Early Rulers Research Articles

<i>Pāňcālī </i>— A Local Administrative Unit of Ancient Nepal (4<sup>th</sup> to 8<sup>th</sup> Century A.D.): An Inscriptional Overview

Licchavi kingdom was an ancient kingdom in Nepal, which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately from ca. A.D. 300 to ca. 879. Centuries earlier at the start of the Buddhist era, a powerful republic known as Licchavi existed in what is today Bihar. It is to be mentioned here, some legendary sources from the Kathmandu Valley also describe the Kirātas as early rulers there, taken over from earlier Gopāls or Ᾱbhiras, both of whom may have been cow herding tribes. In the pre Lichhavi period a village administration existed in the valley of Nepal. In that village administration there were some local chief officials named <i>Brahmum, Shulham</i>, <i>Tepulam</i> who maintained law and orders of the villages. In the Ᾱdī- Nārāyaṇa temple Inscription of Nepal there are 18 functionaries in which <i>Brahmum, Shulham</i>, <i>Tepulam </i>are mentioned. These non sanskritic terms disappeared after sometime and replaced by sanskritic terms such as <i>svatalasvāmī</i> and later <i>dauvārika</i>, a post which endured permanently in Nepal village administration. In the period of Aṁśuvarmā we see a significant change occurred in the use of land and its administration by the ushering in of the <i>pāňcālīs. Pāňcālī</i> has been used in the sense of modern <i>Pāňcāyet.</i> In ancient Nepal <i>Pāňcālī</i> was a village administration and <i>Pāňcālīkā</i> is the member of the administrative body <i>Pāňcālī. </i>In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss about the meaning of the term <i>pāňcālī,</i> its characteristics, responsibilities and roles in Nepal administration.

영남지방 초기 국의 등장 배경과 사로국 구조

Through the long-distance trade network and ritual structures of base settlements that were intensively developed in the Yeongnam region in the 2nd century BC, the background of the establishment of the early politics and the method of solidarity were examined. Long-distance trade beyond the Yeongnam region is concentrated in the 2nd century BC, and the bases where foreign trade is active overlap with regions(mainly Daegu, Gyeongsan, and Gyeongju) found in the early days of the clustering of wooden tombs. In some regions, politics that internally united regional units appeared in order to form a socio- economic coalition suitable for logistics distribution, redistribution, cost reduction, and information solidarity amid intensively developed foreign trade in the 2nd century BC. Thus, it is inferred that the clustering of wooden tombs appeared from the time when these early politics reached villages and townships as local political bodies to maintain active foreign trade, iron production, and distribution. In this situation, by linking topographic conditions, traffic routes and literature records, and archaeological data, focusing on Saro-guk, the composition of the euprak and the structure of the country were explained. Around the middle of the 2nd century BC, it is expected that the early Saroguk was established, and it is interpreted that the 6 villages, symbolized as major towns and villages, were united through the conference. Early Saroguk is a device that binds and maintains local communities while showing various forms for each town and village, and the phenomenon of establishing altar-style stone tombs, high- altitude enclosure, standing-ritual structures, and early wooden tombs by base is similar. In addition, the title of ChaChawoong, which was mentioned in early literature records, also weighed on the ideological and religious power base. Given the ritual structure of the settlement base and the power base of the early ruler, it was difficult to sustain the national structure only by pursuing the interests of foreign trade, and it is assumed that even by transforming the traditionally important megalithic monuments and high-altitude enclosure, it led to community cohesion.

In the midst of great kings: the monumentalization of text in the Iron Age Levant

The Bar-Rakib Palace Inscriptions from Zincirli have received relatively little attention from philologists and archaeologists alike because of their predictable and derivative content. However, these monuments provide an unparalleled insight into the monumentalization of text in the Iron Age Levant. As might be expected, Bar-Rakib's Aramaic inscriptions and reliefs repeat themes and tropes from other monuments. They also were strategically deployed at the site so as to interact with nearby monuments left by earlier rulers. What has received less attention is the fact that Bar-Rakib's monuments also shared many artistic tropes with small finds from Zincirli, including letters, incantation plaques, seals, and amulets. These correspondences suggest that monumental texts functioned by appropriating aspects of personal artifacts to be used on a communal scale. By projecting not only prestige but also intimacy, Bar-Rakib's inscriptions invited their audience to interact with them in imaginative ways. As the audience related to the monumental texts through acts of reading, viewing, and ritual, they would in turn reconfigure their own relationships to other communicative media, places, each other, and the polity as a whole. It was this ability to relate to communities and thus reshape them that made a text monumental in the Iron Age Levant. This was accomplished through the strategic juxtaposition of text with visual and performative media in particular spatial contexts.

