Welcome to

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

Objects

47

Seshat Regions

West Africa (Africa)

Southern Europe (Europe)

East Africa (Africa)

Anatolia-Caucasus (Southwest Asia)

Central Europe (Europe)

Iran (Southwest Asia)

Western Europe (Europe)

Northeast Africa (Africa)

and 39 more... in 10 Macro Regions.

826

Polities

Hmong - Early Chinese (in: South China) 1895 CE 1941 CE

Mubari (in: East Africa) 10000 BCE 2000 CE

Kingdom of Baol (in: West Africa) 1550 CE 1890 CE

Susa II (in: Iran) 3800 BCE 3100 BCE

Pre-Maravi (in: Southern Africa) 1151 CE 1399 CE

Kara-Khanids (in: Turkestan) 950 CE 1212 CE

Mutapa (in: Southern Africa) 1450 CE 1880 CE

Bahmani Sultanate (in: Somewhere) 1347 CE 1518 CE

and 818 more... in 47 Seshat Regions.

Seshat

General Variables

26

variables

in categories: Identity and Location, Temporal Bounds, Language, Religion, Supra-cultural relations
8827

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 524 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 Present: 250 CE 537 CE in Kansai - Kofun Period

was Absent: 840 CE 986 CE in Carolingian Empire II

was Present: 3300 BCE 3101 BCE in Egypt - Dynasty 0

was Present: 2150 BCE 2017 BCE in Egypt - Period of the Regions

was Absent: 802 CE 1100 CE in Early Angkor

was Absent: 1568 CE 1703 CE in Mataram Sultanate

was Absent: 1683 CE 1839 CE in Ottoman Empire III

was Present: 900 CE 1520 CE in Monte Alban V

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
3093

transitions

928 CE 931 CE in Rome - Republic of St Peter II: Stephen VII John XI OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1310 CE 1346 CE in Kingdom of Bohemia - Luxembourgian and Jagiellonian Dynasty: John the Blind (Jan Lucemburský) Charles IV (Karel I.) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1515 CE 1547 CE in French Kingdom - Late Valois: Francis I Henry II OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

672 CE 686 CE in Asuka: Temmu Jitō OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

55 BCE 34 BCE in Armenian Kingdom: Tigranes the Great (Tigranes II) Artavasdes II OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1605 CE 1623 CE in Tokugawa Shogunate: Tokugawa Hidetada Tokugawa Iemitsu OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1073 CE 1085 CE in Rome - Republic of St Peter II: Gregory VII (Hildebrand) Victor III (Desiderius of Monte Cassino) OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

1471 CE 1473 CE in Republic of Venice III: Nicolò Tron Nicolò Marcello OV PA IE MR PU SR EV EF

and 3085 more... coded for 241 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

1254 CE 1273 CE in Holy Roman Empire - Hohenstaufen and Welf Dynasties: Great Interregnum: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV SR CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1060 CE 1072 CE in Fatimid Caliphate: Fatimid Civil War: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV 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

1470 CE 1500 CE in Inca Empire: Inca succession crisis': PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1528 CE 1537 CE in Songhai Empire - Askiya Dynasty: Succession Crisis: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1838 CE 1858 CE in Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial: Colonial occupation of Sarawak by the Brooke family ("White Rajahs"): PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1065 CE in Anglo-Saxon England II: Norman Invasion and Conquest: PD PC EP DM EX UP RV CW C+ FR CL EC RA RD CC LC UL SF PG RC

1650 CE in Sakha - Late: Smallpox Epidemic: 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

Aug. 1, 1869 riot (race) in Mississippi (MS), Livingston: 2 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Feb. 25, 2003 terrorism (work) in Alabama (AL), Huntsville: 4 were killed. Source(s):   TVPDB: The Violence Project database of mass shootings in the United States (Version 7)

June 1, 1920 riot (labor) in Pennsylvania (PA), Philadelphia: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Oct. 1, 1981 riot (political) in New York (NY), Nanuet: 4 were killed. Source(s):   Wikipedia

Jan. 1, 1985 terrorism (political) in California (CA), Sacramento: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Wikipedia

July 1, 1934 riot (labor) in California (CA), San Francisco: 4 were killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

Jan. 1, 1879 lynching (extralegal) in South Carolina (SC), Spartanburg: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

April 1, 1874 riot (political) in Arkansas (AR), Little Rock: 1 was killed. Source(s):   Paul A. Gilje, Riots In The United States

and 1895 more...

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