Script List
A viewset for viewing and editing Scripts.
GET /api/sc/scripts/?format=api&page=9
{ "count": 578, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/scripts/?format=api&page=10", "previous": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/scripts/?format=api&page=8", "results": [ { "id": 401, "polity": { "id": 680, "name": "se_futa_toro_imamate", "long_name": "Imamate of Futa Toro", "start_year": 1776, "end_year": 1860 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Communications between Senegambian groups and the French and English colonists were made in Arabic and French. “There was a series of treaties, frequently negotiated with great care and written up in French and Arabic.” §REF§ (Klein 1972, 425) Klein, Martin A. 1972. ‘Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in Senegambia.’ The Journal of Africa History. Vol. 13:3. Pp 419-441. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/ZJRN8UJ8/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 402, "polity": { "id": 682, "name": "se_jolof_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Jolof", "start_year": 1549, "end_year": 1865 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"All correspondence in Senegambia was in Arabic, and literate marabouts were the official secretaries.\" §REF§(Charles 1977: 19) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/NRGZDV3Z/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 403, "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": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"As we have seen, to secure their essential ties, the ancient states, lacking writing and money, relied on kinship, trust, and personal relationships, which were periodically rekindled by direct contact and exchanged words.\" §REF§(Chrétien 2006: 178) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/FXCVWDRI/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 404, "polity": { "id": 685, "name": "ug_buganda_k_1", "long_name": "Buganda I", "start_year": 1408, "end_year": 1716 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§" }, { "id": 405, "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": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote characterises the people of Tanganyika (the broader region of which Karagwe formed part) as \"pre-literate\" in the early 19th century. \"We do not know what inland Tanganyikans believed in the early nineteenth century. They were pre-literate, and the religions of pre-literate peoples not only leave little historical evidence but are characteristically eclectic, mutable, and unsystematic.\"§REF§(Iliffe 1979: 26) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB2AJMVC/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 406, "polity": { "id": 687, "name": "Early Niynginya", "long_name": "Kingdom of Nyinginya", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Languages spoken in this polity were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 407, "polity": { "id": 688, "name": "ug_nkore_k_1", "long_name": "Nkore", "start_year": 1450, "end_year": 1749 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§ We are inferring presence for the kingdom of Nkore due to likely spread of literacy from the Buganda polity." }, { "id": 408, "polity": { "id": 689, "name": "rw_ndorwa_k", "long_name": "Ndorwa", "start_year": 1700, "end_year": 1800 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Languages spoken in Rwanda were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 409, "polity": { "id": 690, "name": "bu_burundi_k", "long_name": "Burundi", "start_year": 1680, "end_year": 1903 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"As we have seen, to secure their essential ties, the ancient states, lacking writing and money, relied on kinship, trust, and personal relationships, which were periodically rekindled by direct contact and exchanged words.\" §REF§(Chrétien 2006: 178) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/FXCVWDRI/collection.§REF§Languages spoken in this polity were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 410, "polity": { "id": 691, "name": "rw_mubari_k", "long_name": "Mubari", "start_year": 1700, "end_year": 1896 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Languages spoken in Rwanda were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 411, "polity": { "id": 692, "name": "rw_gisaka_k", "long_name": "Gisaka", "start_year": 1700, "end_year": 1867 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Languages spoken in Rwanda were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 412, "polity": { "id": 693, "name": "tz_milansi_k", "long_name": "Fipa", "start_year": 1600, "end_year": 1890 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote characterises the people of Tanganyika (the broader region of which the Fipa formed part) as \"pre-literate\" in the early 19th century. \"We do not know what inland Tanganyikans believed in the early nineteenth century. They were pre-literate, and the religions of pre-literate peoples not only leave little historical evidence but are characteristically eclectic, mutable, and unsystematic.