Practice, Power and Place: Southern British Perspectives on the Agency of Early Medieval Rulers’ Residences

This paper advances understanding of rulership over the fifth to the ninth centuries AD, drawing upon a category of elite settlement from southern Britain known as the great hall complex. Guided by a practice-based conceptual framework, we connect these sites with the embodied regimens, rituals, habits, and activities through which rulership was constituted in the early medieval world. Harnessing recent expanded datasets, we generate insights in three key areas. First, by documenting the significant and sustained antecedent occupation attested at great hall sites, we reveal how rulers exploited the complex multiple pasts of these places to advance symbolic and worldly agendas. Second, we reframe understanding of hall construction as a strategy of elite legitimation by focusing attention on the agency of the skilled practitioners who created these innovative architectural statements and, in doing so, recognize these hitherto neglected specialists as ‘crafters’ of rulership. Third, we use proxies from recently investigated great hall complexes to reconstruct the networks of dependency and interaction which enmeshed these centres. A concluding comparative discussion of southern Britain and Scandinavia contributes shared perspectives on rulers’ residences as a prime arena for the orchestration and creative renewal of early medieval sovereignty.

Sogdian Epitaphs in Honor Early Khagans of Tyurkik Khaganat

This scientific report devoted to interpretation the content of too sogdian memorial epitaphs in honor early rulers of Turkik Khaganate.

Rituals of Royal Masculinity in Eighteenth-Century Britain: Frederick, Prince of Wales, Takes a Mistress

Although scholars have examined the history of middling and elite masculinity in eighteenth-century Britain, few consider how ideals of manhood shaped the representation and perception of early Georgian rulers. This article re-examines the relationship of Frederick, Prince of Wales, with his publicly recognized mistress, Anne Vane, as a symbolic rite of passage that helped enhance his manly prowess, prestige and position at court. Their affair included social rituals of deference and patronage through which the Prince asserted his maturity, independence from his parents and rank as heir to the throne. Through an analysis of little-studied contemporary scandal literature about Frederick and Vane, this essay argues that royal mistresses were generally accepted figures at the eighteenth-century British court and that expressions of extramarital sexuality were tolerated as a component of youthful elite masculinity. Published discussions of the Prince’s intimacies were central to his emerging reputation as an accessible regal figure and recognizable personality, and masculine images of rulers appealed to men and engaged gendered forms of allegiance.

Shroud and Portrait of a Medieval Ruler

The research is concerning two unusual evidences of the late Medieval art, which could be seen in the Museum of the cathedral St. Stephan in Vienna. Both of them are related to Herzog Rudolf IV of Austria (1358 - 1365). One artefact in the museum is his silk gold woven shroud elaborated with especial mastership from Chinese silk in Tabriz, a city in present Iran. Especially important for this fabric is that thanks to the interwoven name of the ruler it could be dated precisely. The road of this Near East fabric to Europe and to the tomb of the Herzog in Vienna could be reconstructed. Rudolf IV died suddenly during the visit to his relative Bernabo Visconti in Milano who was one of the richest men in Europe by that time. Probably the fabric was brought across the Silk Road to Constantinople and further across the sea to Genova and to the city of silk Lucca and then to Milano. Such gold woven fabrics from the Islamic world could be found not rarely in the European ruler’s tombs. The second unusual object in the cathedral museum is a portrait of the Herzog. So far this portrait was attributed to a Prague artist. But it could be proved that it originated from Upper Italy and probably was painted by an artist from Verona who was associated to the society around the great humanist Francesco Petrarca. This portrait rises the question about the emergence of early ruler's portraits in Eu-rope and in this aspect is also related to achievements of the „Palaeologus Renaissance“ art in South – East Europe. The two objects are considered as expression forms of the ruler’s funeral culture of the late Medieval age. In the context formed by the comparative approach new possibilities for analysis are created which cross over the traditional methodology of History of Art.

