supreme Spirit or God. The second mechanism is through karma, a nonagentic, impersonal force that works automatically based on a logic of puṇya (merit) versus pāpa (demerit). The totality of one’s puṇya is weighed against the pāpa that one accrues in one’s lifetime as the phala (fruits) of one’s karma, understood as action. Transgressing from one’s dharma will incur undesirable consequences (Flood 1996; Krishan 1988, 1997).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/EBDJ2WB5\">[Das_et_al 2024, p. 50]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 463,
"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": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The Late Period was the last major phase of political independence of Egypt. Especially in the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, there was vast state investment in temples, as well as elite dedications there. […] Those who dedicated these objects would ideally have had texts and images in their burial equipment, so that the this-worldly focus on temples would be complementary with the prospect of [moralistic supernatural enforcement] as something to be confronted in the next world.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZQ2347BZ\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, pp. 80-81]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 464,
"polity": {
"id": 192,
"name": "it_papal_state_3",
"long_name": "Papal States - Early Modern Period I",
"start_year": 1527,
"end_year": 1648
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 465,
"polity": {
"id": 84,
"name": "es_spanish_emp_1",
"long_name": "Spanish Empire I",
"start_year": 1516,
"end_year": 1715
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 466,
"polity": {
"id": 587,
"name": "gb_british_emp_1",
"long_name": "British Empire I",
"start_year": 1690,
"end_year": 1849
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 467,
"polity": {
"id": 661,
"name": "ni_oyo_emp_2",
"long_name": "Ilú-ọba Ọ̀yọ́",
"start_year": 1601,
"end_year": 1835
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“As Zeus is the enforcer of justice in Greek religion, so also Olodumare, the supreme all-encompassing God is the absolute force in the punishment of any sin in Yoruba religion. However, a main difference in the performance of this function lies in the fact that in the Greek system of belief, hubris cannot be forgiven and the punishment for any act of hubris must be exacted, while for the Yoruba, punishment for sin can be appeased by sacrifice. Thus, in the latter system, unlike in the Greek, the divinities who are regarded as intermediaries between man and Olodumare, serve as vehicles for moral instruction. They function in giving directives that lead to forgiveness, which means, in this scenario, a kind of “paying back”. So the sacrifices are expiatory, restitutionary (for making amends) and propitiatory (to remove sin). The first types may include a full public confession of the sin and restoration of items while the propitiatory act is usually towards the gods.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/R8D4SCQ7\">[Onayemi 2006, p. 91]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 468,
"polity": {
"id": 663,
"name": "ni_oyo_emp_1",
"long_name": "Oyo",
"start_year": 1300,
"end_year": 1535
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“As Zeus is the enforcer of justice in Greek religion, so also Olodumare, the supreme all-encompassing God is the absolute force in the punishment of any sin in Yoruba religion. However, a main difference in the performance of this function lies in the fact that in the Greek system of belief, hubris cannot be forgiven and the punishment for any act of hubris must be exacted, while for the Yoruba, punishment for sin can be appeased by sacrifice. Thus, in the latter system, unlike in the Greek, the divinities who are regarded as intermediaries between man and Olodumare, serve as vehicles for moral instruction. They function in giving directives that lead to forgiveness, which means, in this scenario, a kind of “paying back”. So the sacrifices are expiatory, restitutionary (for making amends) and propitiatory (to remove sin). The first types may include a full public confession of the sin and restoration of items while the propitiatory act is usually towards the gods.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/R8D4SCQ7\">[Onayemi 2006, p. 91]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 469,
"polity": {
"id": 656,
"name": "ni_yoruba_classic",
"long_name": "Classical Ife",
"start_year": 1000,
"end_year": 1400
