Professional Priesthood List
A viewset for viewing and editing Professional Priesthoods.
GET /api/sc/professional-priesthoods/?format=api
{ "count": 464, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/professional-priesthoods/?format=api&page=2", "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 1, "polity": { "id": 137, "name": "af_durrani_emp", "long_name": "Durrani Empire", "start_year": 1747, "end_year": 1826 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "Sunni Islam did not have the equivalent of a professional priest. The leader of the daily prayers was given a special title and a person widely thought to be learned would be awarded a title of Imam, but this did not connote a hierarchy of belief. Certain originators of judiciary schools were awarded special titles, but these rare individuals were not the equivalent of saints. The increasing fractured nature of Sunni and Shiite religious controversy led to a divergence in the use of titles to members of the umma. In Afghanistan, local practice could be widely divergent from mainstream Islam. §REF§Lapidus, 2002, pp. 133-155§REF§" }, { "id": 2, "polity": { "id": 134, "name": "af_ghur_principality", "long_name": "Ghur Principality", "start_year": 1025, "end_year": 1215 }, "year_from": 1200, "year_to": 1200, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Full-time specialists" }, { "id": 3, "polity": { "id": 350, "name": "af_greco_bactrian_k", "long_name": "Greco-Bactrian Kingdom", "start_year": -256, "end_year": -125 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The wider cultural zone of the Eranshahr stretching from Alexandria to Kandahar was a fusion of Mazdaism, Hellenism, and Buddhism as well as syncretic admixtures of different practices. §REF§Daryaee, Touraj, <i>The Oxford handbook of Iranian history</i>. p. 158-9§REF§" }, { "id": 4, "polity": { "id": 129, "name": "af_hephthalite_emp", "long_name": "Hephthalite Empire", "start_year": 408, "end_year": 561 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Theodore: \"Appointed Nestorian Christian archbishop at Merv in 540.\" §REF§(Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton.§REF§<br>A number of competing faiths were present, but there is no clear evidence of what faith was sanctioned or supported by the ruling elites. One Chinese commentator from the period remarked that the Hephthalites of Gandhara 'honoured kui-shên (demons).' §REF§Litvinsky B.A.,Guang-da Zhang , and Shabani Samghabadi R. (eds)History of Civilizations of Central Asia, p. 150§REF§<br>\"There is some evidence that Buddhism was practices in some of the territories held by the Hephthalites; however, some contemporary authors also wrote of the persecution of Buddhists. There are references to sacred fire, which indicates at least some familiarity with Zoroastrianism. However, because Hephthalite graves have been found, not all aspects of Zoroastrianism would have been practiced, since the funerary ritual of this religion, entailed leaving the body in the open to be devoured by sacred birds and dogs. As was the case with language religion was probably another area in which the Hephthalites constituted a multicultural society\".§REF§(West 2009, 276) West, B A. 2009. Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing.§REF§" }, { "id": 5, "polity": { "id": 281, "name": "af_kidarite_k", "long_name": "Kidarite Kingdom", "start_year": 388, "end_year": 477 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " There was \"a local variety of Zoroastrianism (Mazdaism) in Tokharistan, various expressions of Buddhism and Hinduism in the territory of Gandhara and also, probably, the official Sasanian doctrine.\"§REF§(Zeimal 1996, 137) Zeimal, E. V. The Kidarite Kingdom In Central Asia. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.123-137. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf§REF§" }, { "id": 6, "polity": { "id": 127, "name": "af_kushan_emp", "long_name": "Kushan Empire", "start_year": 35, "end_year": 319 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Sivaism, Vishnuism, Jainism, Buddhism - and their different schools \"penetrated Central Asia\" from India where there was Zoroastrianism, Greek divinities, pre-Zoroastrian cults, and ancient Iranian religions of the horseriding nomads.§REF§(Harmatta et al. 1994, 321) Harmatta, J. Puri, B. N. Lelekov, L. Humayun, S. Sircar, D. C. Religions in the Kushan Empire. in Harmatta, Janos. Puri, B. N. Etemadi, G. F. eds. 1994. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations 700 B.C. to A.D. 250. UNESCO Publishing.§REF§<br>\"Buddhist monasteries became large economic enterprises, engaging in all kinds of business, including trading, investing, and the making of alcohol.\"§REF§(Liu 2010, 54) Liu, Xinru. 2010. The Silk Road in World History. Oxford University Press. Oxford.§REF§<br>The Kara-tepe inscriptions show that an important role was played by Buddhist monks and officials as well as the Zoroastrian priesthood. §REF§<a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bankarticle/vol_II%20silk%20road_cities%20and%20urban%20life%20in%20the%20kushan%20kingdom.