\"§REF§(Iliffe 1979: 26) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB2AJMVC/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 413, "polity": { "id": 694, "name": "rw_bugesera_k", "long_name": "Bugesera", "start_year": 1700, "end_year": 1799 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Languages spoken in Rwanda were turned into \"written artefacts\" only in the colonial period: \"Before the arrival of the Europeans, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi were already employed in both kingdoms – Ikinyanduga in southern Rwanda and Ikiruundi in central Burundi – yet with a lot less linguistic unity in the two kingdoms than in (post)colonial times. The missionary and colonial interventions, therefore, rather focused on lexicon, resulting in status planning initiatives and contributing to the compilation of dictionaries, favouring a specific dialect over others. [...] The most salient and visible adaptations were a part of the primarily orthographic alignments of textualisation processes (turning languages into written artefacts).\"§REF§(Nassenstein 2019: 16-17) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/QUT3P5UT/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 414, "polity": { "id": 696, "name": "tz_buhayo_k", "long_name": "Buhaya", "start_year": 1700, "end_year": 1890 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote characterises the people of Tanganyika (the broader region of which Buhaya formed part) as \"pre-literate\" in the early 19th century. \"We do not know what inland Tanganyikans believed in the early nineteenth century. They were pre-literate, and the religions of pre-literate peoples not only leave little historical evidence but are characteristically eclectic, mutable, and unsystematic.\"§REF§(Iliffe 1979: 26) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SB2AJMVC/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 415, "polity": { "id": 697, "name": "in_pandya_emp_2", "long_name": "Pandya Dynasty", "start_year": 590, "end_year": 915 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “A Sanskrit epigraph mentions the name Madhurakavi who belonged to a family of doctors and was a minister under king Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan.” §REF§ (Kamlesh 2010, 599) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 416, "polity": { "id": 698, "name": "in_cholas_1", "long_name": "Early Cholas", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote discusses the archaeological site at Kodumanal. “Over 100 inscribed pieces of pottery were also found in the excavations. Most of these were in the Tamil language and Tamil-Brahmi script. A few inscriptions are in the Prakrit language and Brahmi script. Palaeo-magnetic dating of these potsherds has given a rage of c. 300 BCE to 200 CE.” §REF§ (Singh 2008, 402) Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. London: Pearson Education. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UJG2G6MJ/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 417, "polity": { "id": 699, "name": "in_thanjavur_maratha_k", "long_name": "Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom", "start_year": 1675, "end_year": 1799 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The Tamil silver-plate inscription of the Maratha Prince Ekoji (A.D. 1676) confirms the above lease to the Dutch.” §REF§ (Menon 2001, 303) Menon. A.G. 2001. ‘Copper Plates to Silver Plates: Cholas, Dutch and Buddhism’ In Fruits of Inspiration: Studies in Honour of Prof. J.G. de Caparis. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FU8TFSTT/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 418, "polity": { "id": 700, "name": "in_pandya_emp_1", "long_name": "Early Pandyas", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “But more interesting and important are the numerous Brahmi Tamil inscriptions and Brahmi script found on pot sherds of the period. They have been found in more or less the same type of script in Arikamedu, Kanchi, Karur, Uraiyur, Korkai etc. i.e., in a vast territory in Tamilnadu.” §REF§ (Raman 1976, 55) Raman, K.V. 1976. ‘Archaeology of the Sangam Age’. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol 37. Pp 50-56. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M3ZPI56I/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 419, "polity": { "id": 701, "name": "in_carnatic_sul", "long_name": "Carnatic Sultanate", "start_year": 1710, "end_year": 1801 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The Persian records of the Nawab in the Tamilnad Archives, Madras, contain letters, government orders, accounts, service records of officials. There is also a diary maintained by Kishanchand, a trusted munshi of Mohammed Ali. It covers a period of about two years ending with February 1785.” §REF§ (Ramaswami 1984, 329) Ramaswami, N.S. 1984. Political History of Carnatic Under the Nawabs. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/PTIS9MB4/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 420, "polity": { "id": 702, "name": "in_pallava_emp_2", "long_name": "Late Pallava Empire", "start_year": 300, "end_year": 890 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “A great deal of information about this dynasty and the vast empire that the rulers controlled comes from the inscriptions. These inscriptions are in three languages, Tamil, Sanskrit and Prakrit. Sanskrit was the court language of the Pallavas.” §REF§ (Kamlesh 2010, 563) Kamelsh, Kapur. 2010. ‘The Pallava Dynasty’ In History of Ancient India: Portraits of a Nation. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UETBPIDE/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 421, "polity": { "id": 703, "name": "in_kalabhra_dyn", "long_name": "Kalabhra Dynasty", "start_year": 200, "end_year": 600 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “The Kalabhras who ruled in the far South including Kerala and South Mysore, minted and circulated a large quantity of copper coins from about 250 A.D. to the middle of the sixth century A.D. On early issues of the tribe we have the figures of tiger, elephant, horse and the fish. In rare specimens a seated Jain Muni or a swastika sign or the short sword or the symbol of Manjusri are seen. The Prakrit inscription on the other side of the coin in Brahmi script reads invariably Acuvikanta Kalabhra.” §REF§ (Gupta 1989, 23) Gupta, Parmanand. 1989. Geography from Ancient Indian Coins and Seals. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/5Z4TFP7P/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 422, "polity": { "id": 704, "name": "in_thanjavur_nayaks", "long_name": "Nayaks of Thanjavur", "start_year": 1532, "end_year": 1676 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": "The following quote discusses an agreement between the Nayak of Thanjavur Vijayaraghava and the Dutch. “Apart from the above agreement, there is also an elaborate contract between Vijayaraghava Nayak and the Dutch inscribed on a silver plate in the Dravidian language Telugu. The Dutch ‘translation’ of the silver-plate grant of the Nayak Vijayaraghava, dated 24 December 1658, mentions that the following ten villages, which were originally belonging to the palli of the Portuguese, are given to the Dutch by Vijayaraghava.” §REF§(Menon 2001, 303) Menon. A.G. 2001. ‘Copper Plates to Silver Plates: Cholas, Dutch and Buddhism’ In Fruits of Inspiration: Studies in Honour of Prof. J.G. de Caparis. Leiden: Brill. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FU8TFSTT/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 423, "polity": { "id": 705, "name": "in_madurai_nayaks", "long_name": "Nayaks of Madurai", "start_year": 1529, "end_year": 1736 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Tamil script. “The place-history (Sanskrit sthalapurana, Tamil, talapuranam) is an important genre of Tamil literature as David Shulaman’s study of the Saiva material has demonstrated. Though related to pan-Indian Sanskrit purana literature, Tamil sthalapuranas are distinguished by their emphasis on a particular location, its sacred qualities and the unique character of the deity worshipped there. The strong belief in the concentrated presence of the sacred in particular places is a notable feature of Tamil culture.” §REF§ (Branfoot 2001, 203) Branfoot, Crispin. 2001. ‘Tirumala Nayaka’s ‘New Hall’ and the European Study of the South Indian Temple. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol 11:2. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FE5VZ76M/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 424, "polity": { "id": 614, "name": "cd_kanem", "long_name": "Kanem", "start_year": 800, "end_year": 1379 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Inferred from reference to \"internal scripts\" in the following quote. \"Historical information on those emerging years of the empire is dim and has to be carefully extracted from the accounts of Arab writers (Levtzion and Hopkins 1981), the scanty internal evidence in the Kanem-Borno king lists (Lange 1977), and the few fragments of internal scripts that have been recorded by the German traveler Heinrich Barth (1857-59; Lange 1987) and the British colonial officer Richmond Palmer (1967; 1970).