Administrative Level List
A viewset for viewing and editing Administrative Levels.
GET /api/sc/administrative-levels/?format=api&page=8
{ "count": 570, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/administrative-levels/?format=api&page=9", "previous": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/administrative-levels/?format=api&page=7", "results": [ { "id": 351, "polity": { "id": 570, "name": "es_spanish_emp_2", "long_name": "Spanish Empire II", "start_year": 1716, "end_year": 1814 }, "year_from": 1716, "year_to": 1814, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 6, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "_In Spain_\r\n: 1. King\r\n:: 2. Veedor General\r\n::: 3. Secretaries of State\r\n:::: 4. Captain-Generals\r\n::::: 5. Intendants (province governors)\r\n:::::: 6. Sub-delegates\r\n::::::: 7. Administrators\r\n\r\n“Philip V, who was now keenly aware of the problems he faced, put Orry in charge of military finance. The king knew, however, that Spaniards would resent the domination of foreign counselors as they had done in the time of Charles V and was in any case inclined to vacillate in matters that did not involve foreign affairs. Court intrigues caused Orry to be dismissed in 1706. When he returned in 1713 he packed the councils with new appointments to dilute their opposition to his ideas. Four new secretaries of state assumed responsibility for many conciliar functions. The king then appointed intendants to govern the 21 provinces. Secretaries and intendants alike reported to Orry who, in his capacity as veedor general became the equivalent of prime minister. These reforms extended to the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia whose fueros had been abolished when they were re-conquered in 1707. The viceroys of these kingdoms were replaced by captains-general who presided over the audiencias of Saragossa, Valencia, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca. The Cortes of Aragon and the Corts of Valencia had also been abolished in 1709; the Corts of Catalonia followed in 1724.”<ref>(Maltby 2009: 173) Maltby, William S. 2009. The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/SUSVXWVH</ref>\r\n\r\n_In Overseas Territories_\r\n: 1. King\r\n:: 2. Viceroys\r\n::: 3. Captain-Generals\r\n:::: 4. Intendants (governors)\r\n::::: 5. Sub-delegates\r\n:::::: 6. Administrators\r\n\r\n“Defense inspired some of the reforms recommended by Gálvez, but most sought to increase the crown’s revenue and its administrative control over the colonies. Cuba became a captaincy-general in 1764, immediately after its restoration by the British. What is now Colombia had long been governed by the viceroy of far-distant Peru; Venezuela by the equally inaccessible Viceroy of Santo Domingo. Philip V created the viceregal Kingdom of New Granada with its capital at Bogotá in 1719, dissolved it in 1723, and restored it in 1739, primarily in response to Vernon’s attack on Cartagena but also because the viceroyalty of Santo Domingo had been unwilling or unable to control the coast of Venezuela. Caracas and Cumaná had experienced rapid growth in the first half of the century. Their commerce, however, was still dominated by Dutch traders operating out of Aruba and Curaçao. The new vicreroyalty was not at first a success. Its capital, remote, conservative Santa Fe de Bogotá, was far away in time and spirit from bustling Venezuela. In 1777, on the recommendation of Gálvez, Caracas became a captaincy-general within the viceregal jurisdiction of New Granada. When the new arrangement failed to create effective government or even to pay for itself, the crown dispatched a visita to install the intendant system and reform finance.”<ref>(Maltby 2009: 84-85) Maltby, William S. 2009. The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/SUSVXWVH</ref> “The government’s response to the revolt combined utter ruthlessness with a willingness to address rebel grievances. By 1784 it had abolished the repartimiento and introduced the intendant system to Peru. Sub-delegates, who reported to the intendants, replaced the corrupt and often uncontrollable corregidores and alcaldes mayores. Cuzco, which had been the center of the revolt, received an audiencia of its own in response to Indian demands. Unfortunately, the sub-delegates could no more survive on their meager salaries than had their predecessors, and a variant of the repartimiento de bienes soon revived. In general, the intendant system, which was introduced to New Spain in 1786 as well, achieved its greatest success in urbanized areas where enhanced supervision produced improvements in infrastructure, public services, and—perhaps—official probity.”<ref>(Maltby 2009: 86-87) Maltby, William S. 2009. The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/SUSVXWVH</ref>" }, { "id": 352, "polity": { "id": 607, "name": "si_early_modern_interior", "long_name": "Early Modern Sierra Leone", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1896 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 2, "administrative_level_to": 2, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"On a classificatory continuum the Limba and Kuranko polities were structurally more akin to political organizations sometimes classed as “simple chiefdoms,” with a slightly greater degree of centralization emerging among the Yalunka in the nineteenth century (Fried 1967; also see de Barros this volume; Johnson and Earle 2000; Service 1975:74–80, 104–64). Simple chiefdoms (following Fried 1967) are characterized by a principal settlement surrounded by smaller villages, with a total population in the thousands. Hence they may be seen as a bridge in a sociopolitical hierarchy ranging from big men polities to states (see Johnson and Earle 2000). Yet, as Southall (1991:80) and others have cautioned, the terms “chiefdoms” and “chiefs” are ambiguous, and the latter can be equally if not better described as “big men, local ritual leaders, notables, or primi inter pares.” In addition, specifically with regard to the Limba, Yalunka, and Kuranko, other sociopolitical structures, such as kinship groups (both maternal and paternal), affines, age grades, and secret societies (evidence for which is all poorly perceived archaeologically), provide crosscutting forms of more heterarchical social organization.\" §REF§(DeCorse 2012: 285) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7FGSKCDI/collection.§REF§1. Chiefs :2. Village heads (inferred)" }, { "id": 353, "polity": { "id": 608, "name": "gm_kaabu_emp", "long_name": "Kaabu", "start_year": 1500, "end_year": 1867 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": null, "administrative_level_to": null, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"We emphasise from the beginning that our historical knowledge of kings and the length of their reigns, and of the political structure and organisation of Kaabu remains very limited.\"§REF§(Giesing and Vydrine 2007: 4, quoted in Green 2009: 92) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/V2GTBN8A/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 354, "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": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Thus, after the victory of the marabout party following the holy war against the various ruling Jallonke aristocracies, the Muslim leaders created the Confederation of Futa Jallon under the leadership of Ibrahima Sambegu. Sambegu, known as Karamokho Alfa, was the head of the Sediyanke lineage of the Barry family of Timbo, and carried the title Almamy. The Confederation was divided into nine Dime, sing. Diwal (provinces) whose chiefs bore the title of Alfa and were appointed from among the leaders of the djihad. The territorial division thus corresponded, initially, to the territory liberated by each of the leaders of the Muslim revolution. Thus Karamokho Alfa, the Almamy and head of the Confederation of Futa Jallon, was above all the Alfa of the Diwal of Timbo, the capital. From the beginning, the power of the Almamy, with his seat at Timbo, was limited by the wide autonomy granted to the chiefs of the provinces of Labe, Buriya, Timbi, Kebaali, Kollade, Koyin, Fugumba and Fode Haaji and also by the existence of a Council of Ancients acting as a parliament at Fugumba, the religious capital.\" §REF§(Barry 1999: 291) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/24W2293H/item-list§REF§ 1. Almamy :2. Council of Ancients ::3. chiefs of the provinces :::4. intermediate administrators (inferred) ::::5. village headmen (inferred)" }, { "id": 355, "polity": { "id": 611, "name": "si_mane_emp", "long_name": "Mane", "start_year": 1550, "end_year": 1650 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 3, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1. Cape Mount overlords :\"The Mani kings and their followers representing the vanguard of greater forces remaining behind in what is now Liberia, paid tribute to an overlord at Cape Mount.\" §REF§(Kup 1975: 35) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/36IUGEZV/collection.§REF§ :2. Mane kings :: \"The Mane generals and captains, on the basis of apportioned Sierra Leone among themselves, and 'kings'. There were four principal kingdoms: the Bulloms, which extended from Tagrin Point northwards, the Idolos islands; secondly, the kingdom of Logos about Port Loko; thirdly, the kingdom of Sierra stretched south from the Sierra Leone channel until fourth kingdom, that of Sherbro.\" §REF§(Rodney 1967: 227) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/G8G96NVQ/collection.§REF§ ::3. Chiefs ::: \"Within each of these kingdoms there were subdivisions, whose rulers sometimes wielded great power, as in the case of Tora, who commanded only the islands of the Sierra Leone channel but who by 1605 was the eldest survivor of the Manes. This gave him the status and authority of a king, though he was subject to Fatima, king of the northern Bulloms.\" §REF§(Rodney 1967: 227) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/G8G96NVQ/collection.§REF§ :::4. Lesser chiefs (inferred from great power of some chiefs)" }, { "id": 356, "polity": { "id": 612, "name": "ni_nok_1", "long_name": "Middle and Late Nok", "start_year": -1500, "end_year": -901 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 0, "administrative_level_to": 0, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Inferred from the following: \"As demonstrated by the uniformity of their material culture and their presumed belief system, most prominently reflected by the terracotta sculptures, external contacts within their culture must have existed. However, such a larger social network apparently was not organised and maintained in a way as to infer social inequality, social hierarchies or other signs of internal demarcation traceable by available archaeological data. None of the numerous excavations brought to light architectural remains of specified buildings or the spatial organisation of housing areas that might have been occupied by high-ranking members of the community. Further, among the admittedly few features interpreted as graves there is no evidence of any heterogeneity pointing to a difference between burials of elite members or commoners. Nowhere, an accumulation of valuable objects neither of iron nor any other materials signifying inequality in terms of property or prosperity was found.\" §REF§(Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 252) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.§REF§" }, { "id": 357, "polity": { "id": 613, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_yellow_5", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Yellow I", "start_year": 100, "end_year": 500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 0, "administrative_level_to": 0, "comment": null, "description": "levels. The following reconstruction of small communities consisting of extended families based in autonomous homesteads suggests minimal social diffrentiation. ”For the first 400 years of the settlement's history, Kirikongo was a single economically generalized social group (Figure 6). The occupants were self-sufficient farmers who cultivated grains and herded livestock, smelted and forged iron, opportunistically hunted, lived in puddled earthen structures with pounded clay floors, and fished in the seasonal drainages. [...] Since Kirikongo did not grow (at least not significantly) for over 400 years, it is likely that extra-community fissioning continually occurred to contribute to regional population growth, and it is also likely that Kirikongo itself was the result of budding from a previous homestead. However, with the small scale of settlement, the inhabitants of individual homesteads must have interacted with a wider community for social and demographic reasons. [...] It may be that generalized single-kin homesteads like Kirikongo were the societal model for a post-LSA expansion of farming peoples along the Nakambe (White Volta) and Mouhoun (Black Volta) River basins. A homestead settlement pattern would fit well with the transitional nature of early sedentary life, where societies are shifting from generalized reciprocity to more restricted and formalized group membership, and single-kin communities like Kirikongo's house (Mound 4) would be roughly the size of a band.”§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 27, 32)§REF§" }, { "id": 358, "polity": { "id": 615, "name": "ni_nok_2", "long_name": "Middle and Late Nok", "start_year": -900, "end_year": 0 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 0, "administrative_level_to": 0, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Inferred from the following: \"As demonstrated by the uniformity of their material culture and their presumed belief system, most prominently reflected by the terracotta sculptures, external contacts within their culture must have existed. However, such a larger social network apparently was not organised and maintained in a way as to infer social inequality, social hierarchies or other signs of internal demarcation traceable by available archaeological data. None of the numerous excavations brought to light architectural remains of specified buildings or the spatial organisation of housing areas that might have been occupied by high-ranking members of the community. Further, among the admittedly few features interpreted as graves there is no evidence of any heterogeneity pointing to a difference between burials of elite members or commoners. Nowhere, an accumulation of valuable objects neither of iron nor any other materials signifying inequality in terms of property or prosperity was found.\" §REF§(Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 252) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.§REF§" }, { "id": 359, "polity": { "id": 617, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_2", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red II and III", "start_year": 1100, "end_year": 1400 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 0, "administrative_level_to": 0, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Shortly after the start of Red II a drastic and rapid egalitarian revolution took place, a turning point in Kirikongo's developmental trajectory. Social inequalities were rejected in a process of nonvertical social differentiation of houses coupled with increasing interhouse communalism.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 30)§REF§" }, { "id": 360, "polity": { "id": 618, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_4", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red IV", "start_year": 1401, "end_year": 1500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 0, "administrative_level_to": 0, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Shortly after the start of Red II a drastic and rapid egalitarian revolution took place, a turning point in Kirikongo's developmental trajectory. Social inequalities were rejected in a process of nonvertical social differentiation of houses coupled with increasing interhouse communalism.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 30)§REF§" }, { "id": 361, "polity": { "id": 619, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_red_1", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Red I", "start_year": 701, "end_year": 1100 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 1, "administrative_level_to": 2, "comment": null, "description": "levels. The following suggests at least one level of rule. \"At Kirikongo, increasing centralization is associated with a gradual co-option of iron metallurgy. Iron metallurgy as an avenue to inequality would provide an alternative spiritual power, derived from profound excavation and transformation in the realm of divinities (the earth). It is this power that today makes smiths held in high esteem and occasionally feared. The spiritual power of the Bwa smith is separate from the political process, but at Kirikongo the emergence of smith-elites at Mound 4 marks the possible combination of multiple spiritually derived sources of power, from those based upon their role as village founder (over nature and ancestry), to a new cult (iron) that may have been manipulated owing to its mysterious nature. In short, between Yellow II and Red I, the inhabitants of Mound 4 likely employed their ancestral priority to assume control of the village territory, then co-opted another source of authority using the spiritual power of iron.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 30)§REF§" }, { "id": 362, "polity": { "id": 622, "name": "bf_west_burkina_faso_yellow_6", "long_name": "West Burkina Faso Yellow II", "start_year": 501, "end_year": 700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 1, "administrative_level_to": 1, "comment": null, "description": "levels. The following suggests some hierarchy of rule. \"With the founding of the third household (Mound 11) at the start of Yellow II (Figure 8), the village was now arranged in a north/south line, with adjacent farming land to each house. However, during Yellow II, it appears that Mound 4's inhabitants extended corporate control over the territory as head of a village community, a sociopolitical model based in common descent. [...] While houses were still highly independent, even producing their own pottery, a formalized village structure was likely present with both cadet and senior social segments, founded upon common descent with a common ancestor.\"§REF§(Dueppen 2012: 28)§REF§" }, { "id": 363, "polity": { "id": 624, "name": "zi_great_zimbabwe", "long_name": "Great Zimbabwe", "start_year": 1270, "end_year": 1550 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels. (1) Mambo/Ishe/Changamire, ‘paramount chief’; (2) Mambo/Ishe/Sadunhu, ‘lesser chiefs’; (3) Sadunhu, ‘leader of a group of villages’; (4) Samusha, ‘village head’; (5) Saimba, ‘head of a homestead.’ These are hierarchical levels derived from a brief discussion of later Shona-speaking cultural formulations applied to Great Zimbabwe by Chirikure, based on the belief that Great Zimbabwe was a larger Shona-speaking state organized along the lines of the typical Shona pattern. Given the general lack of information on the settlements making up Great Zimbabwe’s supposed territory, this seems to be a reasonable approach to adopt. Note that the terms used here differ among Shona-speaking groups. “In general, imba (plural: dzimba) under the leadership of the saimba, was the smallest and lowest level social unit. A collection of dzimba formed misha (singular: musha) under samusha (village head). A group of misha formed dunhu (plural: matunhu) under sadunhu…. A group of matunhu formed a state (nyika) under a chief (ishe/mambo/changamire). However, this social organisation varied from area to area. In bigger social formations… it was possible to have a paramount chief (mambo/ishe), followed by senior chiefs…. Each level performed administrative, economic, religious, and political roles consistent with rank.” §REF§ (Chirikure 2021, 267) Shadreck Chirikure, Great Zimbabwe: Reclaiming a ‘Confiscated’ Past (Routledge, 2021). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/MWWKAGSJ/collection §REF§." }, { "id": 364, "polity": { "id": 625, "name": "zi_torwa_rozvi", "long_name": "Torwa-Rozvi", "start_year": 1494, "end_year": 1850 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "(1) Mambo or Kings. (2) Provincial rulers. (3) Headmen. (4) Vanyai. Nyai system clearly present, as in Mutapa. This is somewhat of an attempt to codify the complex nyai system into a clear political hierarchy – it’s a bit more complicated than this suggests, as discussed in the sources below. In reality the vanyai seem to have been similar to the feudal clients of headmen, who might become essentially ‘fief holders’ (to use European terms), later rising to become their own headmen with clients of their own. “Under the arrangements… wealthy men were able to offer their sisters and daughters as wives to young men in exchange for labour. The young men, in turn, established a dependent relationship with their hosts, expanding their activities to become henchmen, guards, errand runners [& etc.]…. When this arrangement was replicated more widely, it formed a hierarchy growing in scale from village to district to provincial level. Lancaster’s account of the origins of Nyai identity resembles a similar notion where the services of ‘young men known locally as vanyai or kotakota’ became critical…. As they grew older, the vanyai could have been entrusted with lands on the periphery of their patron’s territory so that they in turn became headmen and slowly established themselves as leaders of their own vanyai…. The Mutapa dynasty appears to have arisen out of the nyai process…. As the Mutapa’s influence spread, so did the structures of society that became modelled along the lines of feudal clientelism…//… Portuguese documents referring to Khami suggest a civil war that involved a Portuguese warlord who was able to assist a Togwa aspirant to the throne before himself retiring to the north-east in 1644. There are no other clear references to any Togwa rulers, but we do know of some dominant Togwa houses, such as those of Tumbare and Chihunduru/Chiwundura, becauseof the power they subsequently wielded in the Rozvi state as part of the non-moyo Rozvi ruling elite…//… it seems that the Rozvi ruling class maintained their vanyai under appointed regional ‘governors or representatives’ and kept them in check through periodic ‘visits’, particularly to those vassal chiefs who failed to pay their tribute...