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bankarticle/vol_II%20silk%20road_cities%20and%20urban%20life%20in%20the%20kushan%20kingdom.pdf</a> p. 299§REF§<br>Buddhist monasteries had the patronage of Kushan rulers and rich traders, also Zoroastrian followers. §REF§, “Kanis.ka’s Bactrian Pantheon in the Rabatak Inscription: The Numismatic Evidence,” in Proceedings of the 5th Conference of the Societas Iranologica Europaea held in Ravenna, 6-11 October 2003, vol. I: Ancient and Middle Iranian Studies, ed. Antonio Panaino and Andrea Piras (Milano: Mimesis, 2006), 351-57, see 353-54, plates 37-38§REF§" }, { "id": 7, "polity": { "id": 467, "name": "af_tocharian", "long_name": "Tocharians", "start_year": -129, "end_year": 29 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Buddhism" }, { "id": 8, "polity": { "id": 253, "name": "cn_eastern_han_dyn", "long_name": "Eastern Han Empire", "start_year": 25, "end_year": 220 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "\"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 9, "polity": { "id": 254, "name": "cn_western_jin_dyn", "long_name": "Western Jin", "start_year": 265, "end_year": 317 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§<br>Buddhism was present in northern China<br>\"In addition to commerce, these Central Asian kingdoms were also centers of Buddhism, and it was from the cities on the Central Asian trade route that Buddhism spread into the Middle Kingdom. Thus it is no accident that it was during the Western Jin that Buddhism began to establish itself as a significant presence, at least in north China.\"§REF§(Knechtges 2010, 183) Knechtges, David R. in Chang, Kang-i Sun. Ownen, Stephen. 2010. The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature, Volume 1. Cambridge University Press.§REF§" }, { "id": 10, "polity": { "id": 422, "name": "cn_erligang", "long_name": "Erligang", "start_year": -1650, "end_year": -1250 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " King likely top priest due to palaces being both religious and political structures. However, due to the significance of the ceremonial enclave, and the sacrificial rituals, must have been helped by full-time specialists.<br>\"Exemplified by Zhengzhou and Anyang, each city was composed of a centrally situated ceremonial and administrative enclave occupied primarily by royalty, priests and a few selected craftsmen... (Wheatley 1971: 30-47).\"§REF§(Liu and Chen 2012, 295) Liu, Li. Chen, Xingcan. 2012. The Archaeology of China: From the Late Paleolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press.§REF§<br>\"The scale of the palace-temples and the existence of the palace-temple district from the very beginning of the site suggest that Yanshi Shangcheng was planned and built as an elite religious/political structure from the start.\" §REF§(Campbell 2014, 75)§REF§<br>Ritual specialists were present from at least Shang onwards §REF§(North China Workshop 2016)§REF§" }, { "id": 11, "polity": { "id": 421, "name": "cn_erlitou", "long_name": "Erlitou", "start_year": -1850, "end_year": -1600 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Not stated explicitly by sources, but suggested by importance of divination/ancestor worship rituals §REF§(Flad 2008)§REF§." }, { "id": 12, "polity": { "id": 471, "name": "cn_hmong_2", "long_name": "Hmong - Early Chinese", "start_year": 1895, "end_year": 1941 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Full-time specialists Ritual specialists were not full-time professionals: 'The Ch'uan Miao are an agricultural people. They are all sons of the soil and get their living from the soil. Even those who are blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, hunters, priests or shamans have farms, sometimes owned but generally rented, and they depend primarily on farming for a living. Sometimes there are houses that are only a few rods apart but I have not seen or heard of a single Ch'uan Miao village or a locality that could boast of a single street.' §REF§Graham, David Crockett 1937. “Customs Of The Ch’Uan Miao”, 21§REF§ 'Most religious ritual is performed or guided by various part-time specialists who act as priests, diviners, or shamans for the local community or for kin groups. Most of them are males. They engage in ordinary work, and only the most important religious activities require them to don special items of dress and decoration to mark them from others. There are no written texts for learning the chants, songs, dances, and rituals: they are memorized. If called by a family, specialists receive a small payment (often in foodstuffs) for their assistance. Shamans play a key role at funerals and postburial rites. They are also involved in analysis and healing of illness: some are skilled in herbal medicine as well as ritual procedures. Shamans also provide explanations of the possible causes of misfortune and can provide protective amulets. Ceremonies on behalf of the village community or a gathering of kin from several villages are conducted by skilled male elders who function as priests, following ritual procedures, administering the necessary animal and food sacrifices, and chanting the songs and myths without going into trance or communicating directly with the supernaturals and spirits. Some ceremonies are led by the male head of