\" §REF§(Gronenborn 2002: 103)§REF§" }, { "id": 425, "polity": { "id": 639, "name": "so_ajuran_sultanate", "long_name": "Ajuran Sultanate", "start_year": 1250, "end_year": 1700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The Ajuran was an Islamic Sharia Sultanate on the Benadir coast of present-day Somalia. As an Islamic Sultanate the religious literature would have been the Quran which was written in Arabic. “The little available records depict that the sultanate was headquartered in Merca, applied Islamic Sharia, established strong standing army, and gave priority to building water supplies and building fortifications.” §REF§ (Abdullahi 2017, 64) Abdullahi, Abdurahman. 2017. Making Sense of Somali History Vol. 1. London: Adonis and Abbey Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/47CK4M35/library §REF§" }, { "id": 426, "polity": { "id": 643, "name": "et_showa_sultanate", "long_name": "Shoa Sultanate", "start_year": 1108, "end_year": 1285 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"The precise use of the Islamic calendar and of Arabic script and language are strong evidence of the presence of an Islamic scholarly elite. This literate elite is represented by the faqīh Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥasan, “ qāḍī al-quḍā (lit. “cadi of the cadis”) of Šawah” whose death occurred in 1255. The title “cadi of the cadis” refers to the judge at the head of the judiciary of a state or of a city, and therefore presupposes a sophisticated judicial hierarchy.\"§REF§(Chekroun and Hirsch 2020: 94-95) Seshat url: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/SU25S5BX/items/TA84VGHX/item-list§REF§" }, { "id": 427, "polity": { "id": 611, "name": "si_mane_emp", "long_name": "Mane", "start_year": 1550, "end_year": 1650 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote implies that indigenous writing emerged in the region in the 19th century. \"The first documented autochthonous, Mande script to appear in West Africa was the one created by Duala Bukere from Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia who created a Vai syllabary in 1833, which has been standardized to 212 characters (Dalby, 1967: 14-18). [...] Appearing first in the region, the Vai syllabary became the prototype for other writing systems that were created in the inter-wars among indigenous peoples in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speakers of southern Mande languages such as the Mende (1921) and the Kpelle (1935), and speakers of the Kru languages such as the Bassa (1920-25) have based their writing systems on the syllabary (Dalby, 1967: 2-4).\"§REF§(Oyler 2001: 75) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X7HQWWH9/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 428, "polity": { "id": 616, "name": "si_pre_sape", "long_name": "Pre-Sape Sierra Leone", "start_year": 600, "end_year": 1400 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote implies that indigenous writing emerged in the region in the 19th century. \"The first documented autochthonous, Mande script to appear in West Africa was the one created by Duala Bukere from Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia who created a Vai syllabary in 1833, which has been standardized to 212 characters (Dalby, 1967: 14-18). [...] Appearing first in the region, the Vai syllabary became the prototype for other writing systems that were created in the inter-wars among indigenous peoples in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speakers of southern Mande languages such as the Mende (1921) and the Kpelle (1935), and speakers of the Kru languages such as the Bassa (1920-25) have based their writing systems on the syllabary (Dalby, 1967: 2-4).\"§REF§(Oyler 2001: 75) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X7HQWWH9/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 429, "polity": { "id": 621, "name": "si_sape", "long_name": "Sape", "start_year": 1400, "end_year": 1550 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote implies that indigenous writing emerged in the region in the 19th century. \"The first documented autochthonous, Mande script to appear in West Africa was the one created by Duala Bukere from Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia who created a Vai syllabary in 1833, which has been standardized to 212 characters (Dalby, 1967: 14-18). [...] Appearing first in the region, the Vai syllabary became the prototype for other writing systems that were created in the inter-wars among indigenous peoples in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speakers of southern Mande languages such as the Mende (1921) and the Kpelle (1935), and speakers of the Kru languages such as the Bassa (1920-25) have based their writing systems on the syllabary (Dalby, 1967: 2-4).