//… Thirdly, it must be appreciated that the greatest Rozvi accomplishment was certainly its enlargement of the scale of cliental structures. However, as more vanyai qualified to be Rozvi, their ambition grew to control their own vanyai. In this way, the same structures that defined Rozvi power became the very fissures through which the state cracked.” §REF§ (Mazarire 2009, 13-21) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details §REF§ “… the Rozvi mambo (king)… did not have a monopoly over foreign trade because his vassals paid tribute…. One of the primary ways in which senior Rozvi rulers (mambos) maintained control over the provinces was through the provincial ruler, who in most cases also belonged to the same lineage as the mambos. The subjects of the Rozvi state paid taxes in the form of annual tribute known as mupeta wamambo (Mudenge 1974, p. 382). Importantly, historical sources confirm that tribute, if not forthcoming, was exacted through armed force, suggesting that the military played an important role in the power of the mambos.” §REF§ (Chirikure & Moffett 2018, 18) Abigail Moffett & Shadreck Chirikure, “Exotica in Context: Reconfiguring Prestige, Power and Wealth in the Southern African Iron Age,” in Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 29 No. 3 (2016). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z29GV5VQ/item-list §REF§." }, { "id": 365, "polity": { "id": 626, "name": "zi_mutapa", "long_name": "Mutapa", "start_year": 1450, "end_year": 1880 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "levels. (1) Munhumutapa, or ‘kings.’ (2) House Leaders. (3) Headmen. (4) Vanyai. This is somewhat of an attempt to codify the much more complex nyai system and the indications of the other sources into a clear political hierarchy – it’s a bit more complicated than this suggests, as discussed in the sources below. In reality the vanyai seem to have been similar to the feudal clients of headmen, who might become essentially ‘fief holders’ (to use European terms), later rising to become their own headmen with clients of their own. In addition, a line of descendants from the original king of the kingdom occupied major positions in the polity, and were the pool from which future kings were legally supposed to succeed to the rule of the kingdom. “Kings with the title of Munhumutapa ruled the state with the assistance of numerous officers and vassals. The Munhumutapa was a powerful political, economic and religious leader whose ancestors were important for the well-being of the state….” §REF§ (Chirikure et al. 2017, 170-171) Shadreck Chirikure et al., “The Mutapa and the Portuguese: Archaeometallurgy and Regional Interaction in Southern Africa,” in Archives, Objects, Places and Landscapes: Multidisciplinary approaches to Decolonised Zimbabwe pasts, eds. Munyaradzi Manyanga, Shadreck Chirikure (Bamenda: Langaa Research & Publishing, 2017): 169-189. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X54CISW6/item-details §REF§ “Under the arrangements… wealthy men were able to offer their sisters and daughters as wives to young men in exchange for labour. The young men, in turn, established a dependent relationship with their hosts, expanding their activities to become henchmen, guards, errand runners [& etc.]…. When this arrangement was replicated more widely, it formed a hierarchy growing in scale from village to district to provincial level. Lancaster’s account of the origins of Nyai identity resembles a similar notion where the services of ‘young men known locally as vanyai or kotakota’ became critical…. As they grew older, the vanyai could have been entrusted with lands on the periphery of their patron’s territory so that they in turn became headmen and slowly established themselves as leaders of their own vanyai…. The Mutapa dynasty appears to have arisen out of the nyai process…. As the Mutapa’s influence spread, so did the structures of society that became modelled along the lines of feudal clientelism.” §REF§ (Mazarire 2009, 13-15) Gerald C. Mazarire, “Reflections on Pre-Colonial Zimbabwe, c. 850-1880s,” in Becoming Zimbabwe: A History from the Pre-colonial Period to 2008, eds. Brian Raftopoulos & A.S. Mlambo (Harare, Weaver: 2009). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B9TK7GP8/item-details §REF§ “In historical/archaeological Shona states such as Mutapa (Lan 1987; Pikirayi 1993) and Torwa (Beach 1994), political succession followed the system of ‘houses’, which were basically lineages that descended from the founders of specific political entities. Available historical information makes it explicit that, from the early sixteenth century onwards, Mutapa kings were selected from the descendants ofNyatsimba Mutota, the founder of the state (Lan 1987; Mudenge 1988). Nyatsimba Mutota had many sons, each of whom was given a district to rule in the state. The lineages of these sons, over time, became houses of power (dzimba dzoushe in Shona: see Chirikure et al. 2012), from which future kings, provincial and district leaders were and are still being drawn. Upon the death of the founder, political succession rotated around these ‘houses’, starting from that of the first son to that of the youngest.” §REF§ (Chirikure et al. 2017, 48) Shadreck Chirikure et al. “No Big Brother Here: Heterarchy, Shona Political Succession and the Relationship between Great Zimbabwe and Khami, Southern Africa,” in Cambridge Archaeological Journal Vol. 28 No. 1 (2017): 45-66. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/D3A53J92/item-details §REF§" }, { "id": 366, "polity": { "id": 627, "name": "in_pandya_emp_3", "long_name": "Pandya Empire", "start_year": 1216, "end_year": 1323 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.Kings :2. Central court (inferred from neighbouring polities) ::3. Higher-ranking provincial government agents (inferred from the next quote) :::4. Middle-ranking provincial government agents (inferred from the next quote) ::::5. Low-ranking government agents (inferred from the next quote) ::::: “In the heartland of the Pandyan world, however, in the irrigated villages of the Tambraparni valley and in the Tenkasy area, village elites of Brahmans and Vellalas controlled agriculture, and there were no such chiefs. In this old Pandyan core area, a hierarchy of speculative government agents combined “private” enterprise with “public” functions like collecting taxes and dispensing justice. Agents at local and sub-regional levels often came from the Brahman and Vellala landed elite itself. Above these were Brahman and high-castes non-Brahman agents, originally from the Deccan, who had migrated south during the expansion of the Vijayanagar Empire.” §REF§ Ludden 1979, 357) Ludden, David. 1979. ‘Patronage and Irrigation in Tamil Nadu: A Long-term View’. The Indian Economic & Social History Review. Vol 16: 3. Pp. 347-365. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/G7TWCIIW/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 367, "polity": { "id": 629, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_4", "long_name": "Anurādhapura IV", "start_year": 614, "end_year": 1017 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.Kings :2. Court Officials ::3. Provincial/regional governors :::4. Pramukhas ::::5. Village headmen ::::: “With the establishment of the second Lambakaṇṇa dynasty, succession to the throne came to depend more on custom and well-established practice, and kings followed each other in the succession from brother to brother and on to the next generation. In combination with a stable and accepted mode of succession to the throne, the sanctity that now surrounded the king—due to the spread of Mahāyānist ideas, in particular the belief that kingship was akin to divinity—made it much more difficult for pretenders to the throne and rivals in general to command a politically viable following even when weak kings ascended the throne. […] These auxiliaries became in time a vitally important, if not the most powerful, element in the armies of Sinhalese rulers some of whom, notably Aggabodhi III (628, 629-39) favor because they owed their position largely to their support. From serving the strictly limited purposes for which they had been hired—fighting on behalf of aspirants to the throne, or sustaining a ruler in power—they became in time king-makers, a volatile unpredictable group and a turbulent element who were in themselves, quite often, the greatest threat to the stability of the realm. […] With the passage of time, the number of administrative units within the island increased. By the first quarter of the sixth century, there were already three of these. Silākālā (518-31) handed over the administration of two of the provinces of the kingdom to his elder sons, retaining the rest for himself. To his eldest son Moggallāna he granted the division to the east of the capital; Dakkhinadesa, which was the southern part of the Anurādhapura kingdom, went to his second son, together with the control of the sea-coast. […] By the tenth century there was a regular hierarchy of officials with a wide range of titles. Evidently a complex administrative structure had emerged; its writ ran in many parts of the country and affected many aspects of the lives of the people (especially in the field of irrigation). But it is impossible to reach any firm conclusions about the precise function of the bulk of these officials, or to assess the nature of their impact on the outlying provinces. […] There is also the position of the parumakas (from the Sanskrit pramukha, chief or notable) or the kulīna gentry closely connected with the clan structure of Sinhalese society. They were clearly people of standing and importance, a social elite of distinctly higher status than the village headmen (gamika) and others. Kinship ties linked some of them to the ruling elite—high officials in the court and elsewhere—and in some instances to the royal family itself. Very likely they had special privileges in terms of land, and their claim to ‘proprietary’ rights over land and irrigation works for back to the earliest inscriptions.” §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 368, "polity": { "id": 631, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_3", "long_name": "Anurādhapura III", "start_year": 428, "end_year": 614 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.King :2. Court Officials ::3. Provincial/regional governors :::4. Pramukhas ::::5. Village headmen ::::: “Disputed successions rather than dynastic conflicts were thus the root cause of political instability in the Anurādhapura kingdom before the accession of the second Lambakaṇṇa dynasty. The most celebrated of these succession disputes was that between Moggallāna and Kassapa, an important feature of which is linked with one other contributory cause of political instability at this time. The reliance of Moggallāna (491–508) on an army of Indian (largely South Indian) mercenaries to dislodge Kassapa proved in the long run to more significant than his victory over the latter. [...] With the passage of time, the number of administrative units withing the island increased. By the first quarter of the sixth century, there were already three of these. Silākālā (518-31) handed over the administration of two of the provinces of the kingdom to his elder sons, retaining the rest for himself. To his eldest son Moggallāna he granted the division to the east of the capital; Dakkhinadesa, which was the southern part of the Anurādhapura kingdom, went to his second son, together with the control of the sea-coast. Within two decades of his death there were four units: Uttaradesa (the northern division), Paccimadesa (the western division), Pachinadesa (eastern division) and Dakkhinadesa (southern division). Of these Dakkhinadesa was the largest in size. From the time of Aggabodhi I its administration was entrusted to the mahapā or mahayā, the heir to the throne, and so came to be called the Māpā (Mahapā) or Māyā (Mahayā)-raṭa as opposed to the Rājarata (the king’s division). It soon became so important that along with Rājarata and Rohaṇa it was one of the three main administrative divisions of the island. […] There is also the position of the parumakas (from the Sanskrit pramukha, chief or notable) or the kulīna gentry closely connected with the clan structure of Sinhalese society. They were clearly people of standing and importance, a social elite of distinctly higher status than the village headmen (gamika) and others. Kinship ties linked some of them to the ruling elite—high officials in the court and elsewhere—and in some instances to the royal family itself. Very likely they had special privileges in terms of land, and their claim to ‘proprietary’ rights over land and irrigation works for back to the earliest inscriptions.” §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 19-20, 21, 23) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 369, "polity": { "id": 632, "name": "nl_dutch_emp_1", "long_name": "Dutch Empire", "start_year": 1648, "end_year": 1795 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 7, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1. States-General :2. Advisory body to the States-General ::\"The stadtholder, who originally deputised for the king, now became merely an elected provincial official. Except for the States-General, in which the representatives of the Provincial States met with one another at periodic intervals, and their advisory body, the State Council (Raad van State), the Republic of the United Netherlands had no central state institutions.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 10) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ ::3. Burgomasters :::\"The actual government of the Dutch cities was performed by two, three, or four burgomasters with seven or more aldermen, elected by the \"vroedschap,\" a council whose members were chosen for life by cooptation.\" §REF§(t'Hart 1989: 665) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/B9DVQGBS/collection.§REF§ :::4. Lesser administrative functionaries, e.g. tax collectors (inferred) __in the colonies__ :2. Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) and West Indies Company (WIC) boards (e.g. Lords XVII) ::\"Initially, the VOC had no fewer than seventy-two directors, later reduced to sixty. The Amsterdam chamber had twenty directors, Zeeland had twelve and the other chambers each had seven. From among their number, twice or three times a year each chamber selected a number of representatives for the main board of the Company, the Heren XVII or the Lords XVII. This board met once a year, four consecutive years in Amsterdam and then two consecutive years in Zeeland. Amsterdam sent eight directors to these meetings, Zeeland sent four and the other chambers each sent one. Zeeland and the small chambers were each permitted in turn to send one extra representative. This arrangement shows that the VOC’s status as a centralised company was limited and that it was in principle an association of six local companies.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 18-19) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ ::3. Governor-Generals \"The administration of the VOC in Asia was in the hands of the Governor-General in Batavia, who, together with a number of other high-ranking VOC officials, made up the Raad van Indië, also known as the Hoge Regering or High Government. Each of the members of this council had his own portfolio: bookkeeping, the law, military matters and shipping. [...] [I]n practice, the High Government in Batavia operated autonomously and their actions were not always approved afterwards by the directors back home. [...] What was relevant for the VOC region was also applicable to the administration of the WIC settlements in Africa and the New World. Increasingly, the administration was made up of a director or governor, assisted by a number of senior Company officials. Important matters first had to be submitted to the Company directors, but in practice the director or governor had a lot of freedom to manoeuvre because applying for permission or approval from the Netherlands took several months and in many instances there was no time for this.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 38, 42) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ :::4. Court of Justice ::::\"Apart from being home to the Governor-General and Council, Batavia was also the residence of the Court of Justice (Raad van Justitie). Although the president of the Court was also a member of the Council, all other members were appointed by the Lords XVII. The Court of Justice dealt with all civil and criminal cases involving the Company and its servants, including their families and slaves, as well as cases between Company people and free citizens or Asians. [...] The authority of the Court of Justice in Batavia covered the Company’s entire chartered territory. Cases that could not be resolved in the various local Courts of Justice were transferred to the Court of Justice in Batavia.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 38-39) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ ::::5. Local boards of aldermen :::::\"Non-Company issues fell under the responsibility of the local Board of Aldermen (Schepenbank).\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 39) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ :::::6. Indigenous rulers ::::::\"Outside its capital, VOC workers were also needed to implement the Company’s plan to stimulate the production of coffee and sugar, which could not be supplied by the free market. The VOC did not cultivate the coffee plantations itself. It was unable to assemble enough free workers to grow coffee plants and was unwilling to buy slaves on a large scale for this purpose. Instead, the VOC managed to interest the Javanese ruling elites in and around Bandung in taking on the coffee bean cultivation.\" §REF§(Emmer and Gommans 2020: 39) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/AI9PPN7Q/collection.§REF§ ::::::7. Assistant roles (inferred)" }, { "id": 370, "polity": { "id": 633, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_1", "long_name": "Anurādhapura I", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 70 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1. King :2. Court officials ::3. Pramukhas :::4. Village headmen ::::“In the early centuries of the Anurādhapura kingdom the main officials were few: the sēnāpati (the chief of ‘army’), the bhandāgārika (treasurer), a few adhyaksas, mahāmātras and a purohita. By the tenth century there was a regular hierarchy of officials with a wide range of titles. Evidently a complex administrative structure had emerged; its writ ran in many parts of the country and affected many aspects of the lives of the people (especially in the field of irrigation). But it is impossible to reach any firm conclusions about the precise function of the bulk of these officials, or to assess the nature of their impact on the outlying provinces.” §REF§ [...] There is also the position of the parumakas (from the Sanskrit pramukha, chief or notable) or the kulīna gentry closely connected with the clan structure of Sinhalese society. They were clearly people of standing and importance, a social elite of distinctly higher status than the village headmen (gamika) and others. Kinship ties linked some of them to the ruling elite—high officials in the court and elsewhere—and in some instances to the royal family itself.” §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 22, 23) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§ §REF§" }, { "id": 371, "polity": { "id": 635, "name": "sl_anuradhapura_2", "long_name": "Anurādhapura II", "start_year": 70, "end_year": 428 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1. King :2. Court Officials ::3. Pramukas :::4. Village headmen :::: “In the early centuries of the Anuradhapura kingdom, the main officials were few: the sēnāpati (the chief of ‘army’), the bhandāgārika (treasurer), a few adhyaksas, mahāmātras and a purohita. By the tenth century, there was a regular hierarchy of officials with a wide range of titles. Evidently a complex administrative structure had emerged; its writ ran in many parts of the country and affected many aspects of the lives of the people (especially in the field of irrigation). But it is impossible to reach any firm conclusions about the precise function of the bulk of these officials, or to assess the nature of their impact on the outlying provinces. […] There is also the position of the parumakas (from the Sanskrit pramukha, chief or notable) or the kulīna gentry closely connected with the clan structure of Sinhalese society. They were clearly people of standing and importance, a social elite of distinctly higher status than the village headmen (gamika) and others. Kinship ties linked some of them to the ruling elite—high officials in the court and elsewhere—and in some instances to the royal family itself.” §REF§ (De Silva 1981, 22, 23) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 372, "polity": { "id": 636, "name": "et_jimma_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma", "start_year": 1790, "end_year": 1932 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 12, "administrative_level_to": 12, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.Monarch :2. Prime Minister (abba gurmu) ::“The prime minister (abba gurmu) was the king’s chief lieutenant. He handled much of the actual business of administration – under the aegis of the king.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 88) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ ::3. Minister of War :::“Before the turn of the century, Abba Roro’s son, Abba Digga, became Abba Jifar’s war minister and one of his closest confidants.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 83) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ :::4. Chief Treasurer ::::“The king’s chief treasurer, Abba Garo Guma, who also watched over the upbringing and behaviour of the boys of the royal family, was a slave originally from neighbouring Guma.