household on behalf of his immediate family.' §REF§Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao§REF§ Shamans were not part of an organized body, instead serving their own communities: 'In religion, most Miao practice ancestor worship and believe in a wide variety of spirits. They have shamans who may exorcise malevolent spirits or recall the soul of a sick patient, and animal sacrifice is widespread (see shamanism; soul loss).' §REF§<a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.britannica.com/topic/Miao\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.britannica.com/topic/Miao</a>§REF§ '(1) Spiritual Media. The names for spiritual media in An-shun are the same in the Miao-I language as in the Chinese. The men are known as Kwei-shin or Tuan-kung; the women, Mi-la or Mi-pu. Their duty is to sacrifice to the spirits to invoke their aid and to provide a medium between the spiritual and the human worlds. As such they are respected by the people. All ancestor worship and funeral events have to be presided over by the Kwei-shih. Every Miao-I center has one or two Kwei-shih, who learned their trade since childhood. Among the Chung-chia people the magic charms used for such spiritual purposes are marked with Chinese characters as phonetic symbols and written down as a scripture to be transmitted from master to disciple. The Kwei-shih, who are farmers by trade, take up mediumship as a side line to supplement their income from remunerations gained from its practice. In case of sickness the Miao-I believe the evil spirits are causing trouble, and it is the duty of the Mi-la to chase them away in order to cure the sick person. Often she is invited to the house to do her work. Sometimes in public gatherings the Mi-la is surrounded by people inquiring from her as to the best method of driving away spirits. Evidently the Mi-la is less able than the Kwei-shih, for in case of very serious illness or in the performance of funeral rites the man medium is always preferred.' §REF§Chen, Guojun, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Religious Beliefs Of The Miao And I Tribes In An-Shun Kweichow”, 3§REF§ 'The eleventh part is performed in front of the main house. A bamboo mat is spread on the ground and on it are placed the caps and clothes of the members of the lower generation. Behind the mat there is a bench, on which are placed a bowl of wine and a piece of water-buffalo meat. The sorcerer-priest stands outside the entrance, wearing a wide rain hat on his head and carrying a bamboo cage on his back, in which are clothes and other articles. Wielding a wooden rod, he utters an incantation, telling of the source of the kuei of pigs. After the incantation he goes directly into the house and partakes of the wine and meat on the bench.' §REF§Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 199§REF§ Non-shamans generally also had some knowledge of healing practices: 'Aside from the shaman's extensive knowledge, ordinary persons also have some knowledge of plants and other materials that have healing properties. The Chinese invert this by claiming that Miao women engage in magical poisoning, but all evidence suggests this is a Han myth rather than Miao practice. Divination and exorcism of ghosts and evil spirits are also a part of healing.' §REF§Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao§REF§ Chrisitan missionaries also attracted followers: 'Since the reign of Kwang-hsu /1875-1907/ in the Ch'ing Dynasty, foreign Protestant and Catholic missionaries had come to Kweichow to rent houses for dispensing medicine and preaching the gospel. The Miao-I people were attracted by their kind and dignified bearings and many were subsequently converted. These preachers bought property where their congregation was the largest and established schools with teachers instructing the people in the gospel. Today Shih-men-k'an at Wei-ning is the southwest headquarters of the Christian missions. There many Hua Miao become sincere believers and followers. The missionaries have also introduced a romanized form of Miao language based on the English alphabet, which the Hua Miao learn as the “Miao language.”' §REF§Che-lin, Wu, Chen Kuo-chün, and Lien-en Tsao 1942. “Studies Of Miao-I Societies In Kweichow”, 15§REF§ The material is coded for Hmong shamanism rather than converts to Christianity." }, { "id": 13, "polity": { "id": 470, "name": "cn_hmong_1", "long_name": "Hmong - Late Qing", "start_year": 1701, "end_year": 1895 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Shamans \"engage in ordinary work, and only the most important religious activities require them to don special items of dress and decoration to mark them from others. There are no written texts for learning the chants, songs, dances, and rituals: they are memorized. If called by a family, specialists receive a small payment (often in foodstuffs) for their assistance\".§REF§Diamond, Norma: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Miao§REF§" }, { "id": 14, "polity": { "id": 245, "name": "cn_jin_spring_and_autumn", "long_name": "Jin", "start_year": -780, "end_year": -404 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Inferred present for contemporary polities §REF§(Blakeley 1999, 10) Blakeley, Barry B. in Cook, Constance A. Major, John S. 1999. eds. Defining Chu: Image and Reality in Ancient China. University of Hawai'i Press. Honolulu.