Steel List
A viewset for viewing and editing Steels.
GET /api/wf/steels/?format=api&page=5
{ "count": 375, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/wf/steels/?format=api&page=6", "previous": "https://seshat-db.com/api/wf/steels/?format=api&page=4", "results": [ { "id": 201, "polity": { "id": 70, "name": "it_roman_principate", "long_name": "Roman Empire - Principate", "start_year": -31, "end_year": 284 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " For example, swords. Noric steel first made by the Celts in 300 BCE. Romans imported Noric steel. Noricum, a region of the Austrian Alps \"between Raetia in the west and Pannonia in the east\" became a province within the Roman Empire.§REF§(Buchwald 2005, 124) Vagn Fabritius Buchwald. 2005. Iron and steel in ancient times. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.§REF§ However, use of Noric steel could hardly have been typical. \"A sword from the Roman Republican period (3rd-2nd century BCE) in Slovenia was found to have an iron edge and a steel (0.4%C) body, like the much later spatha discussed below; a particularly unfortunate combination.\"§REF§(Williams 2012, 51-52) Alan Williams. 2012. The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords Up to the 16th Century. BRILL. Leiden.§REF§" }, { "id": 202, "polity": { "id": 181, "name": "it_roman_k", "long_name": "Roman Kingdom", "start_year": -716, "end_year": -509 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"By the time of the Roman Republic (c.509—44BC), the use of steel in the manufacture of swords was well advanced and Roman swordsmiths smelted iron ore and carbon in a bloomery furnace (the predecessor of the blast furnace).\" §REF§(<a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.weapons-universe.com/Swords/Ancient_Roman_Weapons.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.weapons-universe.com/Swords/Ancient_Roman_Weapons.shtml</a>)§REF§ However, this source is not very academic, so a better source is needed to be sure." }, { "id": 203, "polity": { "id": 185, "name": "it_western_roman_emp", "long_name": "Western Roman Empire - Late Antiquity", "start_year": 395, "end_year": 476 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 204, "polity": { "id": 188, "name": "it_st_peter_rep_1", "long_name": "Republic of St Peter I", "start_year": 752, "end_year": 904 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 205, "polity": { "id": 544, "name": "it_venetian_rep_3", "long_name": "Republic of Venice III", "start_year": 1204, "end_year": 1563 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " General reference for medieval warfare: Mail armor \"was formed from rings of iron (or, more rarely, steel)\".§REF§(Smith 2010, 67) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford.§REF§" }, { "id": 206, "polity": { "id": 545, "name": "it_venetian_rep_4", "long_name": "Republic of Venice IV", "start_year": 1564, "end_year": 1797 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " General reference for medieval warfare: Mail armor \"was formed from rings of iron (or, more rarely, steel)\".§REF§(Smith 2010, 67) Robert Douglas Smith. Armor, Body. Clifford J. Rogers. ed. 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford.§REF§" }, { "id": 207, "polity": { "id": 149, "name": "jp_ashikaga", "long_name": "Ashikaga Shogunate", "start_year": 1336, "end_year": 1467 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": "§REF§Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.171.§REF§" }, { "id": 208, "polity": { "id": 146, "name": "jp_asuka", "long_name": "Asuka", "start_year": 538, "end_year": 710 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " <i>Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely.</i> \"If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords.\"§REF§(Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.§REF§ References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: <i>\"Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it.\"§REF§Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. \"Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process.\" 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141§REF§</i> Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been <i>\"investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions.\"§REF§Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. \"Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137§REF§</i><br>" }, { "id": 209, "polity": { "id": 151, "name": "jp_azuchi_momoyama", "long_name": "Japan - Azuchi-Momoyama", "start_year": 1568, "end_year": 1603 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": "§REF§Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.171.§REF§" }, { "id": 210, "polity": { "id": 147, "name": "jp_heian", "long_name": "Heian", "start_year": 794, "end_year": 1185 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " <i>Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely.</i> \"If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords.\"§REF§(Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.