General Description
If scholars are in disagreement over whether Egypt of the Kushite Empire experienced a period of centralized rule, this undoubtedly did occur during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 BCE),
[1]
which has been called the ’Saite Renaissance’. The Saite kings, from their palace at Memphis,
[2]
gradually managed to construct a considerably more centralized state than that of the preceding period.
[3]
The high point of Saite power was the reign of Amasis II, whose administration commanded sufficient revenues to enable him to build a fleet to conquer Cyprus.
[4]
An important phenomenon of this period was the development of the Demotic script (from the Greek word demos, ’the people’), which originated in the delta but spread throughout Lower and Upper Egypt under Psamtik I and his successors.
[5]
Based on Hieratic, a cursive script using simplified Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic was useful in everyday contexts such as accounting, letter-writing and non-religious literature, which grew in importance during the period.
Population and political organization
Upper Egypt, which before the Kushites had long been ruled by a militarized priesthood, was always a difficult nut for the central administration in the Nile Delta to crack. At first, the main influence the Saites had over the Twenty-fifth Dynasty aristocracy at Thebes was through the priestly position of the God’s Wife of Amun. This was held by a Saite priestess at the Amun temple, and an observer (rsw) based in Thebes who was often called ’governor’.
[6]
[3]
Established in the Kushite Period, the God’s Wife of Amun role was of ’very great and publicly acknowledged’ political importance.
[7]
To increase their hold over Egypt, Saite strategy, under the first ruler Psamtik I, sought the removal of the nome system of administration; instead a military official was directly appointed to oversee the whole Southern Land (covering the region from Aswan to Memphis).
[8]
Named leader of the fleet and based in Herakleopolis, this official also acted as the ’revenue accountant for Middle and Upper Egypt’.
[9]
The Saite king ruled from Memphis, where there was a High Council of aristocrats who reported directly to him.
[3]
The vizier acted as the supreme judge of the realm.
[10]
In the Late Period, almost all officials were also priests
[11]
and oracles featured in the elections of officials and even of kings.
[12]
The military was usually led by the supreme chief of the expedition,
[13]
but under Amasis II the chief physician also occupied important military roles such as ’leader of the Aegean foreign (troops)’ and ’admiral of the royal fleet’.
[14]
Theban Egypt was not brought under the effective control of the Memphite kings until Psamtik II’s campaign against the Kingdom of Napata between 592 and 591, which ended what had essentially been a ’period of compromise’ in Upper Egypt.
[15]
Before that time, Saite authority was so weak that they were forced to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Kushite pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. After Psamtik II’s military successes of the 590s, however, their policies changed and they began to portray the Nubian kings as usurpers.
[16]
With the Saite Dynasty now in a more powerful position, there was a return to the nome system of provincial organization, with governors once again stationed in the regions.
[16]
The title of leader of the fleet seems to disappear around this time,
[9]
and by 592 BCE Herakleopolis had a ’governor’.
Unfortunately, again, reliable population estimates at this time are difficult to find, but every indication suggests that the total population remained fairly steady at roughly three million people.
[17]
[1]: (Lloyd 2000, 364) Alan B. Lloyd. 2000. ’The Late Period (664-332 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 364-87. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[2]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 965-69) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[3]: Joseph G. Manning 2015, personal communication.
[4]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 986) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[5]: (Donker van Heel 2012, 25-26) Konrad Donker van Heel. 2012. Djekhy & Son: Doing Business in Ancient Egypt. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.
[6]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 978) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[7]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 275) Marc Van De Mieroop. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
[8]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 981) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[9]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 981-83) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[10]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 974) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[11]: (Baines 1991, 198) John Baines. 1991. ’Society, Morality, and Religious Practice’, in Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice, edited by Byron Esely Shafer, John Baines, Leonard H. Lesko, David P. Silverman, 123-200. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
[12]: (Gee 2002, 83) John Gee. 2002. ’Oracle by Image: Coffin Text 103 in Context’, in Magic and Divination in the Ancient World, edited by Leda Jean Ciraolo and Jonathan Lee Seidel, 83-88. Leiden: Brill.