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“As Zeus is the enforcer of justice in Greek religion, so also Olodumare, the supreme all-encompassing God is the absolute force in the punishment of any sin in Yoruba religion. However, a main difference in the performance of this function lies in the fact that in the Greek system of belief, hubris cannot be forgiven and the punishment for any act of hubris must be exacted, while for the Yoruba, punishment for sin can be appeased by sacrifice. Thus, in the latter system, unlike in the Greek, the divinities who are regarded as intermediaries between man and Olodumare, serve as vehicles for moral instruction. They function in giving directives that lead to forgiveness, which means, in this scenario, a kind of “paying back”. So the sacrifices are expiatory, restitutionary (for making amends) and propitiatory (to remove sin). The first types may include a full public confession of the sin and restoration of items while the propitiatory act is usually towards the gods.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/R8D4SCQ7\">[Onayemi 2006, p. 91]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 470,
"polity": {
"id": 681,
"name": "se_great_fulo_emp",
"long_name": "Denyanke Kingdom",
"start_year": 1490,
"end_year": 1776
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "NB The following extract derives from recent ethnography, but the author suggests that the core notions here precede the advent of Islam among the Fulani. “The Futanke or Pullo (plural Fulbhe), as the Fulani call themselves, firmly believe that the lawful acquisition of wealth and the decent enjoyment of sustained prosperity is the physical manifestation of the metaphysical process of divine compensation for selfless services rendered to others. Conversely, chronic misfortune is believed to be the outcome of a wasteful existence, a sign of retribution from God for intolerable misdeeds.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T4VFCD2W\">[Camara 2008, p. 48]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 471,
"polity": {
"id": 609,
"name": "si_freetown_1",
"long_name": "Freetown",
"start_year": 1787,
"end_year": 1808
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 472,
"polity": {
"id": 535,
"name": "ug_bunyoro_k_2",
"long_name": "Bito Dynasty",
"start_year": 1700,
"end_year": 1894
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with early 20th-century beliefs as recorded by ethnographer J. H. M. Beattie. “When a Nyoro suffers illness, childlessness, or other misfortune, [...] it may be due to the activity of a ghost. [...] A ghost (muzimu, plural mizimu) is the disembodied spirit of someone who has died. When a man is alive this vital principle is called mwoyo (plural myoyo), which may be rather loosely translated as \"soul,\" and it is believed to dwell in the breast or diaphragm. But a ghost is not just a person who has died; it is a being of quite a different order from the living. Though it possesses human attributes it is not human. A Nyoro who wishes to threaten another with posthumous vengeance for some injury does not say, \"I shall haunt you when I die\"; he says, \"I shall leave you a ghost\" (ndikulekera muzimu). Ghosts are left by people, but they are not people. […] Like sorcerers, ghosts generally attack people against whom they have a grudge. So when ghostly activity is diagnosed, the ghost is usually that of someone who was injured or offended before he died--or in certain cases of someone whose ghost was neglected after he died.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4IPHIG7P\">[Beattie 1964, pp. 126-128]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 473,
"polity": {
"id": 667,
"name": "ni_igala_k",
"long_name": "Igala",
"start_year": 1600,
"end_year": 1900
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"The god of thunder naturally killed the evil doers in society in the pre-Christianity and Islamic period. Thus, during rain evil doers were usually afraid of being in the open air for fear of being struck by a thunder storm. To a great extent, it was a cleansing god, except that in some cases it could be manipulated.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/74KTP9Z5\">[Achoba 2017, p. 48]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 474,
"polity": {
"id": 626,
"name": "zi_mutapa",
"long_name": "Mutapa",
"start_year": 1450,
"end_year": 1880
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with Shona beliefs as described in more recent ethnography. According to the Shona, ancestors may withdraw their protection in response to disharmonious behaviour. \"Harmonious existence among human beings and everything that exists is the basis of the teleology of morality. Disequilibrium or disharmony in existence is the reason for all the ills that are common in human society as well as environmental disequilibrium and chaos. The spirit of Mwari is a spirit that enjoys peace and serenity in the generality of existence. For this reason, human acts such as murder, cruelty, rape and pollution of the environment, just to mention a few, are regarded as offensive and repulsive to the spirit of Mwari. A morally perverted individual is thus described as someone who is endowed with Mweya wakaipa (a Shona phrase which literally means she or he has an evil spirit).