Home Region: North India (South Asia)

Delhi Sultanate

1206 CE 1526 CE

D G SC WF R CC

EQ 2020 in_delhi_sultanate / InDelh*

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

[continuity; Principality of Gur] [continuity] Update here

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

1336 CE 1646 CE Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp) [absorption]

1335 CE 1521 CE Sind - Samma Dynasty (pk_samma_dyn) [None]

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General Description

The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE) was created when Muhammad Qutb-ud-din declared his independence from the Ghurids, which in turn followed the defeat of the last Hindu ruler of Delhi in 1192 CE. ^[1] Qutb-ud-din’s successor, his son, had his rule as Sultan of Delhi legitimized by a representative of the Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad. ^[2] The Sultanate lasted 320 years which spanned five successive Turko-Afghan dynasties (Mamluk Dynasty, Khalji Dynasty, Tughlaq Dynasty, Sayyid Dynasty and Lodi Dynasty) that spread Islam and the Persian language of administration in northern India. ^[1] ^[3]
The Delhi Sultanate had a highly-complex central administration but was not a centralized state. In the provinces, much of its power was devolved to local Hindu rulers and landholders. ^[3] Only the area around Delhi was ruled directly by the Sultan, and here units of land given to military commanders, in return for the right to collect revenue. ^[3] According to Habib (2005) any centralisation that existed only lasted for a few decades before the polity become much more loosely organised. ^[3]
Ala al-Din (r.1296-1316 CE) reorganized the revenue and administrative systems in order to support a large standing army. A successful army was crucial for maintaining the personal authority of the Delhi Sultan in India and for expanding, or defending, territory. ^[4] By the fourteenth century, the vizier of the Sultan became more powerful. Whilst earlier his duties were confined only to the military, they were extended to revenue affairs. The vizier was responsible for fiscal administration, income and expenditure, appointment of officials, and the collection of taxes. ^[5]
Hindus joined the ranks of the administrative class ^[3] and "many elements of the Rajput political system, with or without changes, were incorporated into the Turkish administration in India." ^[6] Under the later dynasties, revenue collection began to be less efficient, and conflicts between elite power-holders emerged. The Sultanate ended when Ibrahim was defeated by Babur, the Mongol ruler, in 1526 CE. ^[7]

[1]: (Wolpert 1997, 110, 212) S A Wolpert. 1997. A new history of India. Oxford: Oxford University Press

[2]: (Kulke 1990, 157) H Kulke D Rothermund. 1990. A History of India (Revised, Updated Edition).

[3]: (Habib 2005, 37-44) I Habib. 2005. The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

[4]: (Asher 2006, 39-40) Catherine B Asher. Cynthia Talbot. 2006. India before Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press.

[5]: (Ahmed 2011, 98) Farooqui Salma Ahmed. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.

[6]: (Ahmed 2011, 96) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.

[7]: Habib, I. (2005). The Delhi Sultanate in The state and society in medieval India. Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp.37-44.

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

3 Capital

1 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Suprapolity Relations

3 Supracultural Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

3 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

1 Religion Genus

1 Religion Family

1 Alternate Religion Genus

1 Alternate Religion Family

1 Alternate Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

1 Largest Communication Distance

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

2 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

1 Occupational Complexity

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

1 Canal

1 Bridge

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Scientific Literature

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Token

1 Precious Metal

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

1 General Postal Service

1 Courier

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Wooden Palisade

1 Stone Walls Non Mortared

1 Stone Walls Mortared

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

1 Modern Fortification

1 Moat

1 Fortified Camp

1 Earth Rampart

1 Ditch

1 Complex Fortification

1 Long Wall

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Tension Siege Engine

1 Sling Siege Engine

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

3 Handheld Firearm

3 Gunpowder Siege Artillery

1 Crossbow

1 Composite Bow

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Scaled Armor

1 Plate Armor

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Laminar Armor

1 Helmet

1 Chainmail

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Specialized Military Vessel

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

1 Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases

1 Crisis Consequence

Power Transitions

31 Power Transition

Instability Events

61 Instability Event

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate) was in:
(1206 CE 1207 CE)	Middle Ganga
(1207 CE 1339 CE)	Kachi Plain / Middle Ganga
(1339 CE 1525 CE)	Middle Ganga

Home NGA: Kachi Plain

General Variables

Identity and Location Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	43 R	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Original Name	Delhi Sultanate	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Capital	Delhi	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Capital	Devagiri	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Capital	Agra	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Alternative Name	Mamalik-i Dihli	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Temporal Bounds Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1296 CE ➜ 1316 CE]
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Duration	[1206 CE ➜ 1526 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	in_delhi_sultanate nominal allegiance to iq_abbasid_cal_2	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Supracultural Entity	Islamic	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Supracultural Entity	Persian	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Supracultural Entity	Turkish	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	continuity	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Preceding Entity	continuity; Principality of Gur [continuity] Update here
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Succeeding Entity 1336 CE 1646 CE	Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp) [absorption]
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Succeeding Entity 1335 CE 1521 CE	Sind - Samma Dynasty (pk_samma_dyn) [None]
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Degree of Centralization	confederated state	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Language Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Indo-European	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Language	Urdu	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Language	Persian	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Religion Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religion Genus	Islam	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Religion Family	Sunni	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Alternate Religion Genus	Islam	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Alternate Religion Family	Sufi	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Alternate Religion	Uncoded Undecided	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	[200,000 to 400,000] people	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Polity Territory	[2,800,000 to 3,200,000] km²	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Polity Population	- Undecided	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Largest Communication Distance	- Undecided	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	6	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Religious Level	5	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Military Level	8	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Administrative Level	9	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Professions Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1295 CE
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Professional Soldier	Present	1296 CE 1526 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Occupational Complexity	Uncoded Undecided	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Merit Promotion	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Law Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Judge	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Court	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Irrigation System	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Food Storage Site	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Port	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Canal	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Bridge	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Information / Writing System Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Script	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Sacred Text	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Practical Literature	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Philosophy	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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History	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Fiction	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Calendar	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Information / Money Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Precious Metal	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Paper Currency	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Article	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Information / Postal System Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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General Postal Service	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Courier	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Information / Measurement System Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Modern Fortification	Absent	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moat	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Fortified Camp	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Earth Rampart	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Ditch	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Complex Fortification	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Long Wall	absent	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Military use of Metals Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Iron	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Copper	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Bronze	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Projectiles Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Sling	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Self Bow	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Javelin	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Absent	1206 CE 1399 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Unknown Suspected	1400 CE 1449 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Present	1450 CE 1526 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Absent	1206 CE 1399 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Unknown Suspected	1400 CE 1449 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Present	1450 CE 1526 CE
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Crossbow	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Composite Bow	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Atlatl	Absent	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Handheld weapons Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Sword	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Spear	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Polearm	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Dagger	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Battle Axe	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Animals used in warfare Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Elephant	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Donkey	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Dog	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Camel	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Armor Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Shield	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Scaled Armor	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Plate Armor	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Limb Protection	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Laminar Armor	Unknown Suspected	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Helmet	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Chainmail	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Breastplate	Present Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Naval technology Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Absent	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Absent Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Absent Inferred	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Present	1206 CE 1526 CE
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Human Sacrifice Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More