§REF§." }, { "id": 15, "polity": { "id": 420, "name": "cn_longshan", "long_name": "Longshan", "start_year": -3000, "end_year": -1900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " \"Religious Practitioners. Artifactual and textual data (from later periods) suggest to some scholars that shamans were important religious specialists during the late Neolithic period.\" §REF§(Underhill in Peregrine and Ember 2001, 159)§REF§" }, { "id": 16, "polity": { "id": 266, "name": "cn_later_great_jin", "long_name": "Jin Dynasty", "start_year": 1115, "end_year": 1234 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 17, "polity": { "id": 269, "name": "cn_ming_dyn", "long_name": "Great Ming", "start_year": 1368, "end_year": 1644 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 18, "polity": { "id": 258, "name": "cn_northern_wei_dyn", "long_name": "Northern Wei", "start_year": 386, "end_year": 534 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "There was a Celestial Master at Pingcheng.§REF§(Xiong 2009, xcix)§REF§ It was \"standard practice\" for new emperors to take part in a \"Daoist ritual to receive talisman registers.\"§REF§(Xiong 2009, c)§REF§<br>\"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 19, "polity": { "id": 1, "name": "cn_qing_dyn_1", "long_name": "Early Qing", "start_year": 1644, "end_year": 1796 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 20, "polity": { "id": 2, "name": "cn_qing_dyn_2", "long_name": "Late Qing", "start_year": 1796, "end_year": 1912 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 21, "polity": { "id": 243, "name": "cn_late_shang_dyn", "long_name": "Late Shang", "start_year": -1250, "end_year": -1045 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"The king or professional diviners hired by the king used oracle bones to make predictions about the future or to answer questions...\"§REF§(The Shang Dynasty, 1600 to 1050 BCE. Spice Digest, Fall 2007. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://iis-db.stanford.edu/docs/117/ShangDynasty.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://iis-db.stanford.edu/docs/117/ShangDynasty.pdf</a>)§REF§" }, { "id": 22, "polity": { "id": 260, "name": "cn_sui_dyn", "long_name": "Sui Dynasty", "start_year": 581, "end_year": 618 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 23, "polity": { "id": 264, "name": "cn_tang_dyn_2", "long_name": "Tang Dynasty II", "start_year": 763, "end_year": 907 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " e.g. Buddhist, Manichean, Nestorian. \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 24, "polity": { "id": 251, "name": "cn_western_han_dyn", "long_name": "Western Han Empire", "start_year": -202, "end_year": 9 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "\"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 25, "polity": { "id": 244, "name": "cn_western_zhou_dyn", "long_name": "Western Zhou", "start_year": -1122, "end_year": -771 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... it has also been suggested that, in the realm of literature, poems that were to be performed by a collective body of celebrants of the ancestral rites gave way to poems that were sung by ritual specialists before an audience.\"§REF§(Feng 2006, 96) Feng, Li. 2006. Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC. Cambridge University Press.§REF§" }, { "id": 26, "polity": { "id": 419, "name": "cn_yangshao", "long_name": "Yangshao", "start_year": -5000, "end_year": -3000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " \"Religious Practitioners. The human face and fish motifs on the painted bowls of the Banpo phase are generally interpreted as portraits or masks of a shaman.\" §REF§(Lee in Peregrine and Ember 2001, 336)§REF§<br>Temples found at Hongshan sites §REF§(Shelach-Levi, Gideon. 2015. The Archaeology of Early China: From Prehistory to the Han Dynasty, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 98)§REF§<br>\"Xishuipo grave M45 has often been taken to be a 'shaman's' grave.\"- Other scholars argue \"it is more likely to have been the resting place of a sociopolitical leader.\" §REF§(Shelach-Levi, Gideon. 2015. The Archaeology of Early China: From Prehistory to the Han Dynasty, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 98)§REF§<br>\"Ritual structures (or 'temples'), which are found only in northeast China, along with the graves associated with these structures, might suggest that religious ideas and specialist practitioners (priests) were more important to the sociopolitical integration of societies in northwest China than in other parts of north China during the Early Neolithic period.\" §REF§(Shelach-Levi, Gideon. 2015. The Archaeology of Early China: From Prehistory to the Han Dynasty, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 100)§REF§" }, { "id": 27, "polity": { "id": 268, "name": "cn_yuan_dyn", "long_name": "Great Yuan", "start_year": 1271, "end_year": 1368 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"... begun during the Tang dynasty... The rise of religious professionals and soldiers as clearly separate groups was contrary to the previous normative view of society divided into knights (shi, the term that would later be applied to the literati or gentry), farmers, artisans and merchants.