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, p. 41]</a> \"Ancestral spirits who are renown for protecting the progenitors in the present life can refrain from doing so if there is disharmony in the community. Misfortunes and bad luck are signs of severed relationships between ancestors and their descendants. Harmonious relationships are a precursor to communal harmony and a prosperous future.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, p. 46]</a> Moreover, the spirits of those who have been wronged may seek revenge on the living. \"[A]mong the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit(s) of those who have been wronged in the past have been wronged in the past usually supervene on the lives of the present in the form of Ngozi. The concept of Ngozi is based on the belief that a human being is essentially a spiritual being and it is the reality of the spirit which makes him or her to survive death. A person who has been wronged through human atrocious acts such as murder is mostly likely to exist in the realm of immortality as an angry spirit. The anthropologist who studied Shona people, Michael Bourdillon (1987: 233) observed that, 'An angry spirit is terrifying. Such a spirit attacks suddenly and very harshly. It usually usually attacks an individual through his family causing a succession of deaths, or death followed by serious illness in other members of the family'. Bourdillon went on to say that among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit of a person who has been killed unfairly cannot be appeased easily. He states that the Shona people 'believe that an angry spirit can also cause serious quarrels within a family, loss of property and wealth, or any devastating misfortune. In practice, the tensions and fears following death believed to be caused by such a spirit, and the difficulty in appeasing it do on occasion lead to the breakup of a family group'.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, pp. 67-68]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 475,
"polity": {
"id": 625,
"name": "zi_torwa_rozvi",
"long_name": "Torwa-Rozvi",
"start_year": 1494,
"end_year": 1850
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with Shona beliefs as described in more recent ethnography. According to the Shona, ancestors may withdraw their protection in response to disharmonious behaviour. \"Harmonious existence among human beings and everything that exists is the basis of the teleology of morality. Disequilibrium or disharmony in existence is the reason for all the ills that are common in human society as well as environmental disequilibrium and chaos. The spirit of Mwari is a spirit that enjoys peace and serenity in the generality of existence. For this reason, human acts such as murder, cruelty, rape and pollution of the environment, just to mention a few, are regarded as offensive and repulsive to the spirit of Mwari. A morally perverted individual is thus described as someone who is endowed with Mweya wakaipa (a Shona phrase which literally means she or he has an evil spirit).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, p. 41]</a> \"Ancestral spirits who are renown for protecting the progenitors in the present life can refrain from doing so if there is disharmony in the community. Misfortunes and bad luck are signs of severed relationships between ancestors and their descendants. Harmonious relationships are a precursor to communal harmony and a prosperous future.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, p. 46]</a> Moreover, the spirits of those who have been wronged may seek revenge on the living. \"[A]mong the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit(s) of those who have been wronged in the past have been wronged in the past usually supervene on the lives of the present in the form of Ngozi. The concept of Ngozi is based on the belief that a human being is essentially a spiritual being and it is the reality of the spirit which makes him or her to survive death. A person who has been wronged through human atrocious acts such as murder is mostly likely to exist in the realm of immortality as an angry spirit. The anthropologist who studied Shona people, Michael Bourdillon (1987: 233) observed that, 'An angry spirit is terrifying. Such a spirit attacks suddenly and very harshly. It usually usually attacks an individual through his family causing a succession of deaths, or death followed by serious illness in other members of the family'. Bourdillon went on to say that among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit of a person who has been killed unfairly cannot be appeased easily. He states that the Shona people 'believe that an angry spirit can also cause serious quarrels within a family, loss of property and wealth, or any devastating misfortune. In practice, the tensions and fears following death believed to be caused by such a spirit, and the difficulty in appeasing it do on occasion lead to the breakup of a family group'.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, pp. 67-68]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 476,