\"§REF§(Oyler 2001: 75) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X7HQWWH9/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 430, "polity": { "id": 662, "name": "ni_whydah_k", "long_name": "Whydah", "start_year": 1671, "end_year": 1727 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " No writing system in Allada the year before Whydah became independent, so likely the same in Whydah: “Another question arising from the incidence of credit in both the local economy and the overseas trade is the nature of the indigenous system of recordkeeping. In Allada the local people, it was noted in 1670, in the absence of writing used knotted strings to keep records of various matters, including commercial transactions (“the price of goods”). Several later accounts allude to other mechanical devices for keeping financial (and fiscal) records in Dahomey.” §REF§Austin, Gareth, et al. “Credit, Currencies, and Culture: African Financial Institutions in Historical Perspective.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 34, no. 1, 2001, p. 144: 33. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/SPXH2IUW/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 431, "polity": { "id": 668, "name": "ni_nri_k", "long_name": "Ọ̀ràézè Ǹrì", "start_year": 1043, "end_year": 1911 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " No references found in the consulted literature to a written form of Nri that doesn’t use the Latin alphabet. “If these are the problems to be faced in languages that have written form hundreds of years ago one cannot imagine what problems there are in dealing with languages whose written forms are yet to be established.” §REF§Onwuejeogwu, M. A. (1975). Some Fundamental Problems in the Application of Lexicostatistics in the Study of African Languages. Paideuma, 21, 6–17: 10. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/IISK3KCM/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 432, "polity": { "id": 672, "name": "ni_benin_emp", "long_name": "Benin Empire", "start_year": 1140, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " “Since the end of the 15th century, a great deal of material about Benin has been supplied by sailors, traders, etc., returning to Europe. However, information on the Edo people before this date is very difficult to obtain, as there was no written record and the oral record is at best rather fragmentary.” §REF§Bondarenko, Dmitri M., and Peter M. Roese. ‘Benin Prehistory: The Origin and Settling down of the Edo’. Anthropos 94, no. 4/6 (1999): 542–52: 542. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/Y4V3D623/collection§REF§ “The theme of this study presses the sources for the reconstruction of Benin military history to its limits because written documents scarcely exist, except for the reports and accounts of European visitors.” §REF§Osadolor, O. B. (2001). The Military System of Benin Kingdom, c.1440–1897. University of Hamburg, Germany: 27–28. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/N4RZF5H5/collection§REF§" }, { "id": 433, "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": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": "" }, { "id": 434, "polity": { "id": 607, "name": "si_early_modern_interior", "long_name": "Early Modern Sierra Leone", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1896 }, "year_from": 1650, "year_to": 1832, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": "The following quote implies that indigenous writing emerged in the region in the 19th century. \"The first documented autochthonous, Mande script to appear in West Africa was the one created by Duala Bukere from Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia who created a Vai syllabary in 1833, which has been standardized to 212 characters (Dalby, 1967: 14-18). [...] Appearing first in the region, the Vai syllabary became the prototype for other writing systems that were created in the inter-wars among indigenous peoples in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speakers of southern Mande languages such as the Mende (1921) and the Kpelle (1935), and speakers of the Kru languages such as the Bassa (1920-25) have based their writing systems on the syllabary (Dalby, 1967: 2-4).\"§REF§(Oyler 2001: 75) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X7HQWWH9/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 435, "polity": { "id": 607, "name": "si_early_modern_interior", "long_name": "Early Modern Sierra Leone", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1896 }, "year_from": 1833, "year_to": 1896, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote implies that indigenous writing emerged in the region in the 19th century. \"The first documented autochthonous, Mande script to appear in West Africa was the one created by Duala Bukere from Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia who created a Vai syllabary in 1833, which has been standardized to 212 characters (Dalby, 1967: 14-18). [...] Appearing first in the region, the Vai syllabary became the prototype for other writing systems that were created in the inter-wars among indigenous peoples in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Speakers of southern Mande languages such as the Mende (1921) and the Kpelle (1935), and speakers of the Kru languages such as the Bassa (1920-25) have based their writing systems on the syllabary (Dalby, 1967: 2-4).