[13]: (Fischer-Bovet 2014, 29) Christelle Fischer-Bovet. 2014. Army and Society in Ptolemaic Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 972) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[15]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 979-81) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[16]: (Agut-Labordère 2013, 979) Damien Agut-Labordère. 2013. ’The Saite Period: The Emergence of A Mediterranean Power’, in Ancient Egyptian Administration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 965-1028. Leiden: Brill.
[17]: (Eyre 2010, 303) Christopher Eyre. 2010. ’The Economy: Pharaonic’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 291-308. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
none |
Egypt |
Achaemenid Empire |
[250,000 to 500,000] km2 |
secession |
Preceding: Neo-Assyrian Empire (iq_neo_assyrian_emp) [secession] |
loose | |
unitary state |
inferred Present |
inferred Present | 664 BCE 571 BCE |
inferred Absent | 570 BCE 525 BCE |
Present |
inferred Absent |
inferred Present |
inferred Present |
Present |
Present |
inferred Present |
Present |
inferred Present |
inferred Present |
Present |
inferred Absent |
Absent |
inferred Present |
Present |
inferred Present |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
inferred Present |
Absent |
inferred Present |
inferred Present |
Present |
inferred Present |
inferred Present |
inferred Present |
inferred Absent |
inferred Present |
inferred Absent |
inferred Present |
Year Range | Egypt - Saite Period (eg_saite) was in: |
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(655 BCE 526 BCE) | Upper Egypt |
Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Utm Zone | 36 R | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Original Name | Egypt - Saite Period | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Capital | Memphis | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Alternative Name | 26th Dynasty | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Alternative Name | Manethonian Dynasty | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Alternative Name | Saite Renaissance | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Alternative Name | Saite Dynasty | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Suprapolity Relations | none | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Supracultural Entity | Egypt | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Succeeding Entity | Achaemenid Empire | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction | [250,000 to 500,000] km2 | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Relationship to Preceding Entity | secession | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Preceding Entity
911 BCE 612 BCE
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Neo-Assyrian Empire (iq_neo_assyrian_emp) [secession] | Confident | |||||||||
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Degree of Centralization | loose | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Degree of Centralization | unitary state | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Population of the Largest Settlement | [25,000 to 75,000] people | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Polity Territory | [300,000 to 400,000] km2 | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Polity Population | [1,800,000 to 2,500,000] people | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Specialized Government Building | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Merit Promotion | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 571 BCE | ||||||||
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Merit Promotion | Absent | Inferred | 570 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Full Time Bureaucrat | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Examination System | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Mines or Quarry | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Written Record | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Script | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Nonwritten Record | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Non Phonetic Writing | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Scientific Literature | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Sacred Text | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Religious Literature | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Practical Literature | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Philosophy | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Lists Tables and Classification | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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History | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Fiction | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Calendar | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Token | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Precious Metal | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Paper Currency | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Indigenous Coin | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Foreign Coin | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Article | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Postal Station | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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General Postal Service | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Courier | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More |
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Wooden Palisade | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Stone Walls Mortared | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Settlements in a Defensive Position | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Modern Fortification | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Moat | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Fortified Camp | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Earth Rampart | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Ditch | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Complex Fortification | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Long Wall | absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Tension Siege Engine | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Sling Siege Engine | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Sling | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Self Bow | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Javelin | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Handheld Firearm | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Crossbow | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Composite Bow | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Atlatl | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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War Club | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Sword | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Spear | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Polearm | Absent | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Dagger | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Battle Axe | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Horse | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Elephant | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Donkey | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Dog | Unknown | Suspected | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Camel | Present | Confident Uncertain | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Camel | Absent | Confident Uncertain | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More | |||||||
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Wood Bark Etc | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Shield | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Scaled Armor | Present | Confident | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Plate Armor | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Limb Protection | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Leather Cloth | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Laminar Armor | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Helmet | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Chainmail | Absent | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Breastplate | Present | Inferred | 664 BCE 525 BCE | ||||||||
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More |
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Variable | Coded Value | Tags | Year(s) | See More |
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