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Seshat: Global History Databank

✓ the most current and comprehensive body of knowledge about human history
✓ collects what is currently known about the social and political organization of human societies over time
✓ offers the means to study the past through well-established scientific techniques
✓ founded in 2011 and thriving ever since

Seshat

General Variables

26

variables

in categories: Identity and Location, Temporal Bounds, Language, Religion, Supra-cultural relations
8864

datapoints

Alternative Name (Identity and Location)

Polity Peak Years (Temporal Bounds)

Polity Capital (Identity and Location)

Polity Language (Language)

Polity Religion (Religion)

Degree of Centralization (Temporal Bounds)

Succeeding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

Relationship to Preceding Entity (Supra-cultural relations)

and 18 more... for 522 Polities

Social Complexity Variables

77

variables

in categories: Social Scale, Hierarchical Complexity, Professions, Bureaucracy Characteristics, Law, Specialized Buildings: polity owned, Transport Infrastructure, Special-purpose Sites, Information
20458

datapoints

Polity Territory (Social Scale)

Polity Population (Social Scale)

Settlement Hierarchy (Hierarchical Complexity)

Irrigation System (Specialized Buildings: polity owned)

Merit Promotion (Bureaucracy Characteristics)

Formal Legal Code (Law)

Road (Transport Infrastructure)

Postal Station (Information / Postal System)

and 69 more... for 506 Polities

Warfare Variables

49

variables

in categories: Fortifications, Military use of Metals, Projectiles, Handheld weapons, Animals used in warfare, Armor, Naval technology
17527

datapoints

Bronze (Military use of Metals)

Javelin (Projectiles)

Battle Axe (Handheld Weapons)

Sword (Handheld Weapons)

Horse (Animals used in warfare)

Small Vessels (canoes, etc) (Naval technology)

Shield (Armor)

Wooden Palisade (Fortifications)

and 41 more... for 373 Polities

Human Sacrifice

The deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
357

datapoints

was Absent: 2250 BCE 2113 BCE in Akkadian Empire

was Present: 5000 BCE 3501 BCE in Yangshao

was Present: 1850 BCE 1651 BCE in Erlitou

was Absent: 1683 CE 1839 CE in Ottoman Empire III

was Transitional (Absent -> Present): 31 BCE 199 CE in Roman Empire - Principate

was Absent: 1516 CE 1700 CE in Spanish Empire I

was Absent: 612 BCE 540 BCE in Elam III

was Absent: 1820 CE 1898 CE in Kingdom of Hawaii - Post-Kamehameha Period

and 349 more... coded for 323 Polities

CrisisDB

Power Transitions

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
OT Overturn
PA Predecessor Assassination
IE Intra-Elite
MR Military Revolt
PU Popular Uprising
SR Separatist Rebellion
EV External Invasion
EF External Inteference
2992

transitions

1172 CE 1196 CE in Hungary Kingdom - Árpád Dynasty: Béla III Emeric OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1118 CE 1119 CE in Rome - Republic of St Peter II: Gelasius II (John of Gaeta) Calixtus II (Guido of Burgundy) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1752 CE 1758 CE in Kingdom of Baol: M’Bissan N’Della Ma-Kodu Kumba

361 CE 365 CE in Western Jin: Ai of Jin (Sima Pi, Jìn Aī Dì) Fei of Jin (Sima Yi, Jìn Fèi Dì) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1143 CE 1180 CE in Byzantine Empire III: Manuel I Komnenos Alexios II Komnenos OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

2055 BCE 2004 BCE in Egypt - Period of the Regions: Mentuhotep II / Nebhepetra Mentuhotep III / Sankhkara OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

939 CE 946 CE in Anglo-Saxon England I: Edmund I Edred OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1405 CE in Late Angkor: Samtac Pra Phaya, Phing-ya Nippean-bat OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

and 2984 more... coded for 238 Polities

Crisis Consequences

Crisis periods are defined as periods of turmoil within a polity duration. We measure this turmoil by:
  1. tracking known destabilizing events such as major revolts, civil violence, and institutional reform; and
  2. following established scholarship which identifies such crisis periods
169

cases

  absent     present     inferred absent     inferred present     suspected unknown     unknown are coded for:
PD Population Decline
PC Population Collapse
EP Epidemic
DM Elite Downward Mobility
EX Elite Extermination
UP Uprising
RV Revolution
SR Successful Revolution
CW Civil War
C+ Lasted a Century +
FR Fragmentation
CL Capital Loss
EC External Conquest
RA Ruler Assassination
RD Ruler Depose
CC Constitution Change
LC Labor Change
UL Unfree Labor Change
SF Suffrage
PG Public Goods Change
RC Religion Change

184 CE 220 CE in Eastern Han Empire: Yellow Turban and Five Pecks of Rice rebellions: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1070 CE 1150 CE in Toltecs: Decline of Tollan: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

150 CE 224 CE in Parthian Empire II: Fall of the Parthian Empire: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1331 CE 1333 CE in Kamakura Shogunate: Genkō Civil War, fall of Kamakura: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

450 BCE 250 BCE in Classical Crete: Elite Infighting & Polity Wars: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1467 CE in Ashikaga Shogunate: Transition to Sengoku period: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1000 CE 1150 CE in Late Tiwanaku: Collapse of Tiwanaku Empire: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

570 BCE 525 BCE in Egypt - Saite Period: Fall of Twenty-sixth Dynasty: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

and 161 more... coded for 153 Polities

🇺🇸 US Political Violence Database

✓ coded for Date, Type, Subtype(s), Location(s), Fatalities, etc
1903

cases

Oct. 1, 1872 riot (political, race) in Georgia (GA), Macon: 5 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Sept. 1, 1851 riot (race) in Pennsylvania (PA), Christiana: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Hartford Daily Courant Or The Hartford Courant

Aug. 1, 1855 lynching (race) in Alabama (AL), Montgomery: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

May 1, 1974 riot (political) in California (CA), Los Angeles: 6 were killed. Source(s):   Wikipedia

May 24, 2022 terrorism (education) in Texas (TX), Uvalde, Uvalde: 22 were killed. Source(s):   ACLED: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data

Aug. 29, 2020 riot (political) in Oregon (OR), Portland, Multnomah: 1 was killed. Source(s):   ACLED: The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data

Aug. 1, 1831 riot (race) in Virginia (VA), Sothhampton: 300 were killed. Source(s):   Wikipedia

July 1, 1849 riot (unknown (?)) in Illinois (IL), Massac: 3 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

and 1895 more...

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