§REF§ References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: <i>\"Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it.\"§REF§Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. \"Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process.\" 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141§REF§</i> Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been <i>\"investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions.\"§REF§Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. \"Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137§REF§</i>" }, { "id": 211, "polity": { "id": 138, "name": "jp_jomon_1", "long_name": "Japan - Incipient Jomon", "start_year": -13600, "end_year": -9200 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 212, "polity": { "id": 139, "name": "jp_jomon_2", "long_name": "Japan - Initial Jomon", "start_year": -9200, "end_year": -5300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 213, "polity": { "id": 140, "name": "jp_jomon_3", "long_name": "Japan - Early Jomon", "start_year": -5300, "end_year": -3500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 214, "polity": { "id": 141, "name": "jp_jomon_4", "long_name": "Japan - Middle Jomon", "start_year": -3500, "end_year": -2500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 215, "polity": { "id": 142, "name": "jp_jomon_5", "long_name": "Japan - Late Jomon", "start_year": -2500, "end_year": -1200 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 216, "polity": { "id": 143, "name": "jp_jomon_6", "long_name": "Japan - Final Jomon", "start_year": -1200, "end_year": -300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Metalworking began in the Yayoi period §REF§(Mizoguchi 2013, 140)§REF§." }, { "id": 217, "polity": { "id": 148, "name": "jp_kamakura", "long_name": "Kamakura Shogunate", "start_year": 1185, "end_year": 1333 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " <i>ET: Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely.</i> \"If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords.\"§REF§(Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.§REF§ References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: <i>\"Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it.\"§REF§Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. \"Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process.\" 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141§REF§</i> Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been <i>\"investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions.\"§REF§Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. \"Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137§REF§</i>" }, { "id": 218, "polity": { "id": 145, "name": "jp_kofun", "long_name": "Kansai - Kofun Period", "start_year": 250, "end_year": 537 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely.<i> \"If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords.\"§REF§(Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.§REF§ References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: </i>\"Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it.\"§REF§Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. \"Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process.\" 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141§REF§<i> Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been </i>\"investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions.\"§REF§Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. \"Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137§REF§" }, { "id": 219, "polity": { "id": 263, "name": "jp_nara", "long_name": "Nara Kingdom", "start_year": 710, "end_year": 794 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.169.§REF§" }, { "id": 220, "polity": { "id": 150, "name": "jp_sengoku_jidai", "long_name": "Warring States Japan", "start_year": 1467, "end_year": 1568 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§Deal, William E. 2005. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Oxford University Press.p.171.§REF§" }, { "id": 221, "polity": { "id": 152, "name": "jp_tokugawa_shogunate", "long_name": "Tokugawa Shogunate", "start_year": 1603, "end_year": 1868 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " 'By the Yayoi Period (50-250 CE) iron tools became more plentiful, as is evidenced by advances in woodworking technologies. By the last century of the Yayoi, iron-working technologies spread quickly across the central region of Japan from west to east. Over the course of the next several hundred years, iron completely replaced stone as the mineral of choice. Iron swords, armor, and arrowheads came to occupy prominent places in the tombs of the Kofun period. From that time onward, iron and its alloy with carbon, steel, were Japan's pre-eminent proto-industrial metals.' §REF§David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon. p.24§REF§" }, { "id": 222, "polity": { "id": 144, "name": "jp_yayoi", "long_name": "Kansai - Yayoi Period", "start_year": -300, "end_year": 250 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Tatara furnaces, or versions thereof, existed since 300 BCE. Not sure when this steel was first produced. It is unlikely the best steel was produced from the very earliest times. Asuka period seems likely.