| Variable | Definition |
|---|---|
| Polity | The Seshat Polity ID |
| Year(s) | The years for which we have the data. [negative = BCE] |
| Tag | [Evidenced, Disputed, Suspected, Inferred, Unknown] |
| Verified | A Seshat Expert has approved this piece of data. |
| Variable | Definition | Units |
|---|---|---|
| polity_territory_from | The lower range of polity territory for a polity. | km squared |
| polity_territory_to | The upper range of polity territory for a polity. | km squared |
| # | Polity | Year(s) | Polity Territory from | Polity Territory to | Description | Edit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 371 |
(Maitraka Dynasty) |
Full Year Range of Maitraka Dynasty is assumed. [470, 790] |
100000 |
100000 |
in squared kilometers. Based on the following description, the polity occupied an area roughly equivalent to half of the modern Indian state of Gujarat. "The Maitraka kingdom included Surastra and Kaccha as well as northern and central parts of Mainland Gujarat. In the east, the Maitrakas extended their power over western Malwa. [...] In the seventh century the Maitrakas held power over the Bharukaccha district and the power of the Vindhya branch extended up to Kantaragrama (Katargam near Surat). A large part of the Broach district, however, passed under the sway of the Gurjaras and a large part of the Surat district under that of the Saindrakas, who lost their power to the Calukyas. [...] At the end South Gujarat got engulfed between the two Big powers--the Rastrakutas of the south and the Pratiharas of the north. Thus excepting South Gujarat which passed under several powers successively and even simultaneously, the whole of Gujarat remained under the realm of the Maitrakas who reigned uninterruptedly for a pretty long period of about three centuries." [Sastri 2000, p. 8] | |
| 372 |
(Makuria Kingdom I) |
Full Year Range of Makuria Kingdom I is assumed. [568, 618] |
20000 |
20000 |
in squared kilometers Satellite map shows more southerly latitudes, between the White and Blue Niles as green. This area is about 100,000 km2. The Alwa Kingdom polity would occupy this region at a later time. The early Makuria state was not extensive enough to control this region so probably was confined to the Dongola Reach stretch of the Nile river which is sandwiched by desert. Like this reference for the Meroe Kingdom it probably "was over large areas, confined to a narrow strip along the banks of the Nile for well over 1000 km of its course". [Welsby 2002, p. 16] - and less than that since this polity begins below the Third Cataract. |
|
| 373 |
(Maukhari Dynasty) |
Full Year Range of Maukhari Dynasty is assumed. [550, 605] |
200000 |
200000 |
in squared kilometers. Estimate based on the following. "Toward the end of the dynasty the extent of the Maukhari kingdom was considerable, reaching as far as Ahichhatra and the frontiers of Thaneswar kingdom in the west and to Nalanda in the east. In the north, it probably extended to the Tarai region, and in the south, at least to the forest belt adjoining the southern extremity of Uttar Pradesh." [Ghosh_et_al 2016] Assuming Nalanda to roughly correspond to the district in modern-day Bihar, and Thaneswar to be more or less located in the region now occupied by the modern Indian state of Haryana, the Maukhari polity would have occupied a territory more or less the size of modern-day Uttar Pradesh, probably somewhat smaller. | |
| 375 |
(Median Persian Empire) |
Full Year Range of Median Persian Empire is assumed. [-715, -550] |
2500000 |
3000000 |
None | |
| 376 |
(Middle Greater Coclé) |
Full Year Range of Middle Greater Coclé is assumed. [700, 1000] |
None |
None |
'The territorial extents of this Coclé chiefdom have never been empirically defined [...] Unfortunately, much of the settlement data for Coclé and adjacent regions is inadequate to the task of reconstructing chiefly territories, largely because of a lack of site histories detailing phase-by-phase changes in site size, population, and relative status differences.' [Menzies_Haller 2012, p. 459] | |
| 377 |
(Monte Alban V Early Postclassic) |
Full Year Range of Monte Alban V Early Postclassic is assumed. [900, 1099] |
None |
None |
As the Zapotec state was in a process of fragmentation into smaller polities, the actual extent of any polity in the Valley of Oaxaca is very difficult to determine for this period. [Flannery_Marcus 1996] | |
| 378 |
(Monte Alban V Late Postclassic) |
Full Year Range of Monte Alban V Late Postclassic is assumed. [1101, 1520] |
None |
None |
As the Zapotec state was in a process of fragmentation into smaller polities, the actual extent of any polity in the Valley of Oaxaca is very difficult to determine for this period. [Flannery_Marcus 1996] | |
| 380 |
(Yemen - Ottoman period) |
Full Year Range of Yemen - Ottoman period is assumed. [1873, 1920] |
None |
None |
in squared kilometers Reliable information on the geographical extent of Ottoman Yemen still needs to be identified. The complex political situation comprising both Ottoman imperial authorities and Yemeni tribes adds further difficulty to this problem. Ottoman authority was felt strongly in some locations, but was marginal in others. The interplay between state authority and tribal forces leaves Yemen in an ambiguous position -while 'officially' a state, state control itself and the associated monopoly over the legitimate use of force were contested and at times ephemeral. |