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 85) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ ::::5. Palace Judge :::::“Difficult cases, serious matters, or appeals went to the judges at the palace, over the heads of governors.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 90) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ :::::6. Lesser officials (inferred from the following) ::::::“Below the king were hundreds of officials in a great many categories: governors, market judges, border guards, tax collectors, couriers, military officers, overseers of artisan labour, jailers, palace officials, and many others. Although the jurisdiction of each official was not always tightly defined, the principle was that different officers were required to carry out or oversee different activities.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 80) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ ::::::7. Governors (abba k’oros) :::::::“Jimma was divided, for administrative purposes, into sixty provinces of unequal size and importance. These provinces were called k’oros and each one was under the jurisdiction of a governor called abba k’oro.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 89) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ :::::::8. Lieutenant Governor ::::::::“Each governor was assisted by a lieutenant. Cynical informants suggest that it was the lieutenant who did the work while the governor attended court and otherwise furthered his interests and pleasures.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 89-90) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ ::::::::9. Lesser provincial officials (inferred from organisation of central court) :::::::::10. District Head (abba ganda) ::::::::::“ Every province was further divided into from five to ten districts known as ganda, each under an abba ganda, or district head, who was normally appointed by the governor.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 90) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ :::::::::::11. Lesser district officials (inferred from organization of central court) ::::::::::::12. Village leaders (inferred from similar polities)" }, { "id": 373, "polity": { "id": 637, "name": "so_adal_sultanate", "long_name": "Adal Sultanate", "start_year": 1375, "end_year": 1543 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Four known levels, but might be more. Needs confirmation by an expertKing “It appears that at that stage there were two contending political factions in Adal, with different views about relations with Christian Ethiopia. The Walasma king Muhammad (c. 1488-1518) led the moderate party, which apparently favoured a policy of coexistence. This was strongly opposed by the militant group led by his general, Mahfūz, who preferred to continue the old tradition of conflict, and who actually aimed at the effective restoration of Muslim control over the eastern frontier provinces of Ifat, Fetegar, Dawaro, and Bali.” §REF§ (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list §REF§ General/imām/amīr/garad “ Precisely at the time when the Ethiopian throne was occupied by a series of under-aged princes, Adal was in the most capable hands of a powerful general called Mahfūz, who had dominated the political scene in Adal since the 1480s and who is variously given the title of imām, amīr, and garad.” §REF§ (Tamrat 2008, 166) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list §REF§ Governors “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.” §REF§ (Tamrat 2008, 175) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list §REF§ Chiefs “Thus, the imam gradually consolidated his control of these realms, either by nominating his own Muslim governor over each district or confirming the old local hereditary chiefs to administer the area on his behalf.” §REF§ (Tamrat 2008, 175) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list §REF§" }, { "id": 374, "polity": { "id": 640, "name": "so_habr_yunis", "long_name": "Habr Yunis", "start_year": 1300, "end_year": 1886 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1.Sultan :“In the Habr Yunis country, however, he was joined by Madar Hirsi, the rival of Sultan Nur for the Sultanship of the Habr Yunis and his party…” §REF§ (Irons 2013, 3) Irons, Roy. 2013. Churchill and the Mad Mullah of Somaliland: Betrayal and Redemption 1899-1921. Barnsley: Pen and Sword Military. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/R4RVAR38/collection §REF§ :2. Vizier/close advisor (inferred from similar polities) ::3. Lesser court officials (inferred from similar polities) :::4. Provincial governor ::::“Zeila’s governor was now a Somali, Haji Shirmarke ‘Ali Salih (of the Habar Yunis clan), who had begun his remarkable career as the captain of a training dhow.” §REF§ (Lewis 2002, 33) Lewis, Ioan M. 2002. A Modern History of the Somali: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KHB7VSJK/collection §REF§ ::::5. Secretary to provincial governor :::::“His ‘secretary’ was a Swahili slave; and although he was himself illiterate, his eldest son Muhammad, married to an Arab woman, had been educated at Mukha and proved to be something of a scholar.” §REF§ (Lewis 2002, 33) Lewis, Ioan M. 2002. A Modern History of the Somali: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KHB7VSJK/collection §REF§ :::::6. Lesser provincial officials (inferred from similar polities) ::::::7. Aqils :::::::Aqils were tribal elders or chiefs. The British however mistook Aqils for ruling chiefs though they did not have ruling authority. “They believed that Aqils (chiefs) ran traditional Somali society, and that they ran it along ‘tribal’ lines.” §REF§ (Mohamed 2007, 229) Mohamed, Jama. 2007. ‘Kinship and Contract in Somali Politics’. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. Vol. 77:2. Pp 226-249. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/CG5PRA8P/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 375, "polity": { "id": 641, "name": "et_gomma_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Gomma", "start_year": 1780, "end_year": 1886 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 7, "administrative_level_to": 12, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Four levels mentioned by Herbert S. Lewis’ quote below. Highly likely there are more levels present. The following quote suggests that the Kingdom of Gumma was structured similarly to the other Oromo kingdoms, especially the Kingdom of Jimma. An expert would, however, need to confirm this. “Little has been said about the neighboring Galla states of Limmu, Gomma, Guma, and Gera. There is not enough evidence available about these monarchies to be able to compare them with Jimma structurally. It is possible to say, on the basis of Cecchi’s account primarily, that these kingdoms shared a number of features with Jimma. For example, the kings were not considered sacred personages but they did stand out above any other political figures in these states. In Cerulli’s collection of folktales and poetry all the warriors and heroes appear to be directly subservient to the kings. These kingdoms were organized into provinces (k’oros) with abba gandas below the abba’koros. The official called the abba mizan (‘father of the scales’) in Gera seems to have been the same as the nagadras in Jimma. All had similar border guards, customs gates, alarm drums, and war organization. In these respects they shared a common political culture with Jimma.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 124-125) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ 1.Monarch:2. Vizier/close adviser (inferred from similar polities) ::3. Lesser court officials (inferred from similar polities) :::4. Governors (abba k’oros) ::::5. Lesser provincial officials (inferred from necessity to administrate provinces) :::::6. District head (abba ganda) ::::::7. Lesser district officials (inferred from necessity to administrative districts :::::::8-12. NB 12 is the number of levels we assigned to Jimma based on the literature consulted for that polity." }, { "id": 376, "polity": { "id": 645, "name": "et_hadiya_sultanate", "long_name": "Hadiya Sultanate", "start_year": 1300, "end_year": 1680 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 6, "comment": null, "description": "1.Emperor – “During the reign of Emperor Zara Yakob, there were new political problems in Hadeya.” §REF§ (Shinn and Ofcansky 2013, 200) Shinn, David and Thomas Ofcansky. 2013. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/29MS79PA/collection §REF§ :2. Vizier/close advisor/queen ::“In sixteenth-century Hadeya in Ethiopia, for example, it was the queen who asked the Abyssinian emperor for assistance against an attempt to oust her husband.” §REF§ (Smith 2008, 123) Smith, Bonnie G. 2008. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I3F72UG2/collection §REF§ ::3. Lesser court officials (inferred from similar polities) :::4. Governor ::::“The governor and local chiefs refused to pay taxes to the emperor, who designated new officials and sent them to Hadeya with a large army.” §REF§ (Shinn and Ofcansky 2013, 200) Shinn, David and Thomas Ofcansky. 2013. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/29MS79PA/collection §REF§ ::::5. Lesser provincial officials (inferred from similar polities) :::::6. Local Chiefs ::::::“The governor and local chiefs refused to pay taxes to the emperor, who designated new officials and sent them to Hadeya with a large army.” §REF§ (Shinn and Ofcansky 2013, 200) Shinn, David and Thomas Ofcansky. 2013. Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/29MS79PA/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 377, "polity": { "id": 648, "name": "so_majeerteen_sultanate", "long_name": "Majeerteen Sultanate", "start_year": 1750, "end_year": 1926 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.Sultan :2. Vizier/close advisor (inferred from similar polities) ::3. Court Councillors :::“In a further affirmation of the Sultan’s sovereignty, Nur Uthman elevated six other brothers to the role of councillor in court.” §REF§ (Smith 2021, 49) Smith, Nicholas W.S. 2021. Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea: A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/K6HVJ7X4/collection §REF§ :::4. Lesser court officials (inferred) ::::5. Provincial governors :::::“The sultan reminded the assembled crowd of Majerteen nobels that his brother, Uthman Semantar, was governor of Bandar Maryah in the Sultan’s absence.” §REF§ (Smith 2021, 49) Smith, Nicholas W.S. 2021. Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea: A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/K6HVJ7X4/collection §REF§ :::::6. Local chiefs ::::::“Shortly after their arrival in Bandar Maryah the Sultan called a meeting of chiefs to discuss the event.” §REF§ (Smith 2021, 49) Smith, Nicholas W.S. 2021. Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea: A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/K6HVJ7X4/collection §REF§ ::::::7. Aban (NB: unclear where to place this position in the overall hierarchy, but it does seem to have constituted a separate tier) :::::::“On a day-to-day basis, all foreign traders, travellers, and shipwrecked sailors were obliged to engage an aban, or mediator, who took responsibility for a visitor’s security, acted as a broker, for business transactions, made introductions, and played the role of host and interpreter […] In fact, abans were diplomats, guides, translators, merchants, and intermediaries […] Specifically, abans came from the sultan’s lineage, the house of Uthman Mahmud. The majority of commercial visitors were thus incorporated directly into the Uthman Mahmud lineage, rather than to one of the more numerous regional lineage families.” §REF§ (Smith 2021, 70-71) Smith, Nicholas W.S. 2021. Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea: A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/K6HVJ7X4/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 378, "polity": { "id": 649, "name": "et_funj_sultanate", "long_name": "Funj Sultanate", "start_year": 1504, "end_year": 1820 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 7, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels.1.Sultan :“The public appearance of the Sultans was accompanied by pomp and ceremony, but Funj rulers spent most of their reigns secluded from public view.” §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 431) Lapidus, Ira M. 2002. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QW9XHCIW/collection §REF§ :2. Vizier ::“Although Abu Likaylik had only the titles of Shaykh and Vizier, he was effectively regent, and governed both the old Funj dominions and the new province of Kordofan.” §REF§ (Holt 2008, 46) Holt, P.M. 2008. ‘Egypt, the Funj and Darfur’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1600 – c.1790. Edited by Richard Grey. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WC9FQBRM/collection §REF§ ::3. Ministers :::“Abu Likaylik died in 1776-7, as did his colleague and friend, Shaykh ‘Adlan walad Subahi, whom Bruce found acting as minister in Sennar during Abu Likaylik’s absence in Kordofan.” §REF§ (Holt 2008, 46) Holt, P.M. 2008. ‘Egypt, the Funj and Darfur’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1600 – c.1790. Edited by Richard Grey. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WC9FQBRM/collection §REF§ :::4. Lesser court officials (inferred) ::::5. Viceroy :::::“In contrast, there is a strong tradition concerning the great ‘Abdallabi ruler, Shaykh ‘Ajib al-Kufuta, known also by his Funj title as al-manjilak, the son of ‘Abdallah Jamma. He was appointed viceroy of the north on his father’s death by ‘Amara II Abu Sikaykin who ruled from 1157-8 to 1568-9.” §REF§ (Holt 2008, 42) Holt, P.M. 2008. ‘Egypt, the Funj and Darfur’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1600 – c.1790. Edited by Richard Grey. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WC9FQBRM/collection §REF§ :::::6. Governor ::::::“On at least two occasions the free Funj warriors rose against the reigning king. A revolt against Badi III al-Ahmar (1692-1716) led by the Funj commander, the Amin Irdab, was supported by the ‘Abdallabi shaykh of the time and by the governor of Alays.” §REF§ (Holt 2008, 44) Holt, P.M. 2008. ‘Egypt, the Funj and Darfur’ In The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1600 – c.1790. Edited by Richard Grey. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WC9FQBRM/collection §REF§ ::::::7. Lesser provincial court officials (inferred) :::::::8. Provincial Lords ::::::::“Provincial nobles lived in castles supported by his slave retainers. A provincial lord placed each village in his jurisdiction under the supervision of an experienced slave in order to extract taxes. Provincial nobles, however, had to appear before the Sultan each year to perform obeisance, account for their behavior, and deliver tribute.” §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 431) Lapidus, Ira M. 2002. A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QW9XHCIW/collection §REF§ ::::::::9. Tax collector under supervision of lords and other lesser provincial officials" }, { "id": 379, "polity": { "id": 651, "name": "et_gumma_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Gumma", "start_year": 1800, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 7, "administrative_level_to": 12, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Four levels mentioned by Herbert S. Lewis’ quote below. Highly likely there are more levels present. The following quote suggests that the Kingdom of Gumma was structured similarly to the other Oromo kingdoms, especially the Kingdom of Jimma. An expert would, however, need to confirm this. “Little has been said about the neighboring Galla states of Limmu, Gomma, Guma, and Gera. There is not enough evidence available about these monarchies to be able to compare them with Jimma structurally. It is possible to say, on the basis of Cecchi’s account primarily, that these kingdoms shared a number of features with Jimma. For example, the kings were not considered sacred personages but they did stand out above any other political figures in these states. In Cerulli’s collection of folktales and poetry all the warriors and heroes appear to be directly subservient to the kings. These kingdoms were organized into provinces (k’oros) with abba gandas below the abba’koros. The official called the abba mizan (‘father of the scales’) in Gera seems to have been the same as the nagadras in Jimma. All had similar border guards, customs gates, alarm drums, and war organization. In these respects they shared a common political culture with Jimma.” §REF§ (Lewis 2001, 124-125) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection §REF§ 1.Monarch:2. Vizier/close adviser (inferred from similar polities) ::3. Lesser court officials (inferred from similar polities) :::4. Governors (abba k’oros) ::::5. Lesser provincial officials (inferred from necessity to administrate provinces) :::::6. District head (abba ganda) ::::::7. Lesser district officials (inferred from necessity to administrative districts :::::::8-12. NB 12 is the number of levels we assigned to Jimma based on the literature consulted for that polity." }, { "id": 380, "polity": { "id": 652, "name": "et_harar_emirate", "long_name": "Emirate of Harar", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1875 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 6, "administrative_level_to": 6, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1.Emirs :“Harar was ruled by a family of local emirs, who were also the leading merchants of the town. They claimed that the surrounding Galla and Somali were their subjects, but beyond the respect accorded to them for spiritual and historical reasons, they had little authority beyond the city walls and could at times barely protect the fields of the townspeople in the immediate neighbourhood.” §REF§ (Rubenson 2008, 87) Rubenson, Sven. 2008. The Cambridge History of Africa c. 1790 – c. 1870. Edited by John E. Flint. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 51-98. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Rubenson/titleCreatorYear/items/VRU64Q8P/item-list §REF§ :2. Malaq ::“The city is divided for administrative and taxation purposes into five ‘gates’ or quarters, each of which during the time of the amirs was under an official termed malaq”. §REF§ (Waldron 1984, 34) Waldron, Sidney R. 1984. ‘The Political Economy of Harari-Oromo Relationships, 1559-1874’. Northeast African Studies. Vol 6:1/2. Pp 23-39. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PUDCFD72/collection §REF§ ::3. Dogin :::“the governor of the outer districts.” §REF§ (Waldron 1984, 34) Waldron, Sidney R. 1984. ‘The Political Economy of Harari-Oromo Relationships, 1559-1874’. Northeast African Studies. Vol 6:1/2. Pp 23-39. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PUDCFD72/collection §REF§ :::4. Damin ::::5. Garad :::::“An extension of this system was used for the taxation and supervision of farming regions under the amir’s control. ‘A garad is the chief of a village or sub-village; the damin is the chief of whole tribe. Several garadach, sometimes five or six, come under one damin’.” §REF§ (Waldron 1984, 34) Waldron, Sidney R. 1984. ‘The Political Economy of Harari-Oromo Relationships, 1559-1874’. Northeast African Studies. Vol 6:1/2. Pp 23-39. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PUDCFD72/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 381, "polity": { "id": 657, "name": "ni_formative_yoruba", "long_name": "Late Formative Yoruba", "start_year": 650, "end_year": 1049 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 2, "administrative_level_to": 2, "comment": null, "description": "levels. (1) Alpha house leader; (2) lesser house leaders. \"As population and settlements increased in the circumscribed rim of the Ifè Bowl, competition for land and resources among the Houses intensified during the last centuries of the Early Formative period, perhaps as early as AD 600. The competitions spurred some of these Houses to build alliances with one another and against other Houses. The alliances resulted in the merging of two or more Houses under a wide range of arrangements. These processes resulted in the birth of the “mega-House” as a new organizational structure. This meant that some of the Houses that had acted as autonomous corporate units lost some of their autonomy in order to become members of a larger sociopolitical unit. Of course, mega-Houses were also formed through forceful incorporation of weak Houses into stronger ones. This development led to the increasing specialization and elaboration of political leadership and to a heightened territorial sensibility. In Ifè oral traditions, thirteen mega-Houses are remembered to have existed during this period of political engineering. These are Ìdó, Ìdèta, Ìloràn, Ìlóròmú, Ìjùgbè, Ìmojùbì, Ìráyè, Ìwìnrìn, Odin, Òkè Àwo, Òkè-Ojà, Omológun, and Parakin (fig. 2.4). Each of these mega-House polities, what Ade Obayemi called “mini-states,” was a federation of contiguous Houses separated by stretches of woods that ranged in distance from a few hundred meters to about a kilometer, but a recognizable ruler from an alpha House governed each of these mega-Houses as a corporate unit. The Ìjùgbè mega-House, for example, comprised Ìjùgbè—the alpha House—and four minor Houses: Eranyiba, Igbogbe, Ipa, and Ita-Asin, each with its own leader, who was also its chief priest. All the leaders of the four corporate houses reported to Obaléjùgbè, “the Lord or Leader of Ìjùgbè.”\"§REF§(Ogundiran 2020: 53)§REF§" }, { "id": 382, "polity": { "id": 659, "name": "ni_allada_k", "long_name": "Allada", "start_year": 1100, "end_year": 1724 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "1) King; 2) Nobles); 3) Province Governors; 4). Chiefs. “The king of Allada in 1660, for example, claimed that he could not give up the pagan cults \"without the consent and approval of all the captains and fidalgoes [nobles] of his kingdom\"; and though the Capuchins regarded this as an excuse or evasion (and it may well be that the king had in any case no intention or desire to abandon these cults), this statement accurately expressed the reality that the king's authority was not absolute but circumscribed in practice by the countervailing power of the chiefs (Brasio 1952-85, XII; 383).” §REF§Law, Robin. “Religion, Trade and Politics on the ‘Slave Coast’: Roman Catholic Missions in Allada and Whydah in the Seventeenth Century.” Journal of Religion in Africa, vol. 21, no. 1, 1991, pp. 42–77: 70. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C4ZBEWMH/collection§REF§ “In the years immediately preceding the Dahomean invasion, the kings of Allada and Whydah were, in political terms at least, little more than first among equals. The two monarchs actually governed only the territories lying in the immediate vicinity of their capitals, the towns of Allada and Savi. Both states' royal provinces were surrounded by principalities ruled by hereditary commoner dignitaries. In Whydah alone there were twenty-five such polities. The 'governors' of these areas paid tribute to their monarchs regularly and on ceremonial occasions treated their monarchs with immense respect. Nevertheless, they were often as powerful, if not more powerful, than their sovereigns.” §REF§Ross, David. “Robert Norris, Agaja, and the Dahomean Conquest of Allada and Whydah.” History in Africa, vol. 16, 1989, pp. 311–24: 312. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I3D8PCFM/collection§REF§ “In the early eighteenth century southern Ajaland's various leaders jockeyed for position, formed alliances and counter alliances, and even went to war with each other. The kings of Allada and Whydah were usually at odds both with each other and with a number of their over-mighty subjects. The commoner governors were in turn often hostile not only to their monarchs but to a number of their fellows as well. This quarrelling and infighting did not stop at the interprovincial level. Most of the provinces seem to have been rent by internal factional disputes. Few, if any, of the region's kings or governors appear to have exercised undisputed authority, even in their own principalities, and most of them seem to have had to contend with well-established 'family' rivals who sought to supplant them. These rivals not only did not support the kings and the governors in their quarrels with their out-of-province enemies but allied with those enemies.” §REF§Ross, David. “Robert Norris, Agaja, and the Dahomean Conquest of Allada and Whydah.” History in Africa, vol. 16, 1989, pp. 311–24: 312. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/I3D8PCFM/collection§REF§ “These accounts show that the king of Allada not only received payments from each European ship for permission to begin trading (to the value of fifty slaves, according to d'Elbee), but also asserted rights of pre-emption, all imported goods being taken to him first to allow him to choose whatever he wanted. Later sources indicate that the king also received an export duty on each slave sold, and that royal permission was required for the sale of slaves by any of his subjects. One of the chiefs of Allada, who apparently served as an intermediary between the European traders and the king, had the title 'Chief of the White Men', or Yevogan.” §REF§Law, Robin. “Royal Monopoly and Private Enterprise in the Atlantic Trade: The Case of Dahomey.” The Journal of African History, vol. 18, no. 4, 1977, pp. 555–77: 557. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/B7B2RSQ5/collection§REF§ “\"Fidalgo\" (Portuguese for \"noble\") was commonly used in Allada and Whydah to designate local governors subordinate to the king.” §REF§ Law, R. (1988). A Neglected Account of the Dahomian Conquest of Whydah (1727): The ‘Relation de la Guerre de Juda’ of the Sieur Ringard of Nantes. History in Africa, 15, 321–338: 332. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U957EGQV/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 383, "polity": { "id": 660, "name": "ni_igodomingodo", "long_name": "Igodomingodo", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1450 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 2, "administrative_level_to": 2, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) Ogiso, 2) Edionnisen (five elders). “At the level of central government, the institution of edionnisen (five elders) was created by the first Ogiso. Until the creation of this political institution, the edion nene (four elders) was the main institution of governance which supported the Odionwere in the pre-Ogiso era and which still existed in Benin villages. This means that the first Ogiso added one to the original number in an effort to build a support base for the new monarchy. The five elders were Oliha, Edohen, Ero, Ezomo, and Eholo N’irre. During the reign of Ogiso Ere, the second king who succeeded Igodo, the positions of Oliha, Edohen, Ero, and Eholo N’irre became hereditary chieftaincy titles. The position of Ezomo was not made hereditary but reserved for the most powerful warrior in the kingdom, and had responsibility for security and military matters. Perhaps, the idea of a warrior chief became necessary because of the rivalry with Udo.” §REF§ Osadolor, O. B. (2001). The Military System of Benin Kingdom, c.1440–1897. University of Hamburg, Germany: 68. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/N4RZF5H5/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 384, "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": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 8, "administrative_level_to": 8, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) Alaafin (King/Emperor), 2) Basorun (head of Oyo Mesi) & Oluwo (head of Ogboni), 3) Ilari, 4) Ajele, 5) Oyo Mesi (broader Yoruba term = Igbimo) and Ogboni, 6) Oba (different oba will have slightly different titles, but all categorised as oba), 7) Balẹ/Baálẹ (non-royal town chief), 8) Baálé (male head of household). Many of these acted as counterbalances to each other, rather than being strictly hierarchical. Some definitions from Robin Law: “ajẹlẹ: representatives of the Alafin resident in the subordinate towns of the Ọyọ kingdom. Alafin: title of the ọba of Ọyọ. […] balẹ: ruler of a town of inferior status, without the right to wear a crown. (Distinguish bale, head of a lineage.) Baṣọrun: the principal non-royal chief of Ọyọ, the head of the Ọyọ Mesi. […] ilari: category of slaves of the Alafin, serving principally as his messengers. […] ọba: ruler of a town of superior status, with the right to wear a crown. […] Ọyọ Mesi: council of the seven principal non-royal chiefs of Ọyọ.” §REF§Law, R. (1977). The Oyo Empire c. 1600 – c. 1836: A West African Imperialism in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Oxford University Press: xiii. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB32ZPCF/collection§REF§ Alaafin, literally “owner of the palace” is the King/Emperor, at least at the Empire’s fall in 1836. He may not leave the palace. The Oyo Mesi council of the city’s eight most senior chiefs, headed by the basorun, were also the heads of various city quarters, some parts of the Empire (the ekun) and major cults. They advised the alaafin on matters of foreign and domestic policy and economics, controlled the capital’s army, decided which candidate would become the new alaafin, and had the power to compel the alaafin to commit suicide. NB Saheen says eight chiefs made up the Oyo Mesi, but other sources suggest seven instead. “All the alaafins who reigned between circa 1658 and 1754 were compelled to commit suicide by the Oyo Mesi.” §REF§Aderinto, Saheed. African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations. ABC-CLIO, 2017: 245. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/EB5TWDG7/note/U7W4UF33/collection§REF§ The basorun was effectively prime minister. “By the late 18th century […] the delicate balance of power in the government was upset by some over-ambitious chiefs. Notable was Bashorun Gaha, the Prime Minister, who had for long arrogated to himself much power and had reduced successive Alaafin to puppets.” §REF§ Akinwumi, O. D. (1992). The Oyo-Borgu Military Alliance of 1835: A Case Study in the Pre-Colonial Military History. Transafrican Journal of History, 21, 159–170: 160–161. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/J42GPW63/collection§REF§ This power structure was not static throughout the whole of the Late Oyo Empire. For example, Basorun Gaha: “Expansion continued under Basorun Gaha, who usurped effective power at Oyo in 1754–74, and who was responsible for the Oyo colonization of the Ewon area of northern Egbado. The period of Gaha’s rule apparently also saw Oyo forces operating far away to the west, close to the River Volta, where they are reported to have inflicted a defeat on the Asante in 1764. It was under Alafin Abiodun, who overthrew Gaha in 1774 and ruled until his death in 1789, that the Oyo empire attained its greatest extent.” §REF§Law, R. (1977). The Oyo Empire c. 1600 – c. 1836: A West African Imperialism in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Oxford University Press: 239. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB32ZPCF/collection§REF§ “Every individual Yoruba ‘belonged to an ebi (lineage) and the male members of a lineage, their wives (if they were married), and children lived together in one agbo-ile (compound)’ (Akintoye, 1971: 13). The ebi was the basic or lowest level of authority in the Yoruba political system.” §REF§Ejiogu, EC. ‘State Building in the Niger Basin in the Common Era and Beyond, 1000–Mid 1800s: The Case of Yorubaland’. Journal of Asian and African Studies vol.46, no.6 (1 December 2011): 597. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2H2CJNHP/collection§REF§ “The baálè’s authority extends to both judicial and legal autonomy in almost all issues that concerned the ebi and its members. Fadipe describes the baálè as ‘the chief law-giver and magistrate of the’ lineage (Fadipe, 1970: 106) who was called upon to intervene and resolve ill feelings between adult members that defied attempts by those involved to settle them. Except on issues that are in the exclusive list of the central polity, the authority of the baálè is the replica of the central government in both extent and practice. Such issues included ‘murder, witchcraft, incest violation, and the communication to women of the secrets of the secret society’ (Fadipe, 1970: 108). He exacted punishments through floggings for acts of theft, acts of sexual misconduct and ‘disrespect’ of elders by young people. In the case of persistent acts of theft and delinquency in young boys, he ordered severe flogging. There were situations when some baálè ‘even had dungeons of their own in which they imprisoned recalcitrant members of the compound’ (Fadipe, 1970: 109). The baálè collected assigned taxes from lineage members for onward transmission to the central bureaucracy of state. […] Without the baálè, the central authorities were unable to assign and assess levies for military duties and public works, much less issue summons to individual lineage members who were required to appear before the Igbimo. In situations when the people deemed part of a directive from the central authorities unpopular, the baálè’s authority extended to redirecting members of the ebi to disregard its enforcement.” §REF§Ejiogu, EC. ‘State Building in the Niger Basin in the Common Era and Beyond, 1000–Mid 1800s: The Case of Yorubaland’. Journal of Asian and African Studies vol.46, no.6 (1 December 2011): 601–602. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2H2CJNHP/collection§REF§ Palace slaves, notably the three main eunuchs, counterbalanced the Oyo Mesi’s power. “The Aláàfin relied on ‘an immense staff of slaves attached to the palace’ (Law, 1971: 29) to enforce his authority and safeguard his power by reducing his dependence on the Oyo Mesi as stipulated by the Constitution. Three of those slaves – all eunuchs – ‘in order of rank, the Ona Efa (“Eunuch of the Middle”), the Otun Efa (“Eunuch of the Right”), and the Osi Efa (“Eunuch of the Left”) who were responsible respectively for judicial, religious, and administrative matters’ (Law, 1971: 29) presided over that elaborate palace bureaucracy.” §REF§Ejiogu, EC. ‘State Building in the Niger Basin in the Common Era and Beyond, 1000–Mid 1800s: The Case of Yorubaland’. Journal of Asian and African Studies vol.46, no.6 (1 December 2011): 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2H2CJNHP/collection§REF§ The hundreds of ilari were appointed by the alaafin, and divided evenly between the sexes. As a representative of the gods, the alaafin was never seen in public; the ilari and subordinate ajele were his ‘messengers’. “The ilari was the other special aggregate of palace-slave functionaries through whom the various ajele – palace slaves – were appointed to represent the kingdom government in each of the provincial polities. Taxes and tributes from vassal polities flowed into the palace treasury through the ilari after they had been collected by the ajele.” §REF§Ejiogu, EC. ‘State Building in the Niger Basin in the Common Era and Beyond, 1000–Mid 1800s: The Case of Yorubaland’. Journal of Asian and African Studies vol.46, no.6 (1 December 2011): 606. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2H2CJNHP/collection§REF§ “The bureaucracy of state administration in subsidiary polities in each central Yoruba state was parallel to the one that obtained in the central state. For instance, under that bureaucracy, the conduct of military and civil affairs, respectively, was assigned to different state officials according to stipulations in the unwritten Yoruba Constitutions. Constitutional stipulations required powerful individuals who were appointed to the office of the Generalissimo in a central state to locate their headquarters and residence away from the capital”. §REF§Ejiogu, EC. ‘State Building in the Niger Basin in the Common Era and Beyond, 1000–Mid 1800s: The Case of Yorubaland’. Journal of Asian and African Studies vol.46, no.6 (1 December 2011): 598. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2H2CJNHP/collection.§REF§ “The oba had many chiefs who helped him in the general administration of the town. First among these was the ’Basorun', the leading member of the highest council of chiefs. Next was the Balogun. He was the officer in Charge of war. He was usually a man of valour who should see to the welfare of the royal household and the town in general. Next was the Parakoyi. He was originally an officer in the court of the Alaafin of Oyo in the days of the Old Oyo Empire. He was the officer in Charge of markets and traders, especially long distance traders. Others were the baales, the traditional compound heads, They were responsible to the chiefs. who in turn would report to the oba.” §REF§Adelowo, E. D. ‘Islam in Oyo and its Districts in the Nineteenth Century’. Thesis, University of Ibadan, 1978, 13–14. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/UHKKZNRA/collection.§REF§ “The palace organisation was recruited almost exclusively from slaves, together with the king's wives and near ineligible kin. This was countered by the Oyo Mesi, a council of seven descent group heads, representing not only their own groups, but indirectly, the mogaji and members of other groups in their respective quarters. The ogboni continued as an association of free men in which the king and Oyo Mesi had minor offices. (Morton Williams's diagrammatic representation of the political structure is one which other contributors could usefully have emulated.)” §REF§ Lloyd, P. C. (1968). The Political Development of West African Kingdoms. The Journal of African History, 9(2), 319–329: 325. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/H4EJUEKP/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 385, "polity": { "id": 663, "name": "ni_oyo_emp_1", "long_name": "Oyo", "start_year": 1300, "end_year": 1535 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": null, "administrative_level_to": null, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Contexts that could shed light on the dynamics of social structure and hierarchies in the metropolis, such as the royal burial site of Oyo monarchs and the residences of the elite population, have not been investigated. The mapping of the palace structures has not been followed by systematic excavations (Soper, 1992); and questions of the economy, military system, and ideology of the empire have not been addressed archaeologically, although their general patterns are known from historical studies (e.g, Johnson, 1921; Law, 1977).\"§REF§(Ogundiran 2005: 151-152)§REF§ Regarding this period, however, one of the historical studies mentioned in this quote also notes: \"Of the earliestperiod of Oyo history, before the sixteenth century, very little is known.\"§REF§(Law 1977: 33)§REF§ Law does not then go on to provide specific information directly relevant to this variable." }, { "id": 386, "polity": { "id": 665, "name": "ni_aro", "long_name": "Aro", "start_year": 1690, "end_year": 1902 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) Aro king/chief [Eze Aro], 2) council of representatives [Okpankpo], 2) other states’ kings/chiefs [eg Eze Ibom], 4) Ibini Ukpabi oracle, 5) high priests. This is not necessarily a direct hierarchy, as the oracle and high priests had both religious and administrative importance. “While pre-colonial Igboland had no large-scale political organisation extending beyond the level of the town, numerous connections existed be- tween communities: political or military alliances; secret societies like the ekpe or okonko and the 'clubs' of ozo titled men; religious institutions such as oracles. Furthermore, there were two major zones of in- fluence, one of them based on the religious authority role of the Eze and itinerant priests of Nri, and the second one centred on Arochukwu with its commercial network of migrant traders and diasporas and organised around the Ibinukpabi.” §REF§Harneit-Sievers, A. (2002). Federalism to the Bitter End: Politics and History in Southeastern Nigerian ‘Autonomous Communities’. Sociologus, 52(1), 47–76: 52–53. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/HQRP8DG8/collection§REF§ “Let us note that in the Igbo traditional setting, the oracle held executive, legislative, and judicial powers.” §REF§Innocent, Rev. (2020). A Critical Study on the Ibini Ukpabi (Arochukwu Long Juju) Oracle and its Implications on the International Relations During the 20th Century. London Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 20(10): 6. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZXZGZSM3/collection§REF§ “Ibini Ukpabi played a highly accepted governmental role until corruption came into it like any other human system. The organization of the oracle reflected the organization of Igbo and indeed that of Aro Kingdom. Eze Aro was represented in all of Igbo land including Idoma whose king Ochidoma actually come from the original name given by Eze Aro himself as Onyenachi Idoma; Onitsha whose first Obi was installed by Eze Aro; Ihiala where Eze Aro sent ogwugwu –a branch of Ibini Ukpabi, etc. These representatives were consulted on every matter by their people until the matter became heavy enough to reach Aro land. The Eze Aro himself referred cases to Eze Ibom isii when Ibini Ukpabi was needed to intervene. Eze Ibom isii called the Ibini Ukpabi chief priest who tried such cases too until they were found fit for the ‘supreme God’ to get involved. That was – a point of no return. This means that the Ibini Ukpabi chief priest only took over when the Eze Ibom isii could no longer handle any such cases.” §REF§Innocent, Rev. (2020). A Critical Study on the Ibini Ukpabi (Arochukwu Long Juju) Oracle and its Implications on the International Relations During the 20th Century. London Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 20(10): 6. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZXZGZSM3/collection§REF§ “Arochukwu has been another neglected Igbo chiefdom. Most of these states with hereditary leadership were peripheral to the Igbo heartland. Nevertheless, they were important because of their interactions with the heartland and the possibility of dating interactive events from their genealogies. The Aro evolved a confederate political system headed by a hereditary leadership, yet their genealogies have been ignored.” §REF§Nwauwa, A. O. (1990). The Dating of the Aro Chiefdom: A Synthesis of Correlated Genealogies. History in Africa, 17, 227–245: 227. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TEXMFD2H/collection§REF§ “Before the foundation of Arochukwu confederacy, the Igbo and the Ibibio of the area operated a political system - village republicanism - based on gerontocracy. However, the end of Igbo-Ibibio hostilities, following the victory of Igbo-Akpa alliance against the Ibibio, culminated in the foundation of the Aro chiefdom comprising elements of the three ethnic groups. Thus, the political system which ultimately emerged - federation under one authority - appeared to be an ostensible aberration of the traditional Igbo-Ibibio system based on kinship. In the emergent organization, there was a king (chief) with a council of representatives of the various towns.” §REF§Nwauwa, A. O. (1995). The Evolution of the Aro Confederacy in Southeastern Nigeria, 1690–1720. A Theoretical Synthesis of State Formation Process in Africa. Anthropos, 90(4/6), 353–364: 356. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/G4DWA3GQ/collection §REF§ The hereditary chiefdom (Eze Aro) of Arochukwu was not fully in place until about 1780. The Akpa did not generally use hereditary chiefdoms. On gaining control of the Arochukwu area, the leader of the mercenary troops, Akuma, became the first chief (c. 1690–1720). His successor was an Igbo priest-doctor, Nachi (c. 1720–1750), then Okenachi, Nachi’s non-biological son (c.1750–1780). “When Akuma's soldiers had been victorious, their leader received the respect and leadership role which any victor might expect. In that sense, it is hardly surprising that he founded Arochukwu. Nevertheless, upon Akuma's death, none of his sons attempted to fill his role. Neither Akuma nor his Akpa followers objected when the Igbo priest-doctor, Nachi, took over and through his son, Okenachi, created an hereditary chieftaincy in Arochukwu.” §REF§Nwauwa, A. O. (1995). The Evolution of the Aro Confederacy in Southeastern Nigeria, 1690–1720. A Theoretical Synthesis of State Formation Process in Africa. Anthropos, 90(4/6), 353–364: 356. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/G4DWA3GQ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 387, "polity": { "id": 666, "name": "ni_sokoto_cal", "long_name": "Sokoto Caliphate", "start_year": 1804, "end_year": 1904 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 6, "administrative_level_to": 12, "comment": null, "description": "There are several clearly distinct roles, but it’s unlikely the hierarchy is entirely vertical, especially given the emirate system. 1) Caliph (amir al-muminin – Commander of the Faithful); 2) wazirai (viziers/advisers); 3) alkalai (judges); 4) muhtasib (the officer charged with upholding morals); 5) sa'i (in charge of the markets); 6) wali al-shurta (police chief); 7) Limamai (imams); 8) military commanders; 9) mamluk (royal (caliphal) slaves); 10) nuwab (the Caliph’s officials in the metropolitan districts and the emirs of the various emirates); 11) Village heads; 12) Council of village elders.“Within the Sokoto Caliphate, emirs used royal slaves to expand political control over their territory. Royal slaves—numbering between 2,000 and 5,000 in Kano, for example—were prominent and were organized into slave households, which served as a system of recruitment and training. These slaves were usually war captives, with the emir retaining about half, bought using cowry shells as currency. There was a significant amount of trust between emirs and their appointed slaves. The royal slaves (those kept by the emir) in Kano had a great deal of power because they controlled the distribution of agricultural products as well as holding key positions in the government and military. For example, senior royal slaves of the caliph had influence in the appointing of emirs. They were able to obtain new rights, moving them closer to freedom. The use of royal slaves in the Sokoto Caliphate emerged out of governmental necessity, as opposed to Islamic doctrine. Most slaves in the Sokoto Caliphate worked on labor-intensive plantations.” §REF§Falola, Toyin, and Ann Genova. Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009: 328–329. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SJAIVKDW/collection§REF§ “MAMLUK. An Arabic-derived term that refers to powerful slaves and literally means “owned” (person or thing). It is part of an Islamic political system that incorporates the institution of slavery. Prior to the colonial era in northern Nigeria, the military and government were partially run by slaves. In 19th-century Kano, for example, slaves commanded armies, managed plantations, and collected taxes. Each emirate within the Sokoto Caliphate ran his mamluk system differently.” §REF§Falola, Toyin, and Ann Genova. Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009: 220. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SJAIVKDW/collection§REF§ “The Sokoto Caliphate system was based squarely on the strength of its ideals and programmes, which the mujahhidun articulated within an Islamic religious framework. In the course of their attacks on the Hausa kingdoms, the leaders of the jihad offered an alternative set of political, economic and social principles which they called the \"structures of Muslim government\" as opposed to what they termed the \"structures of non-Muslim government\".” §REF§Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 100–101. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection§REF§ “The political programmes of the Sokoto Caliphate are set out in a number of works written by the Shehu, Abdullahi dan Fodio and Muhammad Bello. One of their most important features was to outline the political structures of caliphal administration. The Caliphate was to be led by the Caliph as the amir al-muminin (Commander of the Faithful), assisted by his wazirai (advisers), alkalai (judges), a muhtasib (the officer charged upholding morals), the sa'i (in charge of the markets), the wali al-shurta (police chief), limamai, and military commanders. Although the leadership of the Caliphate did not specify all the offices to be filled, it is clear that the Shehu categorically rejected the proliferation of political titles characteristic of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and planned to abolish parasitic sarauta titles in favour of a more streamlined political system consonant with the Islamic theory of political administration drawn largely from the Maliki school of jurisprudence. The Shehu was also vehemently opposed to the hereditary traditions of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and emphasised scholarship and unquestioned morality as the principal criteria for office.” §REF§Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 101. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection§REF§ “In his policy guidelines, Muhammad Bello called on the nuwab (his officials in the metropolitan districts and the emirs of the various emirates) to: ‘... encourage the artisans and those who practise trades which are indispensable to the people: farmers and smiths, tailors and dyers, physicians and grocers, butchers and carpenters, and all sorts of trades which contribute to the proper order of this world. The ruler must allocate these tradesmen to every village and every localilty.’” §REF§Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 102. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection§REF§ “A village head has long been an integral part of effective governance in Nigeria, particularly before and during the colonial period. The role of a village head in the Sokoto Caliphate during the 19th century, for example, included supplying labor and collecting annual taxes for the emirs. The Nupe also had a village head, or zitsu, for every town (and incorporated satellite villages). The zitsu’s authority may have extended to figuratively “owning” the land and possessing the community. For this reason, the zitsu of Jebba Island on the Niger River has the title gebba. The village head ruled over his community with the assistance of elders, who represented their families (broadly defined) in a council.” §REF§Falola, Toyin, and Ann Genova. Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009: 357. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SJAIVKDW/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 388, "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": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 12, "administrative_level_to": 12, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) Attah Igala (King); 2) Achadu (Chief Minister); 3) Ogbe (Chief Eunuch); 4) Atebo (Chief Priest); 5) Senior Councillors (this level seems to match the Igala Mela, under the Achadu, but not clear); 6) Eunuchs; 7) Onu (Fief holders/district officers); 8) Gago (clan leaders); 9) Fief-based Councils of Elders; 10) Omadachi (Village Headmen); 11) Headmen of each extended family/clan; 12) Ochiokolobia (youth leaders). This level of complexity seems to be roughly around the time of Ayagba’s reign, ie early 18th century. Unclear which titles existed before then, and which were added: “As time went on the office of Ata, which at the outset had been that of Priest-King, underwent a marked change, the religious aspect gaining in importance at the expense of the executive. Expansion, even before Ayagba's death, brought with it the need for some form of decentralisation - it was not humanly possible for the Ata to treat directly with an ever increasing tale of fief-holders; the difficulty was met by the creation of a number of offices of state, ambassadors, or as they are now termed Councillorships, whose duty was to assist the Ata in the business of Government and to represent him on various missions to outlying fiefs. These offices, filled initially by sons and relatives of the first Ata, became hereditary and were, with one exception, supplied from the house of the Ata-regnant and automatically vacated at his death.” §REF§ Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 400-401. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection§REF§ “In their wake sprang up a host of minor \"parasite \" officials about the Court, each with his high-sounding title and \"salutation,\" and these so grew in numbers and in arrogance that in course of time there was no longer access to the Ata-or even to his Councillors-save through them. The more he could be hedged about by ritual restrictions and prohibitions, the less opportunity was there for exercise of his executive functions and, as a corollary, the more profitable posts available for his needy relatives and their connections. He became in course of time (if the analogy is admissible) a Pope, and his compound a Vatican from which he was only encouraged to emerge for essential ritual performances-to which none but the chosen few had access. He had ceased to be a king and had become a cult! Other social factors which tended to isolate him from his subjects were, firstly, the Eunuchs of the household and, secondly, the Edibos. As regards the former, they and they alone were familiar with the routine of the many religious rituals which formed so vital a part of the Ata's daily life and of which, until his accession, he was completely ignorant; details of the host of taboos surrounding his person were, again, a closed book to him and he had perforce to turn for enlightenment to the Eunuchs of his predecessor, who passed automatically into his own service. It followed, inevitably, that he was bound to them by the closest ties and that they occupied a position of ever-increasing power and influence, a position which it was to their advantage to maintain and strengthen. The most important of this fraternity (and one need scarcely add that even the Eunuchs were given titles) were:The Ogbe, Orhata, Ocheje, Elaku, Ogbala, Enunkadugbo. Of these the Ogbe became (after the Ashadu) the most powerful influence in the land- all claimants for titles passed through his hands; it was he who conducted their installation ceremonial, he who bound on their wrists the insignia of office, he who struck off the beads when an erring dignitary was deprived of his rank ; it was he, again, who swore in the Edibos to the service of the Ata. First amongst the intimates of the latter, he became almost more powerful than his master, particularly if the Ata happened to be a weak character. In addition to his many other functions he acted as \" King's remembrancer \" and was the chief adviser on customary law. Of the others, each had his particular sphere of duties but they were of relatively little importance and we need not concern ourselves with them.” §REF§ Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 401-402. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection§REF§ “The Attah Ayegba’s district political administration was structured in the following patterns. ATTAH; DISTRICT OFFICERS (ONU;) CLAN HEADS (GAGO); VILLAGE HEADS (OMADACHI); YOUTH LEADER (OCHIOKOLOBIA).” §REF§Jacob, Audu. “Pre-Colonial Political Administration in the North Central Nigeria: a Study of the Igala Political Kingdom.” European Scientific Journal, vol. 10, no. 19, 2014, pp. 392–402: 397. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/5AN8R7UW/collection§REF§ “The attah in his capital at Idah headed the central government with the assistance of a set of titled officials from royal and non-royal clans. Some of the hereditary royal titles rotated within the four sub-lineages of the ruling house. Other royal titles were reserved for members of royal sub-clans that lived in the provinces. These officials were attached to \"fiefs\" from which they collected tribute, only a portion of which went to the attah. The non-royal titles were held by the Igala Mela, the nine kingmakers who headed their respective clans, as well as by the chiefs of another set of clans. These latter chiefs were heads of what J. S. Boston called the subsidiary clans. These \"combined the function of land-chief with the duty of assisting the king of the central government in some more specialized capacity.\" These chiefs from the subsidiary clans headed a group of about twenty clans living mainly in the riverine districts of the state, the Abokko, Agabidoko, and Omogbaje being the most influential of the group. A critical issue in the arrangement was that the duties and spheres of action of the branches of the central government counterbalanced each other. As the head of the royal clan, the king exercised authority over the greater Idah metropolis where the majority of the royal sub-clans resided. The attah also exercised some limited influence over the affairs of provincial royal sub-clans. He controlled appointments to their headships, and through this means was able to increase his area of practical reach in the kingdom. In this manner, through the royal sub-clan heads in the metropolitan and provincial areas, the palace was reckoned to have governed at least half of the total area of the Igala kingdom directly. The titled heads of royal sub-clans were \"the highest administrative and judicial authorities in the areas concerned, with the right to receive tribute, settle disputes, and try all serious criminal offences that threatened the peace of the districts under their jurisdiction.\"\" The kingmakers, however, were counterpoised to the attah. The Igala Mela controlled election to the throne and oversaw the rotation of the office among the four lineages of the ruling house. Moreover, as the body representing the indigenous landowning clans, the right to land was vested in the Igala Mela and, as such, they were considered the de facto owner of the land. The attah had no such right over land, other than as the head of his own clan and over the land that his own clan held in trust for its members. The head of the Igala Mela, the achadu, had his own official residence or palace, and like the attah, he also maintained a considerable retinue of clients, retainers, and slaves. The relationship between the rights and the offices of the attah and the Igala Mela is significant. It formalized the sovereign political supremacy of the former over the entire Igala kingdom. At the same time it limited the king's ability to directly participate in local government. It also seems clear that the inherence of land rights in the clans rather than in the central government curtailed the extent to which the attah could directly withdraw economic surplus on the basis of the distribution of land to farmers or immigrant settlers. In this sector, the attah received revenue only in so far as the titled royal sub-clan heads were willing to share the tribute they collected from their provinces.” §REF§Kolapo, F. J. “Post-Abolition Niger River Commerce and the Nineteenth-Century Igala Political Crisis.” African Economic History, no. 27, 1999, pp. 45–67: 51-53. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AMMWZ5KT/collection§REF§ “He then turned his attention to the interior which he colonised by sending forth relatives and tried followers to carve out fiefs for themselves and their heirs, granting them what was tantamount to a complete delegation of authority; other fiefs were bestowed on the elders of the more important Igala settlements referred to earlier. These fiefs became, in fact, microcosms of the Igala Chiefdom, the fief-holder (Onu) receiving a title and an official \"salutation \" from the Ata, together with a gift of bead bracelets which were-as they are to-day-the outward and visible sign of his authority. The office of Onu was hereditary and though invalid unless the claimant received his title from the Ata in person and at Idah, the Chief might not refuse to confer it. The Onu administered his fief through a Council of Elders and received from his people tithes of farm and sylvan produce and tributes of game; the pelts of leopards with claws intact, and the heart, were his perquisite as also were runaway slaves found within his territory. His powers were absolute except for death sentences which, with few exceptions, were referred to the Ata-he was the secular as well as the religious head, a priest-king.” §REF§ Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 398. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection§REF§ “This Gande fisherman was generously rewarded by Ayagba and was given the title of Ohemogbo which has been held ever since by his successors, the Village Headmen of Gande; not until he has been to inspect the tomb can it be finally closed.” §REF§Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 430. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection§REF§ “In Ilesha, there are three ancient chieftaincy titles called ogbom, which are linked with the Benin forest, and are the headships of local towns; like the Igala Mela in Igala, or the Uzama in Benin, they are an institutional fossil from a time before the dynastic kingdom. They have the same associations as the secret cult: elders, metal and the earth.” §REF§Isichei, Elizabeth. A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press, 1997: 250. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z4GK27CI/collection§REF§ “The kingship rotates between four branches of the royal clan, and when an Attah dies, his subclan members resign their offices. Nine high officials, the Igala Mela, reflect an earlier period of small-scale government, and are the custodians of the sacred Earth shrine. To the anthropologist Boston, these traditions have no historical content: they are a mythical charter for the checks and balances of later Igala politics.” The Ashadu is an important official, but the myth makes him the descendant of a slave. The Attah’s eminence is balanced by the indignities endured by the Attah elect, who is regarded, like Ebelejonu, as the Ashadu’s wife.” §REF§ Isichei, Elizabeth. A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press, 1997: 253. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z4GK27CI/collection§REF§ “The following day marks the close of the Egu celebrations when the Councillors make sacrifice to the shades of their respective ancestors; when, but not until this is done, the people as a whole are free to carry out their own annual rites, which are conducted by the Onus and by the headmen of each extended family.” §REF§Clifford, Miles, and Richmond Palmer. “A Nigerian Chiefdom.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 66, 1936, pp. 393–435: 432. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/TF7MM698/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 389, "polity": { "id": 668, "name": "ni_nri_k", "long_name": "Ọ̀ràézè Ǹrì", "start_year": 1043, "end_year": 1911 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 4, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) state level (eg Eze Nri), 2) lineage level (eg Ozo), 3) age-grade level, 4) women’s associations. Within each of these four major levels (not necessarily a clear hierarchy) there are finer distinctions, but these are the major categories. This paper delineates the fine detail: “In Nri, leadership operates at four levels and may be classified according to these levels as: leadership at the age-grade level, leadership at the lineage level, leadership at the state level and leadership in women's associations.” §REF§Onwuejeogwu, M. A. (1979). The Genesis, Diffusion, Structure and Significance of Ọzọ Title in Igbo Land. Paideuma, 25, 117–143: 130. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/K2EIJVZ8/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 390, "polity": { "id": 669, "name": "ni_hausa_k", "long_name": "Hausa bakwai", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1808 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 8, "administrative_level_to": 9, "comment": null, "description": "1) Sarki (king/emir); 2) High officials (including some members of councils of state in eg Kano and Gobir); 3) Councils of state/electoral college; 4) Galadima (prime minister or grand vizier); 5) Other state officials; 6) Sarkin kasa (chief of the ‘country’/district capital); 7) Sarkin gari/magajin gari (village chiefs); 8) Masuunguwa (district leaders); 9) Maigari (chiefs of small rural communities). Unclear how much overlap there was between levels 2 & 3, or levels 3–5. “One of the most striking characteristics of Hausa political institutions is the universality of the Hausa political vocabulary. This is remarkable, for example, in the titles of officials (masu sarauta). No complete survey of these titles appears to have been made. But common knowledge clearly indicates the remarkable degree to which similar titles occur in many mutually independent states.” §REF§ Smith, A. (1970). Some Considerations Relating to the Formation of States in Hausaland. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 5(3), 329–346: 344. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/74EZB5XU/collection§REF§“In spite of some regional differences, Hausa political organization, both in its formative stages and in its subsequent development, followed a similar pattern everywhere, based on a common socio-economic and cultural identity, as expressed in the common language. At the same time, the administrative system which had emerged in the Hausa states since the fourteenth century bore witness to the marked influence of Kanem-Bornu, from where many institutions and functions were borrowed, sometimes even with their Kanuri/Kanembu names.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 293. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§ “The appointment of the successor to the throne from among the princes was the responsibility of an electoral college. In Katsina, this consisted of four members.47 It is difficult to say whether such a college existed in Kebbi at this time, but it certainly appeared there at a later stage. In Zamfara, Gobir and Kano, it bore the name Tara (the Nine),48 followed by the name of the state. The titles and functions of the various electoral colleges differ, but some of the incumbents can be identified as follows: an elder holding an ancient, long-forgotten office, the Basace, in Zamfara; governors of cities and important regions, five in Zamfara and seven in Gobir which added two deputies to Zamfara's list, and high-ranking public servants, three in Zamfara, two in Gobir and nine in Kano. They also included representatives of ousted dynasties, such as the Durbi in Katsina, and reigning dynasties, such as the Ubandoma in Gobir.” §REF§Ogot, B. (Ed.). (1998). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 466. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/M4FMXZZW/collection§REF§ “The Sarki exercised his authority through three groups of officials: members of the dynasty, public servants, governors of the towns and regions.” §REF§Ogot, B. (Ed.). (1998). Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 466. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/M4FMXZZW/collection§REF§ “Throughout the country, small rural communities (kauyuka, sing. kauye) were composed of groups of families (gidaje, sing. gida) under the authority of a chief (maigari). These communities consisted, in fact, of farming hamlets that were generally quite small and in some cases of a shifting nature. At the next level came the villages (garuruwa, sing. gari), which were larger and permanent. At their head they had a sarkin gari or magajin gari (village chief), who may on occasion have had district leaders (masuunguwa, sing, mai-unguwa) under him. At the apex of the structure stood the birni (plural birane), the district capital, which was ruled not by a sarkin birni (the expression does not exist in Hausa), but a sarkin kasa or chief of the 'country', whose authority naturally extended over all the lower-level chiefs.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 293–294. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§ “At the head of the country, the sarki or king was absolute. In theory, at least, his physical person was sacred, since the fortunes of the kingdom were linked to his own. As a rule, he was chosen from among the members of the ruling lineage; although father-son succession was common, it is noteworthy that the Kano Chronicle indicates the name of each ruler's mother, which may point to surviving vestiges of a matrilineal system. The sarki shared power with high officials, who belonged partly to his own lineage and partly to leading lineages of the old regime now transferred into a hereditary aristocracy. Among this élite, some were members of the council of state appointed by the monarch. In Gobir, this council was called tara ta Gobir (or tarar Gobir) 'the nine of Gobir' and when the king died any candidate for the succession had to accept their decisions.110 Similarly, as mentioned above, the Kano council bore the name of tara ta Kano, 'the Kano nine'. These councils are reminiscent of the council of twelve in the old Sefuwa empire of Kanem-Bornu.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 293–294. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§ “Sarkin Kano Rumfa was the first to appoint slaves, and even eunuchs, to important offices of state, placing them in control of the treasury, the town and palace guards, and communications with free office-holders; they also performed various household functions, such as control of the harem.112 Foremost in importance among the state officials was the galadima, a kind of prime minister or grand vizier in whom the conduct of all affairs of state was vested.113 This office was sometimes occupied by the heir apparent and, in very many instances, the sarki became only a puppet in the hands of a powerful galadima. Under the latter were a host of officials and dignitaries, each of whom took charge of a specific locality or territorial unit, ranging from an entire province to a group of villages.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 293–294. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§ “The Hausa Kingdoms were organized under a hereditary chief, or emir, who was advised by a council of title-holders. The kingdom, or emirate, was divided into districts, with each under a district head. The Hausa kingdom, or emirate, structure, for the most part, remained unaltered during the 19th century. These first seven kingdoms are referred to as the Hausa bakwai (“Hausa states”) or Habe kingdoms. Of these seven, the most influential were Kano and Zazzau. Hausa oral tradition also says that Bayajidda had several illegitimate children, who founded seven kingdoms: Gwari, Kebbi, Kwararafa, Nupe, Zamfara, Yoruba, and Jukun. These kingdoms are referred to as the banza bakwai (“bastard states”). Some oral sources identify these kingdoms as being not of blood relation to Bayajidda or the Hausa. Much more evidence exists for this version. Scholars may exclude Zamfara and Kwararafa and include Yauri and Borgu in the list of seven states. Historians often describe these Hausa Kingdoms as city-states.” §REF§Falola, Toyin, and Ann Genova. Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2009: 149. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SJAIVKDW/collection§REF§ “Although the leadership of the Caliphate did not specify all the offices to be filled, it is clear that the Shehu categorically rejected the proliferation of political titles characteristic of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and planned to abolish parasitic sarauta titles in favour of a more streamlined political system consonant with the Islamic theory of political administration drawn largely from the Maliki school of jurisprudence. The Shehu was also vehemently opposed to the hereditary traditions of the pre-jihad Hausa kingdoms and emphasised scholarship and unquestioned morality as the principal criteria for office.” §REF§Chafe, Kabiru Sulaiman. “Challenges to the Hegemony of the Sokoto Caliphate: A Preliminary Examination.” Paideuma, vol. 40, 1994, pp. 99–109: 101. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZANHCUFH/collection§REF§ “Under Dauda (1421-38), the foreign influence became more marked with the arrival of a refugee Bornu prince with his men and a large number of mallams. Apart from such regalia as horses, drums, trumpets and flags, it seems that the Bornu people also brought with them more sophisticated concepts of administration, and it was from that time onwards that Bornu titles such as galadima, chiroma and kaigama came into use in Kano.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 272. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§ “The Kano Chronicle ascribes to Muhammad Rumfa (1463-99) a number of innovations of varying importance, among them the extension of the city walls and the building of new gates; the appointment of eunuchs to state offices; the establishment of Kurmi market, the main market in Kano; and the setting up of a council of nine leading office-holders (tara-ta-Kano — 'the Nine of Kano') as a kind of ministry.” §REF§Niane, D. T., & Unesco (Eds.). (1984). Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Heinemann; University of California Press: 272–273. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ERZKPETN/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 391, "polity": { "id": 670, "name": "ni_bornu_emp", "long_name": "Kanem-Borno", "start_year": 1380, "end_year": 1893 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 6, "administrative_level_to": 8, "comment": null, "description": "Levels (not strictly hierarchical, but at least handling separate areas): 1) Mai/Shehu/Caliph (Sultan/King); 2) Royal family (several roles, so could be split into multiple levels eg 1 chiroma, eldest brother/son of the mai; 2 magira, queen mother; 3 gumsu, first wife, and three other wives of the mai); 3) Council (about twelve members); 4) Viceroys/district administrators/members of the court (eg galadima); 5) Fief-holders/regional administrators (eg chima jilibe, chima chidibe, chima gana); 6) Calim/alim (local chiefs/administrators). NB This doesn’t account for rulers of regions which are semi-autonomous, and may have their own administrative systems. “[TABLE 3 Administrative Structure: King. Chima kura: royal family; courtiers; royal slaves. Chima gana: clients and slaves of chima kura, resident in fiefs. Village chiefs. Household units of the talaka (common citizens).] Although this table adequately represents the administrative structure which obtained in the largest part of Borno territory, in actual fact the functioning of Borno administration was considerably more complex. There were numerous units within the state which for one reason or another fell outside the structure illustrated here. For example, there were semi-autonomous territories and ethnic groups which were directly responsible to the ruler; there were also territories tributary to Borno. In addition there were various families, clans, or villages which enjoyed privileged status.” §REF§Brenner, L. (1973). Sources of Constitutional Thought in Borno. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, 7(1), 49–65: 52. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/BGCV72TB/collection§REF§ “Even though it is difficult to generalize the nature of political power for more than 1000 years of history, some features seem to have been present throughout the history of Bornu. The royal family was at the heart of the political system meaning that the head of the Sayfawa family was also the mai. It seems that to prevent wars of succession, the chiroma, generally the eldest son or the brother of the mai, was designated during the lifetime of the mai. Members of the royal family were also important office-holders. For example, the magira, the queen mother, held for a long time the highest number of fiefs in the kingdom while the first wife of the mai, the gumsu, was responsible for the palace duties with the three other wives of the mai (Cohen 1967). As a consequence, the stability of the empire was synonymous with the stability of the royal family. However, political power was not solely in the hands of the ruling family as members of the council were also in charge of political affairs. It appears that there were around twelve members in this council and that apart from the descendants of the close advisors of the first Sayfawas, their office was not hereditary. It would be difficult to attribute a specific role to each of the members of the council over the centuries but some office-holders seem to exert the same roles. For example, the mainin kenandi was the Islamic advisor of the mai whereas the kaigama was in charge of the armies of Kanem-Bornu. This highly structured political system could also be found in the territorial organization of the kingdom. Indeed, the empire of KanemBornu was organized territorially and divided into different administrative regions. For example, the galadima was supposed to be the viceroy of the Western part of the kingdom. He had his own capital at Nguru and when present in Birni Gazagarmo was a full member of the council (Alkali 1983). One of the striking features of the empire of Kanem-Bornu was its complex territorial organization which allowed it to survive for more than a millennium. Diplomatic correspondence and oral history confirm that the Kanem-Bornu Empire was an empire with different types of borders. Some of them may have been rather vague, such as those along the Saharan trade route, whereas others could have been precisely delimited, such as the borders south of Lake Chad with the Bagirmi or westwards with the Hausa states. Moreover, the core of Bornu and the newly conquered regions had sensibly different territorial structures. In metropolitan Bornu, a double fief system enabled the mais and later the shehus to levy taxes and troops in their empire. The first one was a personal fief where the fief-holder, the chima jilibe, owned a fief over people, the second one was territorial: here the fief-holder, the chima chidibe, was in charge of a specific territory. This system enabled the empire to control its sedentary population as well as incorporating its nomadic or semi-nomadic subjects such as the Shuwa Arabs. This administrative structure was present in metropolitan Bornu whereas the satellite regions were still administered by a local ruler. For example, the sultanate of Zinder was semiautonomous but still part of the KanemBornu Empire until the middle of the 19th century.” §REF§Hiribarren, V. (2016). Kanem-Bornu Empire. In N. Dalziel & J. M. MacKenzie (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Empire (pp. 1–6). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: 4. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KNHK5ANQ/collection§REF§ “Moreover, since the end of the 15th century, and maybe since an earlier date, the mai (the head of the empire) assumed the title of “caliph” (Lavers 1993: 257) and the Sayfawa throne was also supposed to be the degal lisalambe, the “cradle of Islam.” As a consequence, the mais used Islamic advisors and, in theory, their power could not exceed the prescriptions of the Sharia. This creation of a Muslim religious ancestry was a common practice through which trans-Saharan African empires could assert their religious and kinship ties with Arabia.” §REF§Hiribarren, V. (2016). Kanem-Bornu Empire. In N. Dalziel & J. M. MacKenzie (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Empire (pp. 1–6). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: 3. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KNHK5ANQ/collection§REF§ “The categories of officials which the inscriptio mentions are the umara (amirs), shurta (guards), hukama (governors), \"ulama (scholars), ummal (officers), qudat (judges), wuzara (viziers), fursan (horsemen, warriors), ra’aya (subjects) and ma’shar al-muslimln (the generality of Muslims).” §REF§Bobboyi, H. (1993). RELATIONS OF THE BORNO ʿULAMĀʾ WITH THE SAYFAWA RULERS: THE ROLE OF THE MAḤRAMS. Sudanic Africa, 4, 175–204: 189–190. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/JE5VQ8NI/collection§REF§ “Each member of the court was himself the head of a household, often vast in its dimensions. These households might include hundreds of slaves and clients, and they not only operated as military units in the Borno army, but also as the fundamental administrative cadres in the state government. In their capacities as administrators, members of the court were called chima kura, literally, big tax collector. Chima kura were responsible for the administration of their own districts, units of which were usually scattered geographically throughout the kingdom. They appointed slaves or clients as resident administrators for these smaller sub-units or fiefs, who were called chima gana (small tax collector).” §REF§Brenner, Louis. “SOURCES OF CONSTITUTIONAL THOUGHT IN BORNO.” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, vol. 7, no. 1, 1973, pp. 49–65: 52. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/BGCV72TB/collection§REF§ “Ordinarily, a mallemti settlement would consist of the mahram grantee, his extended family, and a number of people not directly associated with the calim or his activities, but who may have been originally living in the area or have taken up residence in the mallemti after its establishment. The calim took the dual responsibilities of a village head-man and a teacher. As the village headman, he settled disputes between contending parties be they from his immediate circle or from other residents of the mallemti. As the principal teacher, he imparted knowledge and counselled troubled souls, and depending upon the 'efficacy of his prayers' would, in his capacity as a spiritual counsellor, command a large following in the whole district.” §REF§Bobboyi, Hamidu. “RELATIONS OF THE BORNO ʿULAMĀʾ WITH THE SAYFAWA RULERS: THE ROLE OF THE MAḤRAMS.” Sudanic Africa, vol. 4, 1993, pp. 175–204: 200. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/JE5VQ8NI/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 392, "polity": { "id": 672, "name": "ni_benin_emp", "long_name": "Benin Empire", "start_year": 1140, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 8, "administrative_level_to": 8, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1) Oba (king), 2) Uzama or Uzama Nihinron (nobles/Kingmakers’ Council), 3) Eghaɛbho n'Ore or Eghaevbo n/Ore (town chiefs; from mid-fifteenth century) & Eghaɛbho n’Ogbe (palace chiefs), 4) Iwebo, Iweguae and Ibiwe (palace associations under direct control of the palace chiefs), 5) otu (three associations of freeborn palace retainers), 6) fief-holders, 8) onogie/enegie (chief, with authority over several villages in a chiefdom, 8) ɔdiɔnwere (sole village head) & ediɔn (fellow village elders); in Benin City, ɔdiɔnwere/hereditary chief/appointed leader.There were several levels of chieftancy by the time Ovonramwen was Oba (ie end of Benin Kingdom) – see chart. Broadly split into Uzama, Town Chiefs and the Palace Associations. §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 14. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “In precolonial Benin the political structure consisted of a com plex system of nonhereditary and hereditary titleholders, who along with members of the royal family played a decisive role in the administration of the kingdom. The highest rank was held by the seven Uzama or kingmakers, whose origins go back to the first dynasty of Benin kings. Among the nonhereditary titleholders were representatives of the general population, led by four powerful town chiefs, each of whom headed a complex hierarchy of other officials. Under the king's direct control were three great palace organizations, Iwebo, Iweguae, and Ibiwe. These palace associa tions were led by three high-ranking palace chiefs who supervised hundreds of subordinate titles.” §REF§Plankensteiner, B. (2007). Benin: Kings and Rituals: Court Arts from Nigeria. African Arts, 40(4), 74–87: 83. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/7AR425BC/collection§REF§ “This long distance trade was controlled by various trading associations, each operating in a different direction. The most important of these associations was called Ekhangbo (ekhan, traders; Agbo, forest). It monopolized the route from Benin to Akure, which was the main base for trade in the north-east Yoruba country. Ekhangbo, and similar associations operating towards the east and north-east, were controlled by title-holders and other prominent men from Benin City. The Oba of Benin is said to have been a member of all of them. It was in the interests of the traders to uphold the integrity of the Benin polity in order to ensure a state of security in which trade could flourish. Competition for power and prestige in the state itself provided a major incentive to engage in this trade.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 6. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ Many of the administrative sections were designed to balance each other out, so it’s not a strictly hierarchical structure. “But the strength of the state lay also in the structure of its central institutions and in the balance between competing power groups.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 8. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “In the village the predominance of community over kin-group interests was maintained through a three-tier age-grade organization (Bradbury, 1957: 32). The oldest man, subject to ‘citizenship’ qualifications, was in most villages the sole village head (ɔdiɔnwere). He and his fellow elders (ediɔn) made policy, controlled access to village resources, kept order, settled disputes, and mediated with the central authority. The elders directed the warrior and executive grade of adult men (ighele) and the grade of youths (iroghae) which performed ‘public works’. Supernatural sanction for their authority came from their access to the spirits of past elders of the village (ediɔn-ɛbho) and from their collective superiority in magic.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 9. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “In many villages, however, the ɔdiɔnwere’s authority was shared with and limited by that of a chief (onogie) whose office descended by primogenitary succession. Most enigie were descended from the immediately junior brothers of past kings, but some claimed lines going back beyond the incorporation of their chiefdoms into the state; and a few were descended from non-royal appointees of the Oba. The chiefdom might consist of one or several villages. In the central area round the capital and in the territory to the west of it there were few enigie, and here each village dealt directly with the central authority through its ɔdiɔnwere, though it might combine with neighbouring villages for certain purposes. To the north and east a much larger proportion of the population was included in chiefdoms. The more remote they were from Benin, the larger the chiefdoms tended to be and the greater their internal autonomy. The more distant enigie might control up to a dozen or more villages, some of which themselves had hereditary enigie. The more important enigie conferred titles on their ‘palace’ officials and on their agents in the subordinate villages. They had rights to game and tribute and they held courts for the settlement of disputes between their subjects. Having some of the attributes of kingship, they were the focus of rituals patterned on, though less elaborate than, those which took place at the Oba’s palace.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 9–10. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “From the point of view of his ‘subjects’ the fief-holder was their official sponsor through whom they could communicate requests, complaints, and disputes to the Oba. […] It must be stressed that the fief-holders were not the sole channel of communication between the Oba and his subjects. Some enigie had the right of direct access to the king. In the more distant vassal chiefdoms the Oba stationed his own agents to watch over his interests and convey intelligence to him.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 11. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ In Benin City: “Within the wall the town was divided into two unequal parts by a long, broad avenue running approximately north-west to south-east. This spatial division corresponded to a Palace/Town dichotomy of great political significance. Ogbe, the smaller area to the south-west, contained the Oba’s palace (Ɛguae-Ɔba) and the houses of most of his Palace Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n’Ogbe). In Orenokhua, to the north-east, lived the Town Chiefs (Eghaɛbho n'Ore) and here, too, were located most of the wards of occupational specialists. There were forty or fifty of these wards, occupied by groups having special skills or duties which they performed, full or part time, primarily for the Oba. Each ward had its internal political organization, based on the grading of its male members, and headed by an ɔdiɔnwere, an hereditary chief, or an appointed leader.