<i> \"If black sand was used it would contain hypter-eutectoid steel (carbon content 1.2-1.7 percent) called tama hagane and pieces of iron with a lower carbon content (less than 0.8 percent). The tama hagane was the first quality steel used in swords.\"§REF§(Wittner 2008, 25) David G Wittner. 2008. Technology and the Culture of Progress in Meiji Japan. Routledge. Abingdon.§REF§ References that support tamahagane steel being better than the first steels produced in Japan: </i>\"Present study elucidates that the tatara iron and its manufacturing procedure gives distinctive features to Japanese swords which is different from ordinary steel. It is also notable that Japanese swordsmith utilized lath martensite without knowing details about it.\"§REF§Ananda Kumar Das. Takuya Ohba. Shigakazu Morito. Muneo Yaso. \"Evidence of Lath Martensite in High-C Japanese Sword Produced from Tamahagane Steel by Tatara Process.\" 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 138-141§REF§<i> Tamahagane steel (metal investigated was crafted by a modern swordsmith) has been </i>\"investigated with optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe micro analysis methods. Microstructures have been found to be a combination of ferrite and pearlite with a lot of nonmetallic inclusions.\"§REF§Go Takami. Takuya Ohba. Shigekazu Morito. Ananda Kumar Das. \"Microstructural Observation on Materials of the Japanese Sword under Fold-Forging Process. 2010. Materials Science Forum. Vols. 654-656. Trans Tech Publications. pp. 134-137§REF§" }, { "id": 223, "polity": { "id": 289, "name": "kg_kara_khanid_dyn", "long_name": "Kara-Khanids", "start_year": 950, "end_year": 1212 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " <i>Reference for high quality of the steel (no beginning date provided):</i> “In the context of this work, it is important to note that crucible steel of fine quality was made at Herat, in Bukhara and in northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§ <i>Reference for high quality of the steel (this one dates from 900 CE):</i> \"Further east from Merv along the Silk Road is a region praised for its iron and steel production by Greek, Islamic, and Chinese writers. The Sogdian state of Ustrushana, a mountainous region east of Samarkand, and the Ferghana basin ... material related to the medieval iron and steel industry has been uncovered here. Most relevant ... is a workshop excavated at a city-site of the +9th-13th centuries in Feghana, at Eski Achsy, Uzbekistan. ..” Crucible fragments ”The excavators consider that the process used here was direct production of steel from ore, just as He Tangkun argues for the Luoyang crucibles. It is quite possible, however, that they were (also) used in co-fusion steel production as suggested by the Merv excavators.\"§REF§(Wagner and Needham 2008, 265) Donald B Wagner. Joseph Needham. 2008. Science and Civilisation in China. Volume V. Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§ <i>Fine steel swords may have been produced at an earlier time than 900 CE with the technology coming from northern India or from this region via Persia:</i> In Tibet c700 CE \"steel swords were certainly available through trade with Sogdia and Fergana ... and many steel blades are known from Central Asia from the late first millennium until the arrival of Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 22) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The Sogdian cities of Samarqand and Bukhara probably also manufactured iron and steel weapons that were exported to Tibet. We know that by the early eighth century, the Sogdians, having probably borrowed the technology from the Sasanians, were manufacturing mail armor and offered suits of the material as gifts to the Tang court in 718. ... The Sasasnians may themselves have developed knowledge of steelmaking from contacts with northern India.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 21) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The principal centres for the manufacture of steel weapons in Central Asia were Khwarazm, Ferghana and northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§" }, { "id": 224, "polity": { "id": 282, "name": "kg_western_turk_khaganate", "long_name": "Western Turk Khaganate", "start_year": 582, "end_year": 630 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": true, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " At this time in Central Asia if high-quality steel was used it would have been imported. The following sources suggest later dates for fine steel. Reference for high quality of the steel (no beginning date provided): “In the context of this work, it is important to note that crucible steel of fine quality was made at Herat, in Bukhara and in northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§ Reference