\"§REF§(Oyler 2001: 75) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/X7HQWWH9/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 436, "polity": { "id": 608, "name": "gm_kaabu_emp", "long_name": "Kaabu", "start_year": 1500, "end_year": 1867 }, "year_from": 1550, "year_to": 1699, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": "The following quote suggests that Ajami script (see second quote) was used by a high-ranking minority. \"In southern Senegambia, where non-Manding populations predominated, Manding was a prestigious language of the pagan aristocracy and, on the other hand, the language of the Muslim merchant network of Jakhanke. The existence of Manding Ajami in that area was already attested in the first half of the 18th century (Labat 1728; cited by Giesing & Costa-Dias 2007: 63), long before the pagan rule of the ñàncoo elite of the Kaabu was definitely smashed by Muslim Fulbe troops from Fuuta Jalon. In any case, the emergence of Ajami is not related to the establishment of a Muslim political power in this area: the main holders of Islamic writing in the area, the Jakhanke merchants, were for centuries integrated into the social system of the Kaabu confederation and often served as advisers and intermediates for the political elites.\"§REF§(Vydrin 2014: 201-202) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/E8Z57DNC/collection.§REF§ \"A number of terms have been used in this volume to refer to the usage of Arabic script for languages other than Arabic. Crosslinguistically, such writing systems are often termed ‘Arabic literature’, ‘Islamic literature’ or ‘Islamic writings’, and locally they are known by a large number of names, such as Wolofal, or Kiarabu. The term Ajami in particular (or variations, such as Äjam, Ajamiya, etc.), derived from the Arabic word ʿaǧam ‘non-Arab; Persian’, has gained some degree of popularity in academic literature and is also encountered as a self-denomination for these writing systems in some languages, such as Hausa.\"§REF§(Mumin and Verstegh 2014: 1) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PVIK4HGV/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 437, "polity": { "id": 608, "name": "gm_kaabu_emp", "long_name": "Kaabu", "start_year": 1500, "end_year": 1867 }, "year_from": 1700, "year_to": 1867, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote suggests that Ajami script (see second quote) was used by a high-ranking minority. \"In southern Senegambia, where non-Manding populations predominated, Manding was a prestigious language of the pagan aristocracy and, on the other hand, the language of the Muslim merchant network of Jakhanke. The existence of Manding Ajami in that area was already attested in the first half of the 18th century (Labat 1728; cited by Giesing & Costa-Dias 2007: 63), long before the pagan rule of the ñàncoo elite of the Kaabu was definitely smashed by Muslim Fulbe troops from Fuuta Jalon. In any case, the emergence of Ajami is not related to the establishment of a Muslim political power in this area: the main holders of Islamic writing in the area, the Jakhanke merchants, were for centuries integrated into the social system of the Kaabu confederation and often served as advisers and intermediates for the political elites.\"§REF§(Vydrin 2014: 201-202) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/E8Z57DNC/collection.§REF§ \"A number of terms have been used in this volume to refer to the usage of Arabic script for languages other than Arabic. Crosslinguistically, such writing systems are often termed ‘Arabic literature’, ‘Islamic literature’ or ‘Islamic writings’, and locally they are known by a large number of names, such as Wolofal, or Kiarabu. The term Ajami in particular (or variations, such as Äjam, Ajamiya, etc.), derived from the Arabic word ʿaǧam ‘non-Arab; Persian’, has gained some degree of popularity in academic literature and is also encountered as a self-denomination for these writing systems in some languages, such as Hausa.\"§REF§(Mumin and Verstegh 2014: 1) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/PVIK4HGV/collection.