\"§REF§(Lorge 2005, 7)§REF§" }, { "id": 28, "polity": { "id": 436, "name": "co_tairona", "long_name": "Tairona", "start_year": 1050, "end_year": 1524 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " <span style=\"color:blue\">Only at the time of Conquest? AD</span> \"The chronicles make frequent reference to naomas and mohanes, of whom there could be several in each town. The two words are often used interchangeably, and these people are usually considered to be priests and ritual specialists,the possible ancestors of the present-day Kogi and Ika mamas (Dussán de Reichel 2000: 88; for a contrary view see Bischof 1971; 1982-83: 88). In this connection, there is an interesting mention in the Relación de Tayrona (1571) to a town with two caciques; the principal one was called Mamanauma (Oyuela- Caycedo 1998: 52).The mohanes are undoubtedly priests (see Castellanos 1955, 2: 596), but the status of the naomas is less clear.\" §REF§(Bray 2003; 302)§REF§There is no confirmation from Bray that the mohanes were full-time priests. However, training to become a priest seems to have been intense: \"In 1561, an account tells of an incursion to the Nueva Salamanca de la Ramada, an area where the town of Dibulla is located today (Restrepo Tirado 1943: 860). During this trip, the process of the accession of a priest was described: \"They obeyed an Indian called mohán who cured them of sickness. At his death he would be succeeded by his son who had been kept enclosed without seeing the sun for ten years.\" This description greatly resembles the process of training for priesthood noted by Reichel-Dolmatoff (1976b) for the Kaggaba.\" §REF§(Oyuela-Caycedo 1998, 52)§REF§\"In any case, that there were no strict boundaries between civil and religious authority should not be surprising at all. Rather, what must be interrogated and explored are the various ways in which these intersect and overlap.\" §REF§(Giraldo 2010, 61)§REF§\"There is also the question concerning the social positioning of people living in these different residential areas. Were they full time attached specialists such as warriors, masons, featherworkers, bead manufacturers, goldsmiths, or religious specialists as Groot (1985) argues?\" §REF§(Giraldo 2010, 304)§REF§" }, { "id": 29, "polity": { "id": 196, "name": "ec_shuar_1", "long_name": "Shuar - Colonial", "start_year": 1534, "end_year": 1830 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Full-time specialists Shamans were local practicioners: 'There are no gods who play ethical or moral roles in the Jivaro pantheon, nor are there any priests or other religious specialist except the shaman (UWISIN ) whose primary role in the society is magical curing, although he also has the power to send illness into an individual as a form of sorcery (Service, 1958: 196). Lacking true political organization, the shaman may be the most influential individual in the community frequently acting the role of KAKARAM as well as shaman.' §REF§Beierle, John: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Jivaro§REF§ 'The Jivaro lack any formal political organization, although an informal form of leadership is found in the role of individuals referred to as UNYÄ (\"big\" or \"old\" men) or KAKARAM (\"powerful\" or \"powerful ones\") who are renown as killers in feuds or war, or exercise important shamanistic powers in the community. These individuals acquire their reputation in the community by being old enough to have grandchildren, and are friendly, honest, and generous in dealing with others in the society. Because of these characteristics the UNYÄ or KAKARAM are believed to possess great ARUTAM soul power and the ability to curse to death anyone who incurs their anger. Generally most neighborhoods have at least one or two UNYÄ as well as a few superior shamans who provide protection for their relatives or other individuals with whom they are on friendly terms.' §REF§Beierle, John: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Jivaro§REF§ Many rituals could be performed by non-specialists: '“Under this general heading it seems to me convenient to treat of certain customs of the Indians which are clearly of a religious or magical nature and are regularly practised when the Indians have to enter into relations with the spiritual world. Everybody is not prepared to take part in religious ceremonies; children for example are excluded until they have passed through the initiations. Fullgrown women, on the other hand, as we have seen, take part in many of them, and there are even religious rites which can only be peformed by the women, because only they possess the ‘inner’ qualifications necessary for success. But when ordinary conjurations of evil spirits are in question, the men, and particularly old men, are both physically and mentally far in advance of the women.