"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": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“But for the Oromo, Waaqa does not commit evil against His creation. He withdraws from human beings when they breach saffuu and disturb the cosmic and social order. Failure to act in accordance with Waaqa’s order will lead to punishment. Various types of misfortunes ranging from illness, mishaps, and other bad things can happen to the guilty person and his/her relatives. Some people believe that there are spiritual causes for natural disasters, serious illness, conflict, and so on. When human beings sin, Waaqa would deny them rain and other important requirements for life. […] It has been stated that Waaqa is patient with his creations. If they correct their mistakes through rituals and acceptable practices, He will forgive them. When Waaqa withdraws from them, the concerned people ought to pray to Waaqa and try to correct and learn from their mistakes. So, when individuals failed to observe the laws of Waaqa and were punished as a result, they would ask Waaqa for forgiveness. Human beings are required to respect the laws of God and maintain the social order through rituals. ‘Oromo rituals recreate, enact, and maintain the social order. This social order symbolically expresses the cosmological order. Prayers link the earthly part of the cosmological order with the divine one” (AGUILAR 2005, 58).’” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JP3BMSXD\">[Kelbessa 2022, pp. 79-80]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 477,
"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": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After conversion to Islam. \"Allāh demands moral behavior from human beings, using reward (thawāb) and punishment (ʿiqāb) to encourage this behavior (Lange 2016; Nakissa 2020; Rustomji 2010).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/A9X3RAQW\">[Nakissa_et_al 2024, p. 135]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 478,
"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": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After conversion to Islam. \"Allāh demands moral behavior from human beings, using reward (thawāb) and punishment (ʿiqāb) to encourage this behavior (Lange 2016; Nakissa 2020; Rustomji 2010).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/A9X3RAQW\">[Nakissa_et_al 2024, p. 135]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 479,
"polity": {
"id": 546,
"name": "cn_five_dyn",
"long_name": "Five Dynasties Period",
"start_year": 906,
"end_year": 970
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The notion of heavenly retribution is also found in early Daoist texts. Laozi says, “Heaven’s way does not show kinship favor, but rather joins with good and decent men” 天道無親, 常與善人; “Heaven’s net, cast far and wide; seems slack yet nothing slips outside” 天網恢恢, 疏而不失.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GWJ8C6HV\">[Zhang 2014, p. 86]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 480,
"polity": {
"id": 87,
"name": "in_mauryan_emp",
"long_name": "Magadha - Maurya Empire",
"start_year": -324,
"end_year": -187
},
"year_from": -297,
"year_to": -187,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism. “In sum, pre-modern Buddhism was eminently concerned with MSP [i.e. moralizing supernatural enforcement].” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/76FKAHS3\">[Stanford_et_al 2024, p. 106]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 481,
"polity": {
"id": 87,
"name": "in_mauryan_emp",
"long_name": "Magadha - Maurya Empire",
"start_year": -324,
"end_year": -187
},
"year_from": -324,
"year_to": -298,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_supernatural_punishment_and_reward",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"Although Vedic religion was not founded on moralistic principles, it included [moralistic] elements. Ṛta (truth) was the principle governing the natural, social, religious, and moral order (Bilimoria 2007: 33–4). In various passages of the Ṛg Veda (e.g., RV 1.25, 5.83, 7.86), Varuṇa, who personifies a divine authority and is associated with ṛta, justice, and social relations, is an ethical, all-knowing god who foresees all destiny and punishes those who violate the moral order (Bhattacharji 1970: 25–31). He can be approached with requests for forgiveness. Invoked along with Varuṇa is the god Mitra, who stands for the judicial side of their joint governance over morality; the two sometimes appear as two aspects of one god (Parpola 2015: 108). However, hymns to Varuṇa and Mitra in the Ṛg Veda are far outnumbered by those to the fierce war god Indra, asking for victory, fame, and wealth (Parpola 2015: 107–108). Over time, Varuṇa’s ethical authority gradually diminished—from the omniscient sky god in the Ṛg Veda to a sinister deity of the night who punishes wrongdoing in the Brāhmaṇas, to one water god among many others in the Sanskrit epics (Bhattacharji 1970: 23–40).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UXVR689F\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, p. 184]</a>",
"description": ""
}
]
}