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 12. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ Just outside Benin City: “Idunbhun-Ihogbe, for example, contained one section of the Ihogbe, priests of the past kings and of the living Oba’s Head. In the same area were located the villages of six of the Seven Uzama (Uzama n’Ihinrɔn), hereditary nobles and ‘kingmakers’. The seventh Uzama was the Oba’s eldest son and heir, the Edaikɛn, whose court was at Uselu, just outside the second wall to the north-west. In fact, as we shall see, no Edaikɛn was installed during the nineteenth century. Uselu also housed the court of the Oba’s mother, who ranked with the Town Chiefs rather than the Uzama. // “The hereditary Uzama and the two groups of Eghaɛbho, whose titles were non-hereditary, constituted three great orders of chieftancy which, between them, were responsible for the continuity and government of the state.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 12. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ Role and importance of the Uzama changed over time: “The Uzama had not always been set apart from the management of the state, if reliance can be placed on traditions of a prolonged struggle waged by the early kings to assert their supremacy over them. […] But it is likely that they refer, also, to an historical decline in the power of the Uzama correlated, the evidence suggests, with the rise of the Eghaɛbho orders; and with a shift towards a doctrine of automatic primogenitary succession to the kingship. The successful assertion, by the kings of Benin, of the right to assign major administrative and judicial functions to counsellors appointed by themselves gave them considerable power vis-à-vis the Uzama. The rule of primogeniture, though ineffective in eliminating succession strife, made the Uzama's role as kingmakers more ceremonial than political. They continued to receive the new king’s installation fees and to inaugurate his reign, but they had no more effective voice in determining his identity than did the Eghaɛbho.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 15–16. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “The main palace buildings comprised three major divisions—Iwebo, Iwɛguae, and Ibiwe. These were the names of three associations (otu) of freeborn retainers that administered the royal court and participated in the government. […] First in rank were the Iwebo, who had charge of the Oba’s state regalia, including his throne and his ceremonial wardrobe and accoutrements. Unwaguɛ, as head of Iwebo, was head of the palace organization. // “The Iwɛguae division contained the Oba’s private apartments. Its chiefs were his household officers, and his cooks and domestics were chosen from its lower ranks. It also included his pages (emada, lit. ‘swordbearers’), boys and young men who had been given to the Oba by their fathers and who were bound in absolute service to him until, well into manhood, he saw fit to give them wives and send them into the world as free men. […] They also helped him to maintain direct contact with his subjects by arranging private audiences for people who wanted to see him, thus by-passing the official channels of communication through the fief-holders. […] The Ibiwe were the keepers of the Oba’s wives and children. […] Apart from these retainer duties the palace associations performed important political functions, which may be summarized as follows: // “(1) They were institutions for recruiting and training personnel for specific administrative, judicial, and ceremonial tasks and for the general exercise of royal authority. // “(2) They were organized into an elaborate system of grades and hierarchies which served to channel competition for power. // “(3) They were a powerful instrument of centralization and a force for stability in the state.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 18–19. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “The Town Chiefs // “There were two main orders of chiefs associated with Orenokhua, the Eghaɛbho n'Ore and the Ibiwe Nekhua. According to tradition, the former order was constituted by the twelfth Oba, Ewuare, who included in it two already existing titles, lyase and Esɔgban, and two others, Esɔn and Osuma, of his own creation. By the 1890s there were thirteen titles, of which eight had been added by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century kings.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 25. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “A Benin writer has described the Iyasɛ, with some truth, as ‘the prime minister and the leader of the opposition’. When the Oba wished to propose a new law, prosecute a war, or take important administrative action he was bound to seek the advice and approval of the Uzama and his Town and Palace Chiefs. After meeting separately to formulate their views, the three orders assembled with the Oba in a full council of state. The sole right to argue with or censure the Oba in public was held to lie with Town Chiefs and, more especially, with the Iyasɛ. When one of them died, the Oba sent his men to claim his lower jaw, ‘the jaw he had used to dispute with the Oba’. This act symbolized the ultimate supremacy of the king over the Edo. // “Except in this last symbolic act, it was difficult for the Oba to impose his will on the Town Chiefs.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 26. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “It should already be clear that the Oba of Benin was neither a mere ritual figurehead nor a constitutional monarch, but a political king, actively engaged in competition for power. His main political weapon lay in his ability to manipulate the system of Palace and Town offices. By making appointments to vacant titles, creating new ones, transferring individuals from one order to another, introducing new men of wealth and influence into positions of power, and redistributing administrative competences, the kings tried to maintain a balance between competing groups and individuals.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 28. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “The succession at Benin had a complicated history, but by the nineteenth century the principle of primogeniture was firmly established. According to tradition, it had been introduced in Ewuakpe’s reign, in the early eighteenth century, with the purpose of avoiding succession conflict (Egharevba, 1960: 40). This aim was not achieved, for two of the last three successions before 1897 involved civil war, and in the third it was avoided only because one candidate had secured overwhelming support.” §REF§Bradbury, R. E. (1967). The Kingdom of Benin. In West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century (Repr, pp. 1–35). Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press: 29. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Z8DJIKP8/collection§REF§ “The Eghaevbo n'Ore, which seems to have replaced the Uzama Nihinron as the most effective check on the Oba's political power, was created by Ewuare, before the coming of the Europeans. Since the senior members of the Eghaevbo n'Ore transacted \"most of the day-to-day administration of the kingdom\", these men were probably the \"fetish priests\" or the \"ju-ju men\" which so impressed European visitors from the time of Pereira to that of Gallwey. In other words, both human sacrifices and \"fetish priests\" existed in Benin prior to the beginnings of the European slave trade, and prior to the great military victories of Ozolua and Esigie” §REF§Graham, J. D. (1965). The Slave Trade, Depopulation and Human Sacrifice in Benin History: The General Approach. Cahiers d’Études Africaines, 5(18), 317–334: 327. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/4AS9CVZH/collection§REF§ “The introduction of the Onojie (village chiefs) prior to c. 1320 established a new variable in the relationship between dominant and subordinate segments of the population. The hereditary Onojie system provided an outlet for unsuccessful candidates for the central throne. The Onojie were provided with rural fiefs which provided a basis for tributary support and greatly expanded the burden upon the village Otu productive capacity (Egharevba I960, 1-5; Egharevba 1956). The development of the Onojie system as an intermediate administrative level between the village Odionwere and the palace established an extended state nobility. Also, the Onojie could establish their own appointed bureaucracy which further expanded the pressures on the village Otu to provide surplus non-commercial support. Tribute was thereafter funnelled from the Odionwere to the Onojie and subsequently to the Ogiso. Although the development of the Onojie system of village administration relieved pressures in the capital, it also resulted in new pressures on Otu production.” §REF§Sargent, R. A. (1986). From A Redistribution to an Imperial Social Formation: Benin c.1293-1536. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, 20(3), 402–427: 406–407. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AUEZSTBR/collection§REF§ Some administrative change around the 1320s (if we accept later dates for the start of the Benin Empire), but not sweeping ones. “The emergence of the second dynasty in c. 1320-1347 did not, initially at least, fundamentally alter the political, social, and / or economic balance in the state. The former Igodo dynasty was replaced by the Ewekpa monarchy, which retained the existing political and economic relations between the palace and village Otu. Oba (King) Ewekpa, in fact, established a mutually supportive relationship with the existing bureaucracy and nobility (Coquery-Vidrovitch 1976, 92). Ewekpa also appointed part of the nobility to the position of hereditary Kingmakers' Council (Uzama Nihinron) (Egharevba I960, 9; Bradbury 1973, 55-60). The Ewekpa dynasty lived in the Uzama palace and was apparently dependent upon the allegiance and redistributive tribute funnelled through the Odionwere and Onojie. In this situation, therefore, no effective change was imposed upon the village gerontocracies and no increase in tribute demanded. In other words, it seems to have been a dynastic change with little material effect upon the existing social and economic patterns in the state.” §REF§Sargent, R. A. (1986). From A Redistribution to an Imperial Social Formation: Benin c.1293-1536. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, 20(3), 402–427: 407. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AUEZSTBR/collection§REF§ If we accept later dates for the start of the Benin Empire: “Prior to c. 1320-1347, for example, the Ogiso (king) maintained a restricted intercursive power relationship dependent upon the support of the Uzama and village Onojie and Odionwere.30 The relationship provided limited opportunity to expand exploitative demands on the village Otu without raising the protesting voice of the Onojie and Odionwere. The effective opposition of the Edion (elders), Odionwere (senior elders), Onojie (village chiefs), and Uzama Nihinron (Kingmakers' Council) could, theoretically at least, combine to prevent such an imposition. In fact, tradition recalls that the last Ogiso in the first dynasty was removed from office because he attempted to govern without the advice and consent of the councillors and advisors. Therefore, it is possible to suggest that the combined influence of the Odionwere, as the highest-ranking Otu representatives, the Onojie, as the recognised heads of the collective Odionwere, and the Uzama, as selected representatives of the Onojie acting as kingmakers, combined to form an influential and powerful segment of the society.// “After c. 1374-1401, however, the Ewekpa dynasty under Oba Ewedo managed to establish clearly-defined paramount authority and reduced the influence of the Odionwere, Onojie, and Uzama. The Oba retained ultimate control of state decision-making and initiatives for policy and, conversely, limited the authority of the other fractions and strata in the state hierarchy.” §REF§Sargent, R. A. (1986). From A Redistribution to an Imperial Social Formation: Benin c.1293-1536. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des Études Africaines, 20(3), 402–427: 419–420. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/AUEZSTBR/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 393, "polity": { "id": 673, "name": "ni_wukari_fed", "long_name": "Wukari Federation", "start_year": 1820, "end_year": 1899 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 10, "administrative_level_to": 20, "comment": null, "description": "The Wukari administration was very complex. Not clear which role had authority over which other roles in all cases, as some parts of the administration were clearly hierarchical, while others had specific jurisdictions (and not always clear, significant administrative functions, rather than ceremonial). It’s also possible that the descriptions in these sources either miss some subaltern positions, or describe roles essentially on the same level as different. 1) Aku-Uka (divine king), 2) Abo-Acio (prime minister; kingmaker), 3) Abo-Zike (second most senior official; kingmaker), 4) Kinda-Acio (palace administrator; kingmaker), 5) Court of the Kinda-Acio, eg Kinda-Zike (his assistant; kingmaker), Kinda Bi, Kind Kuvyu Nju and Kinda Matswen, 6) Awei-Acio (chief of staff), 7) chief priests of cults (eg Ku-Puje Acio and assistant served as chief priest of Puje), 8) Aku-Ke (leader of war), 9) Tsuma (royal diviner), 10) Ivene (king’s spokesman), 11) Wanaku (head of agriculturalists), 12) Kuyu (representative of old Kwararafa royal family, Ba-Pi), 13) Abgyu-Tsi (queen), 14) Angwu Kaku (official sister of the king), 15) Wakuku (Aku’s principal wife), 16) Chiefs, 17) Counsellors (elders and religious dignitaries). Alternative spellings include Abon for Abo, and Achuwo for Acio. “The dangers of travelling during the rainy season, when the tsetse dispersed more widely over the country, were clearly appreciated, even if the role of the fly was not. In the 1850s, for example, a chief in the Jukun country refused to provide horses for the transport of a party of European explorers because 'the roads were wet . . . and horses would be killed by travelling along them in such weather'.” §REF§Law, R. (2018). The Horse in West African History: the Role of the Horse in the Societies of Pre-colonial West Africa (Vol. 42). Oxford University Press: 81. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/WFTKWJLS/collection§REF§ “The process that usually led to the emergence of an Aku Uka was clearly defined. At the initial period, it was suggested that the Kuvyi (Chief) was the one that picked the Aku Uka, under the direction of spirit, whenever the stool became vacant.58 But over time, the four king makers who were Abon Acio, Abon Zike, Kinda Acio and Kinda Ziken became the central personalities in the selection of new Aku Uka. The king makers would inform the Kuvyi (Chief Priest) in the event of the demise of an Aku, while the Abon Acio held brief for who would eventually emerges as the Aku Uka. The four king makers were the ones left with the onerous task of driving the process that would eventually see to the emergence of Aku. Interested princess were invited from the ruling houses and interacted with. Preliminary screening was conducted on the prospective candidates by the king makers, after which a seer (Avun) was invited to select one out of the contenders. The Avun, who was believed to be in contact with the gods identified the most appropriate person that would become the Aku. Even then, the Avun was expected not to be partial in carrying out his function on the basis that there were sanctions that usually came to him in the event that he became bias. To be convinced with the selection by the Avun, another Seer, from a different place was normally invited in order to validate or otherwise the selection made by the Avun.” §REF§Zhema, S. (2017). A History of the Social and Political Organization of the Jukun of Wukari Division, c.1596–1960 [Benue State University]: 124–125. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U667CC36/collection§REF§ “The Jukun kingdom appears to have had a very different structure from that of the Shilluk, though their respective kingships show some interesting similarities. The political segments of Wukari, the chiefdoms, were not organized on the basis of common descent. Descent groups (atsupa) were small and localized, perhaps a function of the abundance of agricultural land in the region.” §REF§ Young, M. W. (1966). The Divine Kingship of the Jukun: A Re-Evaluation of Some Theories. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 36(2), 135–153: 140. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NTI9GQMF/collection§REF§ “The government of the state was conducted from the Aku's palace in Wukari through a system of ranked offices. Broadly speaking, there were two main categories of officials: those holding civil or state titles whose function was to administer the state, prosecute war, and counsel the king; and those holding priestly and royal household titles whose functions were largely ritual and ceremonial. The former titles tended to be held by agnates of the king-his brothers and father's brothers' sons-while many of the royal household titles were held by his uterine relatives.” §REF§ Young, M. W. (1966). The Divine Kingship of the Jukun: A Re-Evaluation of Some Theories. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 36(2), 135–153: 140. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NTI9GQMF/collection§REF§ “The senior counsellors or state officials, of which there were traditionally four or five, were usually close agnates of the king, and it was they who are said to have decided whether or when a king should be killed. One of these title-holders, the Kinda Achuwo or king's official 'younger brother', was even formally and ceremonially blamed for the king's death-whether he had in fact been killed or not- at the installation of his successor. The hereditary king-maker, a purely ceremonial official, handed over the king-elect to the Kinda with the words:' Formerly we gave you a king and you killed him when he fell sick. Let me never hear that you have treated this king in this way.' The Abo Achuwo, by his very position as the king’s prime minister, was automatically implicated in the removal of a king. During the interregnum he ruled the state and took charge of the king's property, while one of the king's close attendants-usually a sister's son-mounted the throne and im- personated the king to maintain the fiction that the king was still alive.” §REF§ Young, M. W. (1966). The Divine Kingship of the Jukun: A Re-Evaluation of Some Theories. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 36(2), 135–153: 142–143. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NTI9GQMF/collection§REF§ “[T]he Aku-Uka, in a way did not directly and physically take part in the administration of the community in pre-colonial era. In this regard, he was surrounded by a council, which C.K Meek described as a patrician caste, and they were responsible for the day to day administration. At the head of the caste, was the Abo-Acio whose position and functions could be likened to a modern day Prime minister. The Abo-Acio was the // “channel of communication between the Aku-Uka and the people. The people had to get to the Aku-Uka through the Abo-Acio. That is to say that he was the representative of the people in their relations with the king, who was the representative of the gods. He was the king’s principal adviser, and had access to the king at any time. He reported matters of importance to the king on daily basis. He disposed of all judicial cases which did not require the king’s personal investigation. And when religious rites were due, the priests approached the Abo-Acio, who obtained the royal consent, together with the sacrificial gifts which the king was required to provide, and attended the rites which he reported back to the Aku. In short, the Abo-Acio was the very figure which the people had relationship with in terms of the political arrangement of the Jukun people. This explains the level of significance attached to the office of the Abo-Acio, in consonance with the sacred nature of the Aku-Uka, who was considered a semi god and should not be seen by ordinary people. The Abo-Acio was assisted by Abo-Zike in the discharge of his many functions, and succeeded the Abo-Acio in case of death or vacancy of the position. In this regard, the Abo-Zike became the second most senior official to the Abo-Acio. The next in the hierarchy was the kinda-Acio who was in charge of the administration of the palace and cared for the welfare of Aku’s premises. It was noted that this official was in the close counsels of the king, attended the royal rite each day, took a prominent share in judicial work, in keeping the walls of city and the fencing of the royal enclosure in repair, and could also be put in charge of military operation. He was said to be the younger brother of the Aku and had a court of his own which included Kinda-Zike (his assistant), Kinda Bi, Kind Kuvyu Nju and Kinda Matswen. The Abo-Acio, Abo-Zike, Kinda-Acio and Kinda-Zike constituted the traditional kingmakers among the Jukun Wapa, under the chairmanship of the Abo-Acio. This // “body and its functions could be likened to the Oyo-Mesi of the old Oyo Empire under the leadership of Bashrun. Besides the above mentioned officials, there were others particularly of high standing who were considered closed counsels of the Aku. Among this was the Awei-Acio who was the nominal head of all the palace staff, and thus correspond to modern day Chief of Staff. His duties included to see that the royal enclosure and the shrine of Yaku were kept in proper repair. He also oversaw many other staff in the palace administration. Taking cognizance of the theocratic system of the administration, the priests constituted another important group of administrators within the Jukun political system. The Ku-Puje Acio with his assistant served as the Chief Priest of Puje, an important cult among the wapa Jukun. There was the Kenjo cult, the Yaku cult, the Achu-Nyande etc. Each of these cults had specific set of functions which they performed. For instance, the Achu-Nyande served a judicial function in the sense that, being a cult of lightning, rites were performed in cases of theft and was believed that lightning would strike the culprit. Other officials in the political system of the Jukun Wapa were the Aku-Ke, who was the leader of war, while the royal diviner was known as the Tsuma. The king’s spokesperson was known as the Ivene, and the Wanaku was the official head of all agriculturalists. The Kuyu was the representative of the old royal family of Kwararafa. This family was known as the Ba-Pi, and has supplied several kings of Wukari. There were as well, other offices and officials such as Abgyu-Tsi, Angwu Kaku and Wakuku who were regarded as the queen, the official sister of the Aku and the Aku’s principal wife respectively. They all had share in the administration. The list of the State offices among the Jukun Wapa of Wukari seemed inexhaustible. It is a // “clear indication that it was an elaborate political system that gave detail to virtually all aspect of political organization. With respect to the political system of the other Jukun chieftaincies, it was obvious that they were strikingly similar to that of Wukari but without the latter’s titles. Each had its chief surrounded by counselors comprising elders and religious dignitaries under an official equivalent to the Abo of Wukari.” §REF§Zhema, S. (2017). A History of the Social and Political Organization of the Jukun of Wukari Division, c.1596–1960 [Benue State University]: 125–128. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/U667CC36/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 394, "polity": { "id": 674, "name": "se_cayor_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Cayor", "start_year": 1549, "end_year": 1864 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. 1.Damel (king) :“Le Roy Damel me dit un jour chez luy a Chajort [Kajoor]. Je luy disois tu ne fais plus autant de captifs que les autres fois, il me fit repondre Je vais t'expliquer pourquoy; C'est qu'apresent je recois pour un ceque je recevois autrefois pour cinq ... il me fit entrevoir que nous etions des duppes de payer les captifs 120 Barres qui est le prix actuel toutes ces raisons se passerent chez luy dans un voyage que je fit en I775. Lieu situe a 6o lieues du bord de la mer.” §REF§ (Webb Jr 1993, 242-243) Webb Jr, James L.A. 1993. ‘The Horse and Slave Trade between the Western Sahara and Senegambia.’ Journal of African History. Vol. 34:2. Pp 221-246. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/JDZFX3SC/collection §REF§ “In the same manner, Damel is the hereditary name of the king of Cayor, though we sometimes see absurdly printed ‘the Kingdom of Damel.’” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 204) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ :2. Court officials (inferred) ::3. Laman :::4. Fara ::::“Cayor is divided first into provinces, and each province is ruled by an officer, who he appoints, and whom he calls Laman. This Laman issues out the king’s orders through his own district, and takes care that they shall be obeyed. It sometimes happens, however, that though a certain spot marked out, which is called a province, yet there is a small part of it, for some reason or other, not subject to the Laman’s orders. This spot then is governed by another officer, whom the king appoints, and whom he calls Fara.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 205) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ ::::5. Gueraff :::::“Each province then, which contains many villages, is governed either by a Laman, or by a Laman and a Fara together, and of course all the villages in each are subject to their orders. There is besides, in each village, an officer totally distinct from the former. This officer is called the Gueraff. He may be considered as the mayor of the village, for it is his business to take cognizance of any violation of the laws, to bring the offenders to trial, and to repot the case, with the decision upon it, to the king.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 205) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ :::::6. Alcaide (trade intermediary) (NB unclear where exactly to position this role within the hierarchy) ::::::“The second is called the Alcaide. This officer, when such interpretation was made, used to transact all the business for the whites, and was considered as their factor, as well as a sort of consul between the natives and them.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 206) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ ::::::7. Sarsar ::::::::“The king is obliged to send to these an officer called the Sarsar, to collect their taxes. This officer, or travelling collector, stays perhaps fifteen days at a village, and then passes to another, and so on, till he has made a collection for the whole.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 207) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 395, "polity": { "id": 675, "name": "se_saloum_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Saloum", "start_year": 1490, "end_year": 1863 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Inferred from neighbouring kingdoms of Cayor and Sine.__Cayor hierarchy__ 1.Damel (king) :“Le Roy Damel me dit un jour chez luy a Chajort [Kajoor]. Je luy disois tu ne fais plus autant de captifs que les autres fois, il me fit repondre Je vais t'expliquer pourquoy; C'est qu'apresent je recois pour un ceque je recevois autrefois pour cinq ... il me fit entrevoir que nous etions des duppes de payer les captifs 120 Barres qui est le prix actuel toutes ces raisons se passerent chez luy dans un voyage que je fit en I775. Lieu situe a 6o lieues du bord de la mer.” §REF§ (Webb Jr 1993, 242-243) Webb Jr, James L.A. 1993. ‘The Horse and Slave Trade between the Western Sahara and Senegambia.’ Journal of African History. Vol. 34:2. Pp 221-246. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/JDZFX3SC/collection §REF§ “In the same manner, Damel is the hereditary name of the king of Cayor, though we sometimes see absurdly printed ‘the Kingdom of Damel.’” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 204) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ :2. Court officials (inferred) ::3. Laman :::4. Fara ::::“Cayor is divided first into provinces, and each province is ruled by an officer, who he appoints, and whom he calls Laman. This Laman issues out the king’s orders through his own district, and takes care that they shall be obeyed. It sometimes happens, however, that though a certain spot marked out, which is called a province, yet there is a small part of it, for some reason or other, not subject to the Laman’s orders. This spot then is governed by another officer, whom the king appoints, and whom he calls Fara.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 205) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ ::::5. Gueraff :::::“Each province then, which contains many villages, is governed either by a Laman, or by a Laman and a Fara together, and of course all the villages in each are subject to their orders. There is besides, in each village, an officer totally distinct from the former. This officer is called the Gueraff. He may be considered as the mayor of the village, for it is his business to take cognizance of any violation of the laws, to bring the offenders to trial, and to repot the case, with the decision upon it, to the king.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 205) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ :::::6. Alcaide (trade intermediary) (NB unclear where exactly to position this role within the hierarchy) ::::::“The second is called the Alcaide. This officer, when such interpretation was made, used to transact all the business for the whites, and was considered as their factor, as well as a sort of consul between the natives and them.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 206) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ ::::::7. Sarsar ::::::::“The king is obliged to send to these an officer called the Sarsar, to collect their taxes. This officer, or travelling collector, stays perhaps fifteen days at a village, and then passes to another, and so on, till he has made a collection for the whole.” §REF§ (The Philanthropist no. II 1811, 207) 1811. ‘Manners and Customs of the People of Cayor, Sin and Sallum’ In The Philanthropist no. II. London: Longman and Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/C5553ITD/collection §REF§ __Sine hierarchy__ 1.Maad (king) :“The maad a sinig was the head of stately decision making, whose responsibility entailed declaring or calling off war, rendering justice, and mediating conflicts while ultimately ensuring the well-being and security of his subjects. His authority extended over royal lands, the slaves who worked them, and the nobility. The king was the recipient of annual taxes and customs, receiving parallel revenue from trade and the royal monopoly over salt production. He relied on a congeries of provincial governors and local functionaries, many of whom he personally appointed, who were administering the region and ensuring the steady flow of grain to royal granaries. Locally, the king was represented by the saaxsaax who exerted judicial functions and received taxes in each village, and the jaraaf, who were generally chosen from the lineage of the village founder and acted essentially as village heads.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ :2. Jaraaf a maak ::“The great jaraaf functioned as a prime minister of sorts, heading the royal council, advising the maad on political decisions, and largely governing the internal affairs of the kingdom.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ ::3. Farba fa maak :::“Another central political functionary was the farba fa maak. Although he was chief of the slaves, the great farba exerted critical influence over military and foreign affairs. Despite his servile status, he could play a defining role in the administration of the kingdom, taking effective control of diplomacy and external relations when the maad proved too young, old or weak to rule efficiently.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 109) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ :::4. Lesser court officials (inferred) ::::5. Provincial governors :::::6. Saaxsaax ::::::7. Jaraaf ::::::“He relied on a congeries of provincial governors and local functionaries, many of whom he personally appointed, who were administering the region and ensuring the steady flow of grain to royal granaries. Locally, the king was represented by the saaxsaax who exerted judicial functions and received taxes in each village, and the jaraaf, who were generally chosen from the lineage of the village founder and acted essentially as village heads.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 396, "polity": { "id": 677, "name": "se_sine_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Sine", "start_year": 1350, "end_year": 1887 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 6, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. “Colonial sources pain the Siin as a Centralized monarchy with constitutional checks wherein kingly power was balanced by ‘a quasi-corporatist system that granted voice to major status groups. Power was vested in three political institutions- the maad (buur, in Wolof), the jaraaf a maak, and the farba fa maak- whose administration embodied the wills, decisions, and political consciousness of the aristocracy, the free peasantry (jaambur), and the body of slaves.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 106) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ 1.Maad (king) :“The maad a sinig was the head of stately decision making, whose responsibility entailed declaring or calling off war, rendering justice, and mediating conflicts while ultimately ensuring the well-being and security of his subjects. His authority extended over royal lands, the slaves who worked them, and the nobility. The king was the recipient of annual taxes and customs, receiving parallel revenue from trade and the royal monopoly over salt production. He relied on a congeries of provincial governors and local functionaries, many of whom he personally appointed, who were administering the region and ensuring the steady flow of grain to royal granaries. Locally, the king was represented by the saaxsaax who exerted judicial functions and received taxes in each village, and the jaraaf, who were generally chosen from the lineage of the village founder and acted essentially as village heads.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ :2. Jaraaf a maak ::“The great jaraaf functioned as a prime minister of sorts, heading the royal council, advising the maad on political decisions, and largely governing the internal affairs of the kingdom.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ ::3. Farba fa maak :::“Another central political functionary was the farba fa maak. Although he was chief of the slaves, the great farba exerted critical influence over military and foreign affairs. Despite his servile status, he could play a defining role in the administration of the kingdom, taking effective control of diplomacy and external relations when the maad proved too young, old or weak to rule efficiently.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 109) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§ :::4. Lesser court officials (inferred) ::::5. Provincial governors :::::6. Saaxsaax ::::::7. Jaraaf ::::::“He relied on a congeries of provincial governors and local functionaries, many of whom he personally appointed, who were administering the region and ensuring the steady flow of grain to royal granaries. Locally, the king was represented by the saaxsaax who exerted judicial functions and received taxes in each village, and the jaraaf, who were generally chosen from the lineage of the village founder and acted essentially as village heads.” §REF§ (Richard 2018, 107) Richard, Francois G. 2018. Reluctant Landscapes: Historical Anthropologies of Political Experience in Siin, Senegal. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZNV5RKBU/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 397, "polity": { "id": 678, "name": "se_waalo_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Waalo", "start_year": 1287, "end_year": 1855 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 6, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Five levels mentioned within the consulted sources.1.King :2. High ministers ::“The jogomaay was the master of the waters, president of the assembly and governor of kingdom during the interim reigns. The jawdin was, at the same time the master of the land, a type of military chief with executive power, as much as during the life of the brak as during the interim reigns, during which he was guardian of the royal tam-tams (drums). The maalo was the treasurer-general of the kingdom.” §REF§ (Barry 2012, 40) Barry, Boubacar. 2012. The Kingdom of Waalo: Senegal Before the Conquest. New York: Diasporic Africa Press. Seshat URL:https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/9KV5MEKN/collection §REF§ ::3. Lesser ministers (inferred) :::4. District heads ::::5. Village heads :::::Kangam- “The kangam, below the royal family, provided the chiefs for the great territorial units, the districts or the villages.” §REF§ (Barry 2012, 34) Barry, Boubacar. 2012. The Kingdom of Waalo: Senegal Before the Conquest. New York: Diasporic Africa Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/9KV5MEKN/collection §REF§ “The doomi-buur were the third-ranking nobility, with the right to certain commanding positions of certain districts or villages. The were generally the tara children, the offspring of the marriage of a prince and a captive.” §REF§ (Barry 2012, 34) Barry, Boubacar. 2012. The Kingdom of Waalo: Senegal Before the Conquest. New York: Diasporic Africa Press. Seshat URL:https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/9KV5MEKN/collection §REF§ :::::6. Lesser officials (inferred)" }, { "id": 398, "polity": { "id": 683, "name": "ug_buganda_k_2", "long_name": "Buganda II", "start_year": 1717, "end_year": 1894 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 7, "administrative_level_to": 7, "comment": null, "description": "levels. Inferring at least three levels of lesser chiefs. \"Early travellers were impressed by the flying 'pages', young lads who scudded around the capital bearing messages and generally making themselves useful. From these, in the main, were recruited the next generation of the ruling elite. A youth who had survived the rigorous palace schooling and had displayed aptitude and fidelity would graduate to the captaincy of a ki-tongole troop. That is, he would become a mu-tongole, in theory the lowest kind of chief though some such people wielded considerable power. Some troops were of course maintained at the capital but others were stationed in the provinces, where they had small estates forming enclaves in the territory of a district chief, a mukungu. The mutongole remained directly responsible to the kabaka and his role was in effect to keep an eye on the chief. On occasion he would be ordered to seize the chiefs property and take his place, or a mutongole would be sent from the capital for the same purpose. He was then established in the administrative hierarchy. This was a complex structure with many gradations. At the highest level, apart from the katikkiro, the chief minister and judge, and the kimbugwe or keeper of the king's umbilical cord, were the chiefs of the ten ssazas, literally 'divisions' but conventionally Englished as 'counties'. These were not all of the same kind. The most important were the four marcher provinces: Buddu in the south-west, Ssingo in the north-west, Bulemeezi in the north and Kyaggwe in the east. In the west-centre of the country were four smaller counties: Mawokota on the coast, Butambala, Gomba, and Busujju further inland. That left the two central counties of Busiro and Kyaddondo, which were a patchwork of domains belonging to ritual officiants, members of the royal family and shrine priests, nominally presided over by the sacred officeholders called the Mugema and the Kaggo. Within each county was an array of lesser ba-kungu, ranked in a conventional order.\" §REF§(Wrigley 2002: 63-64) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/DNKVW9WZ/collection.§REF§1. Kabaka (king) :2. Katikkiro (chief minister and judge) ::3. Kimbungwe (keeper of the king's umbilical cord) :::4. Chiefs of the ten ssazas (districts) ::::5. Lesser chiefs :::::6. Lesser chiefs ::::::7. Lesser chiefs" }, { "id": 399, "polity": { "id": 684, "name": "ug_toro_k", "long_name": "Toro", "start_year": 1830, "end_year": 1896 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 5, "administrative_level_to": 5, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Except for the sovereign's close relations (such as uncles at the start of a reign or eldest sons at the end), the most listened-to advisers were people of humbler origins. They belonged to appointed families that regularly furnished their young for service at the court. These youths literally made their careers by distinguishing themselves before the king for their bravery, wisdom, and loyalty; when they grew to maturity, they became notables, whom the sovereign consulted regularly and who constituted the monarchy's real government. The king gathered their advice before making major decisions, or he sent them to the provinces for special assignments. [...] Territorial division and methods of determining officials introduced a variety of situations. Two general levels can be distinguished: the small province (what was called a chiefdom under colonialism) and the locality (a hill or a group of banana gardens). For example, in Burundi, one distinguished chiefs (batware) and their \"delegates\" (vyariho).\" §REF§(Chrétien 2006: 173-175) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/FXCVWDRI/collection.§REF§ 1. King :2. Close advisers, related to the king ::3. Advisers forming the king's \"real government\" :::4. Provincial chiefs ::::5. \"Delegates\" to provincial chiefs" }, { "id": 400, "polity": { "id": 686, "name": "tz_karagwe_k", "long_name": "Karagwe", "start_year": 1500, "end_year": 1916 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Administrative_level", "administrative_level_from": 4, "administrative_level_to": 6, "comment": null, "description": "levels. \"Like the Fipa Kingdom, Karagwe’s success is not only confined to its spatial extension but also to the dexterity of its administrative machinery. The king ruled with the assistance of a firm system of subordinates, including a prime minister who took care of all administrative matters; a chief commander who was in charge of the army; a leading healer who took care of both the biological and magical health of the king and his subjects, and others.\"§REF§(Mapunda 2009: 95) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/9GV5C5NF/collection. §REF§ \"In these chiefdoms, and especially in Karagwe, the pastoralists, known as Hima, held a distinct social predominance which may have resulted from their ability to make cultivators their clients by loaning cattle. Yet the kings attempted to exert an independent authority over both classes of men, prohibiting blood feuds between clans, appointing royal relatives as sub-chiefs and village headmen occupying nyarubanja estates, waginga long and largely successful struggle to control the mediums of the kubandwa cult which dominated local religion, and organising elaborate courts at which each clan performed a specialised function. In Karagwe, unlike Ufipa, villagers did not even elect their headmen or allocate land. It was Tanganyika's most stratified and authoritarian society, and its cultivators' misery struck several early visitors.\"§REF§(Iliffe 1979: 24-25) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB2AJMVC/collection.§REF§ 1. King :2. Prime minister ::3. Court officials (inferred) :::4. Sub-chiefs ::::5. Court officials for sub-chiefs (inferred) :::::6. Village headmen" } ] }