| 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 |
|---|---|
| population_of_the_largest_settlement_from | The lower range of population of the largest settlement for a polity. |
| population_of_the_largest_settlement_to | The upper range of population of the largest settlement for a polity. |
| # | Polity | Year(s) | Population of the Largest Settlement from | Population of the Largest Settlement to | Description | Edit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 302 |
(Axum II) |
Full Year Range of Axum II is assumed. [350, 599] |
50000 |
60000 |
Inhabitants. According to Michels (2005), the population of Aksum (city) grew from 450-750 CE to about 39,603. [Connah 2015, p. 142] "Michel's figure for Aksum's maximum population was significantly underestimated" according to Phillipson (2012). [Connah 2015, p. 143] Adulis, above-ground estimate suggests 500m*400m area. [Anfray 1981, p. 366] Not sure which period. "By the 6th century, the urban core of Aksum was about 180ha in extent with additional related satellite settlements and rural hinterland communities extending at least 10km in radius and linked by a network of paved and unpaved roads. At its height, at least 50,000 people would have inhabited the ancient city's centre, with thousands more living in the urban periphery and immediate hinterland. The boundaries of the ancient city seem to have been marked by monumental stone throne bases and royal inscriptions." [Uhlig 2017, p. 106] |
|
| 304 |
(Early Tana 1) |
Full Year Range of Early Tana 1 is assumed. [500, 749] |
None |
None |
Inhabitants. 1600 at Unguja Ukuum but was it the largest settlement at the time? "The comparatively large area, about 16 ha, occupied by the site as early as the second half of the first millennium ce, with its population having been estimated to be about 1,600 (Juma 2004: 65), reflects the high status of the site within the region." [Juma_Wynne-Jones_LaViolette 2017] | |
| 306 |
(Early East Africa Iron Age) |
Full Year Range of Early East Africa Iron Age is assumed. [200, 499] |
None |
None |
Inhabitants. The following is worth noting here: "[A]rchaeology[...] suggests these early communities probably consisted of dispersed networks of homesteads, rather than centralised societies (Reid 1994/5; Van Grunderbeek et al. 1983)." [Ashley 2010, p. 146] | |
| 307 |
(Bito Dynasty) |
Full Year Range of Bito Dynasty is assumed. [1700, 1894] |
500 |
500 |
Inhabitants. "The first European descriptions, as we have seen, concerned the kings' courts . The nature of these "capitals" is indeed revealing. The number of permanent and transient residents in each in the late nineteenth century was impressive: according to sources from this period, there were five hundred in Bunyoro, two thousand in Bukeye in Burundi, two thousand in Nyanza in Rwanda, but twenty thousand in Mengo in Buganda." [Chrétien 2006, p. 166] | |
| 308 |
(Classic Tana) |
Full Year Range of Classic Tana is assumed. [1000, 1498] |
None |
None |
Inhabitants. The following is relevant: "By the end of the fifteenth century, economic competition from other coastal towns had grown such that Kilwa's authority was recognized as one amongst many powerful towns. Kilwa now shared the revenues of its extensive tax system with Mombasa (da Silva Rego and Baxter v.l, 1963: 397-8). At this period, Mombasa had surpassed Kilwa in size and possibly wealth, with its population close to 10,000, while Kilwa reportedly contained only 4,000 inhabitants (da Silva Rego and Baxter v.l , 1963: 535, 537)." [Fleisher_Reid_Lane 2014] | |
| 309 |
(Portuguese Empire - Renaissance Period) |
Full Year Range of Portuguese Empire - Renaissance Period is assumed. [1495, 1579] |
60000 |
100000 |
Inhabitants. "Lisbon itself had a population of about 65,000 in 1527 and 100,000 by mid-century, by which time it was the largest city in the whole Iberian peninsula." [Disney 2009] | |
| 310 |
(Macedonian Empire) |
Full Year Range of Macedonian Empire is assumed. [-330, -312] |
20000 |
80000 |
None |