Ekklesiologie der sanften Macht. Der 1. Timotheusbrief und die antike Fürstenspiegel-Literatur

Abstract Did early Christian church leaders and political rulers share common characteristics? By reading the First Epistle to Timothy through the lens of Greek and Roman “mirrors for princes” (specula principum) written in the first and early second centuries AD, this article intends to make a new contribution to this issue. The study’s interpretative focus lies on the idealized depiction of Timothy as a role model for early Christian officeholders as well as on the qualifications for bishops and deacons (1 Tim 3:1–13). The comparison of the features of the ideal ruler with those of ideal church leaders shows that central elements of the ecclesiology of First Timothy tap into the Greco-Roman discourse concerning ideal rulership. Yet not only that, it also helps to understand that the power that is undeniably attributed to officeholders is ultimately meant to be a soft power that serves the cause of “preservation” and “salvation” (σωτηρία).

Community Resilience and Urban Planning during the Ninth-Century Maya Collapse: A Case Study from Actuncan, Belize

To remain in place in the immediate aftermath of the ninth-century Maya collapse, Maya groups employed various resilient strategies. In the absence of divine rulers, groups needed to renegotiate their forms of political authority and to reconsider the legitimizing role of religious institutions. This kind of negotiation happened first at the local level, where individual communities developed varied political and ideological solutions. At the community of Actuncan, located in the lower Mopan River valley of Belize, reorganization took place within the remains of a monumental urban centre built 1000 years before by the site's early rulers. I report on the changing configuration and use of Actuncan's urban landscape during the process of reorganization. These modifications included the construction of a new centre for political gatherings, the dismantling of old administrative buildings constructed by holy lords and the reuse of the site's oldest ritual space. These developments split the city into distinct civic and ritual zones, paralleling the adoption of a new shared rule divorced from cosmological underpinnings. This case study provides an example of how broader societal resilience relies on adaptation at the local level.

Observations on the Stratigraphic Attribution of the Early Bronze Age Pillared Building in Area D at Tel ʿErani, Israel

Tel ʿErani is a large Early Bronze Age site within the municipal bounds of modern Qiryat Gat, Israel, at the northeastern edge of the Negev, adjacent to the Judean Shephelah (piedmont). It includes a high mound and several lower terraces, ca. 25 ha in area. The site gained notoriety when an imported potsherd bearing an Egyptian royal symbol (a serekh) incised with the hieroglyph of an early ruler, Narmer, was found in Excavation Area D. Large-scale exposure there in the 1950s and 1960s, under the direction of Shmuel Yeivin, unearthed a rather lengthy and complicated stratigraphic sequence that has prompted numerous attempts at correlating its Early Bronze Age strata with Dynasty 0 and the early 1st Dynasty in Egypt. Yeivin’s cursorily published results illustrate only partial and rudimentary plans of the Early Bronze Age strata in Area D, most of which lack elevations. One exceptionally large building boasting seven substantial mudbrick pillars has attracted researchers’ attention, as it likely had a public function. This essay, based on Yeivin’s original, unpublished plans that include elevations, as well as information derived from recent excavations in Area D, offers a detailed reconstruction of the plan of that building, which suggests its likely chrono-stratigraphic ascription to late phases of the Early Bronze I. It further notes its importance for understanding the relationship between Egypt and the southern Levant in this late prehistoric period, and especially the place of Tel ʿErani as one of a growing number of sites in the southern Levant known to yield definitive evidence for the onset of its earliest complex, hierarchical societies in the first centuries of the 4th millennium b.c.e.

CROCODILES, SHARKS, AND SOME SPECULATIONS ON CENTRAL PETEN PRECLASSIC HISTORY

AbstractThe first part of this two-part essay discusses the important roles crocodiles and sharks played in Preclassic (and later) political geography and myths of cosmogenesis in Mesoamerica. They are associated with sacrifices resulting in creation of the world and births of some major gods. Crocodiles are also associated with fertility, rebirth, and renewal of seasonal and temporal/calendrical cycles. Recent investigations at Nixtun-Ch'ich’ show that its gridded urban landscape, established in the Middle Preclassic period (ca. 800–400b.c.), was likely modeled on a crocodile's back. The second part of the essay presents some speculations on the early role of this site and crocodiles in central Peten. At Tikal, archaeology and retrospective texts indicate that crocodiles appeared in early versions of the site's emblem glyph and in the name of an early ruler. Nixtun-Ch'ich’ might be the legendarychiplace, important in the dynastic foundations of several lowland Maya centers.