for high quality of the steel (this one dates from 900 CE): \"Further east from Merv along the Silk Road is a region praised for its iron and steel production by Greek, Islamic, and Chinese writers. The Sogdian state of Ustrushana, a mountainous region east of Samarkand, and the Ferghana basin ... material related to the medieval iron and steel industry has been uncovered here. Most relevant ... is a workshop excavated at a city-site of the +9th-13th centuries in Feghana, at Eski Achsy, Uzbekistan. ..” Crucible fragments ”The excavators consider that the process used here was direct production of steel from ore, just as He Tangkun argues for the Luoyang crucibles. It is quite possible, however, that they were (also) used in co-fusion steel production as suggested by the Merv excavators.\"§REF§(Wagner and Needham 2008, 265) Donald B Wagner. Joseph Needham. 2008. Science and Civilisation in China. Volume V. Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§ Fine steel swords may have been produced at an earlier time than 900 CE with the technology coming from northern India or from this region via Persia: In Tibet c700 CE \"steel swords were certainly available through trade with Sogdia and Fergana ... and many steel blades are known from Central Asia from the late first millennium until the arrival of Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 22) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The Sogdian cities of Samarqand and Bukhara probably also manufactured iron and steel weapons that were exported to Tibet. We know that by the early eighth century, the Sogdians, having probably borrowed the technology from the Sasanians, were manufacturing mail armor and offered suits of the material as gifts to the Tang court in 718. ... The Sasasnians may themselves have developed knowledge of steelmaking from contacts with northern India.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 21) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The principal centres for the manufacture of steel weapons in Central Asia were Khwarazm, Ferghana and northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§" }, { "id": 225, "polity": { "id": 282, "name": "kg_western_turk_khaganate", "long_name": "Western Turk Khaganate", "start_year": 582, "end_year": 630 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": true, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " At this time in Central Asia if high-quality steel was used it would have been imported. The following sources suggest later dates for fine steel. Reference for high quality of the steel (no beginning date provided): “In the context of this work, it is important to note that crucible steel of fine quality was made at Herat, in Bukhara and in northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§ Reference for high quality of the steel (this one dates from 900 CE): \"Further east from Merv along the Silk Road is a region praised for its iron and steel production by Greek, Islamic, and Chinese writers. The Sogdian state of Ustrushana, a mountainous region east of Samarkand, and the Ferghana basin ... material related to the medieval iron and steel industry has been uncovered here. Most relevant ... is a workshop excavated at a city-site of the +9th-13th centuries in Feghana, at Eski Achsy, Uzbekistan. ..” Crucible fragments ”The excavators consider that the process used here was direct production of steel from ore, just as He Tangkun argues for the Luoyang crucibles. It is quite possible, however, that they were (also) used in co-fusion steel production as suggested by the Merv excavators.\"§REF§(Wagner and Needham 2008, 265) Donald B Wagner. Joseph Needham. 2008. Science and Civilisation in China. Volume V. Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§ Fine steel swords may have been produced at an earlier time than 900 CE with the technology coming from northern India or from this region via Persia: In Tibet c700 CE \"steel swords were certainly available through trade with Sogdia and Fergana ... and many steel blades are known from Central Asia from the late first millennium until the arrival of Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 22) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The Sogdian cities of Samarqand and Bukhara probably also manufactured iron and steel weapons that were exported to Tibet. We know that by the early eighth century, the Sogdians, having probably borrowed the technology from the Sasanians, were manufacturing mail armor and offered suits of the material as gifts to the Tang court in 718. ... The Sasasnians may themselves have developed knowledge of steelmaking from contacts with northern India.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 21) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The principal centres for the manufacture of steel weapons in Central Asia were Khwarazm, Ferghana and northern India.”§REF§(Hill 2000, 270) D R Hill. Physics and mechanics. Civil and hydraulic engineering. Industrial processes and manufacturing, and craft activities. C E Bosworth. M S Asimov. eds. 2000. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. The age of achievement: A.D. 750 to the end of the fifteenth century. UNESCO. Paris.§REF§" }, { "id": 226, "polity": { "id": 41, "name": "kh_angkor_2", "long_name": "Classical Angkor", "start_year": 1100, "end_year": 1220 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " 'From all this, we can bear in mind that Khmer breastplates, as we have described them, possibly used the materials cited by Bezacier: buffalo skins, tree bark, and bronze, even if this metal was replaced with iron at the period we are discussing, if indeed metal was used in making this armour. This was the case of the king, if we can believe Zhou Daguan, who in the thirteenth century AD indicates that the sovereign \"had his body class in iron, so that even knives and arrows, striking his body, could not harm him\".'§REF§(Jacq-Hergoualc'h and Smithies 2007, pp. 20-21)§REF§ Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 227, "polity": { "id": 40, "name": "kh_angkor_1", "long_name": "Early Angkor", "start_year": 802, "end_year": 1100 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " 'From all this, we can bear in mind that Khmer breastplates, as we have described them, possibly used the materials cited by Bezacier: buffalo skins, tree bark, and bronze, even if this metal was replaced with iron at the period we are discussing, if indeed metal was used in making this armour. This was the case of the king, if we can believe Zhou Daguan, who in the thirteenth century AD indicates that the sovereign \"had his body class in iron, so that even knives and arrows, striking his body, could not harm him\".'§REF§(Jacq-Hergoualc'h and Smithies 2007, pp. 20-21)§REF§ Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 228, "polity": { "id": 42, "name": "kh_angkor_3", "long_name": "Late Angkor", "start_year": 1220, "end_year": 1432 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " 'From all this, we can bear in mind that Khmer breastplates, as we have described them, possibly used the materials cited by Bezacier: buffalo skins, tree bark, and bronze, even if this metal was replaced with iron at the period we are discussing, if indeed metal was used in making this armour. This was the case of the king, if we can believe Zhou Daguan, who in the thirteenth century AD indicates that the sovereign \"had his body class in iron, so that even knives and arrows, striking his body, could not harm him\".'§REF§(Jacq-Hergoualc'h and Smithies 2007, pp. 20-21)§REF§ Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 229, "polity": { "id": 43, "name": "kh_khmer_k", "long_name": "Khmer Kingdom", "start_year": 1432, "end_year": 1594 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " 'From all this, we can bear in mind that Khmer breastplates, as we have described them, possibly used the materials cited by Bezacier: buffalo skins, tree bark, and bronze, even if this metal was replaced with iron at the period we are discussing, if indeed metal was used in making this armour. This was the case of the king, if we can believe Zhou Daguan, who in the thirteenth century AD indicates that the sovereign \"had his body class in iron, so that even knives and arrows, striking his body, could not harm him\".'§REF§(Jacq-Hergoualc'h and Smithies 2007, pp. 20-21)§REF§ Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 230, "polity": { "id": 39, "name": "kh_chenla", "long_name": "Chenla", "start_year": 550, "end_year": 825 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " <i>Coded inferred absent. Unlikely to have used high quality steel.</i> Rather, the use of copper/bronze during the MSEA Iron Age is concentrated on the decorative and ideational sphere (bells, bowls, drums, figurines, finger and toe rings, bangles, belts and ear discs), whereas utilitarian objects (adze/axes, knives, digging stick tips,ploughshares, and spearheads) are produced in iron/steel.[212] However, it is not clear from sources if these items are specifically found in this polity. Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 231, "polity": { "id": 37, "name": "kh_funan_1", "long_name": "Funan I", "start_year": 225, "end_year": 540 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Rather, the use of copper/bronze during the MSEA Iron Age is concentrated on the decorative and ideational sphere (bells, bowls, drums, figurines, finger and toe rings, bangles, belts and ear discs), whereas utilitarian objects (adze/axes, knives, digging stick tips,ploughshares, and spearheads) are produced in iron/steel.§REF§(Pryce 2014: 5)§REF§ However, it is not clear from sources if these items are specifically found in this polity. Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 232, "polity": { "id": 38, "name": "kh_funan_2", "long_name": "Funan II", "start_year": 540, "end_year": 640 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Rather, the use of copper/bronze during the MSEA Iron Age is concentrated on the decorative and ideational sphere (bells, bowls, drums, figurines, finger and toe rings, bangles, belts and ear discs), whereas utilitarian objects (adze/axes, knives, digging stick tips,ploughshares, and spearheads) are produced in iron/steel.