Home Region: Iran (Southwest Asia)

Ak Koyunlu

1339 CE 1501 CE

D G SC WF R

EQ 2020 ir_ak_koyunlu / IrAkKoy

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

[population migration; Kara Koyunlu] [population replacement] Update here

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

1501 CE 1722 CE Safavid Empire (ir_safavid_emp) [continuity]

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General Description

The Ak Koyunlu were a loose confederation of nomadic Turkman tribes that ruled in Iran between 1339-1501 CE. ^[1] They formed an alliance with the Timurid Emirate (1370-1526 CE) until Uzun Hasan (r. c1453-1478 CE) declared himself an independent sultan. ^[2] Their rule was ended by the Safavids in 1501 CE. ^[1]
The initial Ak Koyunlu government system was not complex; the sultan, a member of the Bayandor clan, was the head of a confederation ^[3] and obliged to attend and abide by the decisions of a powerful council of Amirs (kengac) and tribal chiefs (boy kanlari). This collective "determined military matters and the recurrent issue of succession to the sultanate". ^[1] However, by Qara Otman (c1398 CE) the Ak Koyunlu had gained "at least a rudimentary bureaucratic apparatus of the Iranian-Islamic type." ^[1] in addition to support from more tribes, and better relations with Christian sedentary people.
In the second half of the fifthteenth century, the complexity of state institutions increased another step with the conquest of eastern Iran. ^[1] Uzun Hasan maintained the existing administrative system as well as their officials. ^[1] Woods (1998) notes that there is evidence of an attempt to standardize and regularize administrative and financial procedures. ^[4]

[1]: (Quiring-Zoche 2011) R Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation

[2]: (Quiring-Zoche 2011) Quiring-Zoche, R. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation

[3]: (Quiring-Zoche 2011) QR Quiring-Zoche. 2011. Aq Qoyunlu. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aq-qoyunlu-confederation

[4]: (Woods 1998, 108) J E Woods. 1999. The Aqquyunlu. Clan, Confederation, Empire. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press.

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Original Name

2 Capital

2 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Suprapolity Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

2 Polity Succession

2 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

1 Language Genus

1 Language

Religion

1 Religion Genus

1 Religion Family

1 Alternate Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

1 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

3 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

2 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation 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

1 Non Phonetic Writing

1 Mnemonic Device

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

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

2 Handheld Firearm

2 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 Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions

7 Power Transition

Instability Events

23 Instability Event

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu) was in:
(1471 CE 1504 CE)	Susiana

Home NGA: Susiana

General Variables

Identity and Location Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Original Name	Ak Koyunlu	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Capital	Amed	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Capital	Tabriz	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Alternative Name	Aq Qoyunlu	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Alternative Name	White Sheep	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Temporal Bounds Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1453 CE ➜ 1478 CE]
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Duration	[1339 CE ➜ 1501 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	alliance with [---]	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Succeeding Entity	Safavid Empire	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	population migration	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Preceding Entity	population migration; Kara Koyunlu [population replacement] Update here
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Succeeding Entity 1501 CE 1722 CE	Safavid Empire (ir_safavid_emp) [continuity]
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Degree of Centralization	confederated state	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Degree of Centralization	loose	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Language Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Indo-Iranian	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Language Genus	Indo-European	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Language	Persian	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Religion Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religion Genus	Islam	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Religion Family	Sunni	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Alternate Religion	Uncoded Undecided	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	- Undecided	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Polity Territory	1,800,000 km²	1500 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[3 to 5]	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Religious Level	[1 to 3]	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Military Level	6	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Administrative Level	3	1339 CE 1398 CE
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Administrative Level	4	1399 CE 1470 CE
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Administrative Level	5	1471 CE 1501 CE
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Professions Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Merit Promotion	Absent Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Absent	1339 CE 1397 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present Inferred	1398 CE 1501 CE
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Examination System	Absent Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Law Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Uncoded Undecided	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Judge	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Court	Uncoded Undecided	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Irrigation System	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Port	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Canal	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Bridge	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Information / Writing System Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Script	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Mnemonic Device	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Sacred Text	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Practical Literature	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Philosophy	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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History	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Fiction	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Calendar	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Information / Money Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Precious Metal	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Paper Currency	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Article	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Information / Postal System Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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General Postal Service	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Courier	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Information / Measurement System Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

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

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Modern Fortification	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moat	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Fortified Camp	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Earth Rampart	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Ditch	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Complex Fortification	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Military use of Metals Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Iron	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Copper	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Bronze	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Projectiles Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Sling	Absent Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Self Bow	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Javelin	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Absent	1339 CE 1472 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Present	1473 CE 1501 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Absent	1400 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Present	1500 CE
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Crossbow	Absent Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Composite Bow	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Atlatl	Absent	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Handheld weapons Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Sword	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Spear	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Polearm	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Dagger	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Battle Axe	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Animals used in warfare Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Elephant	Absent Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Donkey	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Dog	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Camel	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Armor Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Shield	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Scaled Armor	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Plate Armor	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Limb Protection	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Laminar Armor	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Helmet	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Chainmail	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Breastplate	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Naval technology Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present Inferred	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Unknown Suspected	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Commoners	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Religion Adopted by Elites	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Present	1339 CE 1501 CE
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Human Sacrifice Ak Koyunlu (ir_ak_koyunlu)

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