§REF§" }, { "id": 438, "polity": { "id": 649, "name": "et_funj_sultanate", "long_name": "Funj Sultanate", "start_year": 1504, "end_year": 1820 }, "year_from": 1504, "year_to": 1699, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": "The following quote refers to ‘state documents’ only; it seems reasonable to assume that non-governmental written records existed before the eighteenth century, given the time period and the fact that Islam is a religion of the book. “Only in the eighteenth century did state documents appear in Arabic.” §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 429) 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§" }, { "id": 439, "polity": { "id": 649, "name": "et_funj_sultanate", "long_name": "Funj Sultanate", "start_year": 1504, "end_year": 1820 }, "year_from": 1700, "year_to": 1820, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " The following quote refers to ‘state documents’ only; it seems reasonable to assume that non-governmental written records existed before the eighteenth century, given the time period and the fact that Islam is a religion of the book. “Only in the eighteenth century did state documents appear in Arabic.” §REF§ (Lapidus 2002, 429) 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§" }, { "id": 440, "polity": { "id": 650, "name": "et_kaffa_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Kaffa", "start_year": 1390, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": 1390, "year_to": 1499, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": "This quote refers to a 16th century inscription on a feast house. “In one of the oldest feast houses in Kafa, at Baha, Cardinal Massaja found a tabot with an inscription dedicated to ‘St. George, Our Lady Mary and God’ and signed by ‘Dengel’ (possibly referring to Sarsa Dengel of the sixteenth century).” §REF§ (Orent 1970, 272) Orent, Amnon. 1970. ‘Refocusing on the History of Kafa Prior to 1897: A Discussion of Political Processes’. African Historical Studies. Vol. 3:2. Pp 263-293. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2A389XGK/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 441, "polity": { "id": 650, "name": "et_kaffa_k", "long_name": "Kingdom of Kaffa", "start_year": 1390, "end_year": 1897 }, "year_from": 1500, "year_to": 1897, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " This quote refers to a 16th century inscription on a feast house. “In one of the oldest feast houses in Kafa, at Baha, Cardinal Massaja found a tabot with an inscription dedicated to ‘St. George, Our Lady Mary and God’ and signed by ‘Dengel’ (possibly referring to Sarsa Dengel of the sixteenth century).” §REF§ (Orent 1970, 272) Orent, Amnon. 1970. ‘Refocusing on the History of Kafa Prior to 1897: A Discussion of Political Processes’. African Historical Studies. Vol. 3:2. Pp 263-293. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/2A389XGK/collection §REF§" }, { "id": 442, "polity": { "id": 683, "name": "ug_buganda_k_2", "long_name": "Buganda II", "start_year": 1717, "end_year": 1894 }, "year_from": 1700, "year_to": 1859, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§" }, { "id": 443, "polity": { "id": 683, "name": "ug_buganda_k_2", "long_name": "Buganda II", "start_year": 1717, "end_year": 1894 }, "year_from": 1860, "year_to": 1894, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§" }, { "id": 444, "polity": { "id": 695, "name": "ug_nkore_k_2", "long_name": "Nkore", "start_year": 1750, "end_year": 1901 }, "year_from": 1750, "year_to": 1859, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " \"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§ Based on the literature consulted, it remains unclear whether literacy spread from Buganda to Nkore at this time." }, { "id": 445, "polity": { "id": 695, "name": "ug_nkore_k_2", "long_name": "Nkore", "start_year": 1750, "end_year": 1901 }, "year_from": 1860, "year_to": 1901, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": "\"Literacy entered Uganda for the first time with the introduction of Islam in the late 1860’s and for nearly a decade instruction in Islam was progressing and flourishing at the royal court. When literacy was introduced into the kingdom of Buganda, it was confined to speakers of Arabic and Kiswahili. \"§REF§(Pawliková-Vilhanová 2014: 145) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T7IMKZJJ.§REF§ Based on the literature consulted, it remains unclear whether literacy spread from Buganda to Nkore at this time." }, { "id": 446, "polity": { "id": 569, "name": "mx_mexico_1", "long_name": "Early United Mexican States", "start_year": 1810, "end_year": 1920 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 447, "polity": { "id": 579, "name": "gb_england_plantagenet", "long_name": "Plantagenet England", "start_year": 1154, "end_year": 1485 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 448, "polity": { "id": 568, "name": "cz_bohemian_k_2", "long_name": "Kingdom of Bohemia - Luxembourgian and Jagiellonian Dynasty", "start_year": 1310, "end_year": 1526 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 449, "polity": { "id": 305, "name": "it_lombard_k", "long_name": "Lombard Kingdom", "start_year": 568, "end_year": 774 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 450, "polity": { "id": 575, "name": "us_united_states_of_america_reconstruction", "long_name": "Us Reconstruction-Progressive", "start_year": 1866, "end_year": 1933 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Script", "script": "present", "comment": null, "description": null } ] }