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru\", 425§REF§ Shamans were capable of sorcery and healing: 'In the Aguaruna tribe only men can act as sorcerers. Their magic is monistic. The sorcerer is called ananténtšo or tuntsi. They do not believe in a separation of a being from its body. They have only one kind of sorcerer: the sorcerer who kills has at the same time healing faculties.' §REF§Tessmann, Günter, b. 1884. 1930. “Indians Of Northeastern Peru”, 357§REF§ Shamans trained novices themselves: 'According to Karsten (The Religion, pp. 319 ff.), in the Chiwaro-Makas tribe an old sorcerer supervises the novice, putting in his mouth the spines of the Guilelma palm mixed with some saliva. It seems, however, that the novice receives the actual magic substance from the demon. This demon, in the shape of a giant snake or in the shape of some other serpentiform monster, appears before the entranced novice. The sorcerer must eat certain animals; others he must avoid-all this on account of certain analogous properties. The demon is said to hand the magic spines to the newly initiated. The derivation of the magic properties of a sorcerer is not quite clear to me. The leading sorcerer is remunerated for his services.' §REF§Tessmann, Günter, b. 1884. 1930. “Indians Of Northeastern Peru”, 357§REF§ Shamans were frequently the target of accusations of sorcery: '“Since supposed sorcery is nearly always the nearest cause of murders within the tribe, it is clear that the professional sorcerers or medi-[270] cine men are those members of Jibaro society which are most frequently exposed to the revengeful attacks of their enemies. As a matter of fact, in large Indian societies sorcerers are very often assassinated, or at least threatened with death, by their enemies. When a medicine-man has undertaken to cure a sick person and the latter dies in spite of the treatment, the ‘doctor’ is also generally made responsible for the death, the relatives of the dead reasoning that the medicine-man, instead of curing the patient, on the contrary used his art to kill him. The unsuccessful curer is therefore murdered unless he escapes by flight. Since the Jibaros, on the whole, do not recognize what we call a natural death but always attribute a death to supernatural causes, any death among them tends to give rise to a murder, the relatives of the deceased considering it as their duty to take revenge upon the supposed author of the accident.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 269p§REF§ Shamans were usually not full-time specialists. Here also, some fluidity may be involved in the distribution of roles. [Shamans do not often act as war leaders (except in the invisible realm) ; the more usual pattern is a sort of dyarchy between a war leader and a shaman (brother in law or son in law). However, men can slide in and out of ‘shamanship’ so it is not unheard of for a shaman to become a war leader and vice versa.]" }, { "id": 30, "polity": { "id": 197, "name": "ec_shuar_2", "long_name": "Shuar - Ecuadorian", "start_year": 1831, "end_year": 1931 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Full-time specialists. Shamans were local practicioners: 'There are no gods who play ethical or moral roles in the Jivaro pantheon, nor are there any priests or other religious specialist except the shaman (UWISIN ) whose primary role in the society is magical curing, although he also has the power to send illness into an individual as a form of sorcery (Service, 1958: 196). Lacking true political organization, the shaman may be the most influential individual in the community frequently acting the role of KAKARAM as well as shaman.' §REF§Beierle, John: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Jivaro§REF§ 'The Jivaro lack any formal political organization, although an informal form of leadership is found in the role of individuals referred to as UNYÄ (\"big\" or \"old\" men) or KAKARAM (\"powerful\" or \"powerful ones\") who are renown as killers in feuds or war, or exercise important shamanistic powers in the community. These individuals acquire their reputation in the community by being old enough to have grandchildren, and are friendly, honest, and generous in dealing with others in the society. Because of these characteristics the UNYÄ or KAKARAM are believed to possess great ARUTAM soul power and the ability to curse to death anyone who incurs their anger. Generally most neighborhoods have at least one or two UNYÄ as well as a few superior shamans who provide protection for their relatives or other individuals with whom they are on friendly terms.' §REF§Beierle, John: eHRAF Cultural Summary for the Jivaro§REF§ Many rituals could be performed by non-specialists: '“Under this general heading it seems to me convenient to treat of certain customs of the Indians which are clearly of a religious or magical nature and are regularly practised when the Indians have to enter into relations with the spiritual world. Everybody is not prepared to take part in religious ceremonies; children for example are excluded until they have passed through the initiations. Fullgrown women, on the other hand, as we have seen, take part in many of them, and there are even religious rites which can only be peformed by the women, because only they possess the ‘inner’ qualifications necessary for success. But when ordinary conjurations of evil spirits are in question, the men, and particularly old men, are both physically and mentally far in advance of the women.