§REF§(Pryce 2014: 5)§REF§ However, it is not clear from sources if these items are specifically found in this polity. Polity expert Charles Higham \"I dont think there was ever a transition to steel but will ask the iron expert, Oliver Pryce for his view.\" (pers. comm. with Harvey Whitehouse 04/08/2017)" }, { "id": 233, "polity": { "id": 35, "name": "kh_cambodia_ba", "long_name": "Bronze Age Cambodia", "start_year": -1200, "end_year": -501 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 234, "polity": { "id": 36, "name": "kh_cambodia_ia", "long_name": "Iron Age Cambodia", "start_year": -500, "end_year": 224 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 235, "polity": { "id": 463, "name": "kz_andronovo", "long_name": "Andronovo", "start_year": -1800, "end_year": -1200 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 236, "polity": { "id": 104, "name": "lb_phoenician_emp", "long_name": "Phoenician Empire", "start_year": -1200, "end_year": -332 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 237, "polity": { "id": 432, "name": "ma_saadi_sultanate", "long_name": "Saadi Sultanate", "start_year": 1554, "end_year": 1659 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Islamic polities in the West Mediterranean seem to have been well acquainted with fine steel: Al-Zuhri, writing in the 12th century CE, \"said that Seville produces 'Indian steel'.\"§REF§(Williams 2012, 35) Alan Williams. 2012. The Sword and the Crucible: A History of the Metallurgy of European Swords Up to the 16th Century. BRILL. Leiden.§REF§" }, { "id": 238, "polity": { "id": 434, "name": "ml_bamana_k", "long_name": "Bamana kingdom", "start_year": 1712, "end_year": 1861 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 239, "polity": { "id": 427, "name": "ml_jenne_jeno_1", "long_name": "Jenne-jeno I", "start_year": -250, "end_year": 49 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 240, "polity": { "id": 428, "name": "ml_jenne_jeno_2", "long_name": "Jenne-jeno II", "start_year": 50, "end_year": 399 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 241, "polity": { "id": 430, "name": "ml_jenne_jeno_3", "long_name": "Jenne-jeno III", "start_year": 400, "end_year": 899 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 242, "polity": { "id": 431, "name": "ml_jenne_jeno_4", "long_name": "Jenne-jeno IV", "start_year": 900, "end_year": 1300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 243, "polity": { "id": 229, "name": "ml_mali_emp", "long_name": "Mali Empire", "start_year": 1230, "end_year": 1410 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 244, "polity": { "id": 433, "name": "ml_segou_k", "long_name": "Segou Kingdom", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1712 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 245, "polity": { "id": 242, "name": "ml_songhai_2", "long_name": "Songhai Empire - Askiya Dynasty", "start_year": 1493, "end_year": 1591 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 246, "polity": { "id": 283, "name": "mn_turk_khaganate_1", "long_name": "Eastern Turk Khaganate", "start_year": 583, "end_year": 630 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " No steel of a high quality until later. By the seventh century the \"Sogdians and Turkic peoples \"had their own sophisticated metallurgical industries.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 21-22) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§ \"The other peoples who were heavily involved with arms production and trade with the Tibetans were the Turkic peoples and especially the Karluks, allies of the Tibetans during the eighth and early ninth centuries ... The Karluks ... were noted by Islamic geographers as producers and exporters of iron artifacts and weapons to Tibet and China.\"§REF§(Clarke 2006, 22) John Clarke. A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques. Donald J LaRocca. ed. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. Yale University Press. New Haven.§REF§" }, { "id": 247, "polity": { "id": 288, "name": "mn_khitan_1", "long_name": "Khitan I", "start_year": 907, "end_year": 1125 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 248, "polity": { "id": 267, "name": "mn_mongol_emp", "long_name": "Mongol Empire", "start_year": 1206, "end_year": 1270 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Used for helmets. §REF§Martin, H. Desmond. “The Mongol Army.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1 (April 1, 1943): 52.§REF§" }, { "id": 249, "polity": { "id": 442, "name": "mn_mongol_early", "long_name": "Early Mongols", "start_year": 1000, "end_year": 1206 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 250, "polity": { "id": 443, "name": "mn_mongol_late", "long_name": "Late Mongols", "start_year": 1368, "end_year": 1690 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Steel", "steel": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null } ] }