Home Region: Anatolia-Caucasus (Southwest Asia)

Byzantine Empire I

632 CE 866 CE

D G SC WF R CC

EQ 2020 tr_byzantine_emp_1 / TrByzM1

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

395 CE 631 CE East Roman Empire (tr_east_roman_emp) [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.

867 CE 1072 CE Byzantine Empire II (tr_byzantine_emp_2) [continuity]

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General Description

The first Byzantine period, which lasts from 632 CE in the reign of Heraclius (r.610-641 CE) to 866 CE at the end of the reign of Michael III (r.842-867 CE) ^[1] was in many ways characterized by the Greek response to the Arab expansion. This and other developments led to a dramatic transformation of Byzantium with regard to dimension and complexity of the society. ^[2]
The signature change was the reform of Byzantine control of the regions with the introduction of themes introduced under Constantine IV 668-685 CE ^[3] headed by commanders called strategi. ^[4] This was a progressive development as provinces still existed with the first themes, the last European theme (Nicopolis or Dalmatia) being set up about 900 CE. ^[5]
Reform of the regions into themes was directly reflected with administrative reforms at the capital. At the professional imperial administration in Constantinople, taxation and military administration was ’fused’ about 680 CE into a single office called ’logothete tou stratiotikou.’ "In this office, taxation and military administration were made the responsibility of one minister in the central government. The officials concerned with the muster rolls of the soldiers and with the collection of the annona were thus combined in a single functionary." ^[6]
From Justinian II (r.668-711 CE) the strategi gained powers of tax collection and each individual theme had a logothete who behaved like the logothete tou stratiotikou in Constantinople. ^[7] "Thus there grew up this fusion of military and civil authority which spread over the whole Empire with the introduction of the themes and undermined the control exercised by the state." ^[8] However, while control from the center was lost, the Byzantines gained the ability to more flexibly respond to external threats.
After the shock of losing 1 million km2 of territory by 700 CE to the expanding Islamic Caliphate the reforms eventually appear to have put the Byzantine state, and its 5 million inhabitants, on a stronger footing. While the 695-717 CE period was known for being a period of anarchy by the ninth century military success had slightly increased the land area to 520,000 km2. ^[9] Basileus Theophilus (r.829-842 CE) was able to finance a major construction spree. ^[10]

[1]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) H W Haussig. J M Hussey, trans. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[2]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences

[3]: (Haussig 1971, Chronological Table) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[4]: (Haussig 1971, 178) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[5]: (Haussig 1971, 96-97) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[6]: (Haussig 1971, 97-98) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[7]: (Haussig 1971, 98) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[8]: (Haussig 1971, 97) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[9]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[10]: (Haussig 1971, 169) Haussig, H W.trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

1 Capital

4 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

4 Suprapolity Relations

1 Supracultural Entity

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Scale of Supracultural Interaction

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

2 Polity Succession

1 Degree of Centralization

Language

1 Linguistic Family

1 Language

Religion

1 Religion Genus

1 Religion Family

1 Religion

1 Alternate Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

3 Population of the Largest Settlement

3 Polity Territory

3 Polity Population

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 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

1 Examination System

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

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

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

1 Handheld Firearm

1 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

25 Power Transition

Instability Events

144 Instability Event

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1) was in:
(632 CE 823 CE)	Crete / Konya Plain
(823 CE 866 CE)	Konya Plain

Home NGA: Konya Plain

General Variables

Identity and Location Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	36 T Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Original Name	Byzantine Empire I Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Capital	Constantinople Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Alternative Name	Byzantium Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Alternative Name	Empire of the Romans Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Alternative Name	Eastern Roman Empire Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Alternative Name	Middle Byzantine Empire I Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Temporal Bounds Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[741 CE ➜ 775 CE] Expert
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Duration	[632 CE ➜ 866 CE] Expert
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Political and Cultural Relations Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	it_st_peter_rep_1 nominal allegiance to tr_byzantine_emp_1	711 CE 866 CE
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Suprapolity Relations	ir_sassanid_emp_2 alliance with tr_byzantine_emp_1	488 CE 642 CE
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Suprapolity Relations	tr_byzantine_emp_1 alliance with ru_khazar_emp	632 CE 866 CE
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Suprapolity Relations	it_ravenna_exarchate vassalage to tr_byzantine_emp_1	568 CE 751 CE
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Supracultural Entity	Christianity Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Succeeding Entity	Byzantine Empire II Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Scale of Supracultural Interaction	[15,000,000 to 20,000,000] km² Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	continuity Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Preceding Entity 395 CE 631 CE	East Roman Empire (tr_east_roman_emp) [continuity] Expert
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Succeeding Entity 867 CE 1072 CE	Byzantine Empire II (tr_byzantine_emp_2) [continuity] Expert
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Degree of Centralization	unitary state Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Language Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Indo-European Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Language	Greek Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Religion Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religion Genus	Christianity Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Religion Family	Catholic Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Religion	Roman Catholic Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Alternate Religion	Uncoded Undecided Expert	632 CE 866 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	150,000 people	632 CE
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Population of the Largest Settlement	[80,000 to 125,000] people	700 CE
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Population of the Largest Settlement	[100,000 to 350,000] people	800 CE
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Polity Territory	[1,500,000 to 2,000,000] km²	632 CE
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Polity Territory	[470,000 to 700,000] km²	700 CE
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Polity Territory	[520,000 to 650,000] km²	800 CE
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Polity Population	11,000,000 people	632 CE
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Polity Population	[4,500,000 to 7,000,000] people	700 CE
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Polity Population	[5,000,000 to 8,000,000] people	800 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	6	632 CE 866 CE
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Religious Level	7	632 CE 866 CE
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Military Level	8	632 CE 866 CE
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Administrative Level	8	632 CE 866 CE
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Professions Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Occupational Complexity	Uncoded Undecided	632 CE 866 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Merit Promotion	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Examination System	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Law Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Judge	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Court	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Irrigation System	Present Inferred	632 CE 866 CE
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Food Storage Site	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Port	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Canal	Present Inferred	632 CE 866 CE
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Bridge	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Information / Writing System Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Script	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Mnemonic Device	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Scientific Literature	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Sacred Text	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Practical Literature	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Philosophy	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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History	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Fiction	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Calendar	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Information / Money Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Precious Metal	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Paper Currency	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Article	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Information / Postal System Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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General Postal Service	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Courier	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Information / Measurement System Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

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

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Unknown Suspected	632 CE 866 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Modern Fortification	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Moat	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Fortified Camp	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Earth Rampart	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Ditch	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Complex Fortification	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Long Wall	56 km	632 CE 866 CE
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Military use of Metals Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Iron	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Copper	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Bronze	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Projectiles Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Sling	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Self Bow	Unknown Suspected	632 CE 866 CE
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Javelin	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Crossbow	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Composite Bow	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Atlatl	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Handheld weapons Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Sword	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Spear	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Polearm	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Dagger	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Battle Axe	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Animals used in warfare Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Elephant	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Donkey	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Dog	Absent	632 CE 866 CE
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Camel	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Armor Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Shield	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Scaled Armor	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Plate Armor	Present Inferred	632 CE 866 CE
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Limb Protection	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Laminar Armor	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Helmet	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Chainmail	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Breastplate	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Naval technology Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Present	632 CE 866 CE
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Human Sacrifice Byzantine Empire I (tr_byzantine_emp_1)

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