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru\", 425§REF§Shamans were capable of sorcery and healing: 'In the Aguaruna tribe only men can act as sorcerers. Their magic is monistic. The sorcerer is called ananténtšo or tuntsi. They do not believe in a separation of a being from its body. They have only one kind of sorcerer: the sorcerer who kills has at the same time healing faculties.' §REF§Tessmann, Günter, b. 1884. 1930. “Indians Of Northeastern Peru”, 357§REF§ Shamans trained novices themselves: 'According to Karsten (The Religion, pp. 319 ff.), in the Chiwaro-Makas tribe an old sorcerer supervises the novice, putting in his mouth the spines of the Guilelma palm mixed with some saliva. It seems, however, that the novice receives the actual magic substance from the demon. This demon, in the shape of a giant snake or in the shape of some other serpentiform monster, appears before the entranced novice. The sorcerer must eat certain animals; others he must avoid-all this on account of certain analogous properties. The demon is said to hand the magic spines to the newly initiated. The derivation of the magic properties of a sorcerer is not quite clear to me. The leading sorcerer is remunerated for his services.' §REF§Tessmann, Günter, b. 1884. 1930. “Indians Of Northeastern Peru”, 357§REF§ Shamans were frequently the target of accusations of sorcery: '“Since supposed sorcery is nearly always the nearest cause of murders within the tribe, it is clear that the professional sorcerers or medi-[270] cine men are those members of Jibaro society which are most frequently exposed to the revengeful attacks of their enemies. As a matter of fact, in large Indian societies sorcerers are very often assassinated, or at least threatened with death, by their enemies. When a medicine-man has undertaken to cure a sick person and the latter dies in spite of the treatment, the ‘doctor’ is also generally made responsible for the death, the relatives of the dead reasoning that the medicine-man, instead of curing the patient, on the contrary used his art to kill him. The unsuccessful curer is therefore murdered unless he escapes by flight. Since the Jibaros, on the whole, do not recognize what we call a natural death but always attribute a death to supernatural causes, any death among them tends to give rise to a murder, the relatives of the deceased considering it as their duty to take revenge upon the supposed author of the accident.”' §REF§Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru”, 269p§REF§ Shamans are usually not full-time specialists. Here also, some fluidity may be involved in the distribution of roles. [Shamans do not often act as war leaders (except in the invisible realm) ; the more usual pattern is a sort of dyarchy between a war leader and a shaman (brother in law or son in law). However, men can slide in and out of ‘shamanship’ so it is not unheard of for a shaman to become a war leader and vice versa.]" }, { "id": 31, "polity": { "id": 367, "name": "eg_ayyubid_sultanate", "long_name": "Ayyubid Sultanate", "start_year": 1171, "end_year": 1250 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 32, "polity": { "id": 510, "name": "eg_badarian", "long_name": "Badarian", "start_year": -4400, "end_year": -3800 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 33, "polity": { "id": 514, "name": "eg_dynasty_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty I", "start_year": -3100, "end_year": -2900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. §REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§" }, { "id": 34, "polity": { "id": 515, "name": "eg_dynasty_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty II", "start_year": -2900, "end_year": -2687 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. §REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§<br>EWA: changed the code (to absent)<br>" }, { "id": 35, "polity": { "id": 205, "name": "eg_inter_occupation", "long_name": "Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period", "start_year": -404, "end_year": -342 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"Egyptian priesthood.\" §REF§(Lloyd 2000, 377)§REF§" }, { "id": 36, "polity": { "id": 232, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I", "start_year": 1260, "end_year": 1348 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Mamluk state \"paid the salaries of religious personnel, endowed their schools, and thus brought the religious establishment into a state bureaucracy.\" §REF§(Lapidus 2002, 294)§REF§" }, { "id": 37, "polity": { "id": 239, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_3", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III", "start_year": 1412, "end_year": 1517 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Mamluk state \"paid the salaries of religious personnel, endowed their schools, and thus brought the religious establishment into a state bureaucracy.\" §REF§(Lapidus 2002, 294)§REF§" }, { "id": 38, "polity": { "id": 236, "name": "eg_mamluk_sultanate_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II", "start_year": 1348, "end_year": 1412 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Mamluk state \"paid the salaries of religious personnel, endowed their schools, and thus brought the religious establishment into a state bureaucracy.\" §REF§(Lapidus 2002, 294)§REF§" }, { "id": 39, "polity": { "id": 519, "name": "eg_middle_k", "long_name": "Egypt - Middle Kingdom", "start_year": -2016, "end_year": -1700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. §REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§" }, { "id": 40, "polity": { "id": 511, "name": "eg_naqada_1", "long_name": "Naqada I", "start_year": -3800, "end_year": -3550 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The introduction of professional priesthood occurred during the New Kingdom §REF§Doxey, D. M. 2001. \"Priesthood\". [in:] Redford, D. B. [ed.]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg: 77.§REF§ As there is no professional priesthood in the Dynastic Egypt up to New Kingdom it seems improbable that this institution existed in the predynastic times§REF§Doxey D. M. 2001. \"Priesthood\".[in;] Redford, D. B. [ed.]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford:Oxford University Press. pg: 77.§REF§" }, { "id": 41, "polity": { "id": 512, "name": "eg_naqada_2", "long_name": "Naqada II", "start_year": -3550, "end_year": -3300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The introduction of professional priesthood occurred during the New Kingdom§REF§Doxey, D. M. 2001. \"Priesthood\". [in:] Redford, D. B. [ed.]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg: 77.§REF§." }, { "id": 42, "polity": { "id": 513, "name": "eg_naqada_3", "long_name": "Egypt - Dynasty 0", "start_year": -3300, "end_year": -3100 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The introduction of professional priesthood occurred during the New Kingdom§REF§Doxey, D. M. 2001. \"Priesthood\". [in:] Redford, D. B. [ed.]. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pg: 77.§REF§." }, { "id": 43, "polity": { "id": 199, "name": "eg_new_k_2", "long_name": "Egypt - New Kingdom Ramesside Period", "start_year": -1293, "end_year": -1070 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " During the New Kingdom the priesthood became a full-time profession. The position of \"first prophet\" was initially held by members of the royal family, then by officials appointed by the Pharaoh.§REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§ Temples \"sustained by government grants bestowed in return for formal blessings on the undertakings of the state.\" §REF§(Mokhtar 1981, 102)§REF§" }, { "id": 44, "polity": { "id": 198, "name": "eg_new_k_1", "long_name": "Egypt - New Kingdom Thutmosid Period", "start_year": -1550, "end_year": -1293 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " During the New Kingdom the priesthood became a full-time profession. The position of chief priest could be held by members of the royal family, then by officials appointed by the Pharaoh.§REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§ Temples \"sustained by government grants bestowed in return for formal blessings on the undertakings of the state.\" §REF§(Mokhtar 1981, 102)§REF§" }, { "id": 45, "polity": { "id": 516, "name": "eg_old_k_1", "long_name": "Egypt - Classic Old Kingdom", "start_year": -2650, "end_year": -2350 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " EWA changed the code.<br>Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. §REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§" }, { "id": 46, "polity": { "id": 517, "name": "eg_old_k_2", "long_name": "Egypt - Late Old Kingdom", "start_year": -2350, "end_year": -2150 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. §REF§(Doxey 2001)§REF§" }, { "id": 47, "polity": { "id": 109, "name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_1", "long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom I", "start_year": -305, "end_year": -217 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": "Full-time priests who held not other functions were common in Ptolemaic Egypt. They were the ones who conducted the rituals. However, there were only a few of those priests for every temple." }, { "id": 48, "polity": { "id": 207, "name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_2", "long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom II", "start_year": -217, "end_year": -30 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": "Full-time priests who held not other functions were common in Ptolemaic Egypt. They were the ones who conducted the rituals. However, there were only a few of those priests for every temple." }, { "id": 49, "polity": { "id": 518, "name": "eg_regions", "long_name": "Egypt - Period of the Regions", "start_year": -2150, "end_year": -2016 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": "<br>" }, { "id": 50, "polity": { "id": 203, "name": "eg_saite", "long_name": "Egypt - Saite Period", "start_year": -664, "end_year": -525 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Professional_priesthood", "professional_priesthood": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Manning 2015, Personal Communication)§REF§" } ] }