The Early Mosque Revisited: Introduction of the Minbar and Maqṣūra

As the mosque evolved in response to the contested authority of Islam’s early rulers, the dependency of this authority upon the public audience in the mosque gave rise to a series of changes that occurred within the qibla of the mosque. By considering the congregational mosques at Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Wasit, and Madina between 630 and 715, and revisiting the development of their qibla spaces, three changes are presented as embodiments of this shift. This includes the development of the minbar as a platform for the khuṭba (Friday sermon) and of the enclosure screen (maqṣūra) in front of the qibla for the caliph, as well as the provision of direct access to the dār al-imāra via the qibla wall. By situating these developments within the context of contested religious and political authority in early Islam, this study challenges paradigms of formal influence in the interpretation of mosque architecture.

Dál Riata c. 1000: Genealogies and Irish Sea Politics

Recent scholarship has identified the last decade of the tenth century as a period of special significance in the transmission of genealogical texts related to the early medieval kingdom of Dál Riata. Some of those responsible for the preservation of these texts seem to have been especially concerned to assert the ancestral link between the kings of Scotland in their own time and the earlier rulers of Dál Riata. This paper argues that the interest shown in this genealogical connection, the accuracy of which has been doubted, arose in response to specific political circumstances. Although Dál Riata disappeared almost entirely from the contemporary record at the end of the eighth century, its reappearance in historical and pseudo-historical texts written in Ireland during the late tenth and early eleventh centuries suggests that several parties from across the Irish Sea world were then competing for authority in the region. In this context the heightened interest in their descent from the rulers of Dál Riata apparent in texts of the 990s can be understood as an assertion of the political rights of the kings of Scotland in the face of contemporary challenges from Ireland and the Isles.

Narratives of Sexuality in Bugis and Makasar Manuscripts

Assikalaibineng is an indigenous Bugis and Makasar knowledge system of sexuality and sexual relations that absorbed Islamic values, specifically Sufi teachings that became the ideological basis of this knowledge. It has been narrated in both textual and oral form since the 17th century and continues to be known and practiced by a number of Bugis and Makasar, most of whom follow Sufi tariqa. A notable feature of these texts is that they place considerable emphasis on the sexual enjoyment of the female. This aspect can perhaps be seen as indigenous and equates with Reid's (1988: 148–50) picture of sexual relations in early modern Southeast Asia where there was an emphasis on the erotic pleasure of a women. From the 17th century knowledge of assikalaibineng and the ownership and production of texts appears to have been largely exclusive, its practice limited to the social elite, such as upper and middle ranking nobility, and ulama or santri associated with tariqa. This exclusivity probably lessened in the 20th century with the rise of the Khalwatiah Samman but assikalaibineng knowledge was still largely restricted to tariqa followers. The incorporation of Islamic values into Bugis and Makasar sexual culture appears to have brought a more ethical approach to sex, in particular for those of elite descent. Historical records reveal several cases of sexual exploitation by early Bugis rulers who abused their position. For example, the Bone ruler La Inca Matinroe ri Addenenna (1584–1595) is known to have raped unmarried girls and married woman before he was eventually murdered (Ali 1969: 22). Another example is the 18th century ruler of Belawa, La Malloroseng, who intercepted women who passed by his palace and forced them to have sex.15 Improper sexual practice appears to have become less common among the elite with the development of assikalaibineng knowledge as it provided guidance and an ethical framework created from a combination of indigenous Bugis and Makasar

Bioarchaeological Analysis of a Royal Burial from the Oldest Maya Tomb in Palenque, Mexico

AbstractIn 1957, a new discovery inside Temple XVIII‐A was made in Palenque, the Mayan archaeological site in Chiapas Mexico, a royal tomb of an original design which proved to be the oldest at the site. Two skeletons were found, the principal (PAL‐44) was at the centre showing red pigmentation on the surface of some bones, personal adornments and offerings, which indicate that he was an early ruler of Palenque. The second (PAL‐45), deposited at the entrance, not in a special mortuary position, without offerings, suggests it was of a lower social status. This research presents a new bioarchaeological analysis with the following results: (i) The result of a direct radiocarbon dating of PAL‐44 by accelerator mass spectrometry is 250–420 cal AD (LTL12759A:1696 ± 30 BP). This means that the personage was buried long before the first designated ruler of Palenque, who, according to the epigraphic record was enthroned in ad 431. (ii) With X‐Ray Fluorescence, the red pigment was identified as cinnabar (HgS). (iii) PAL‐44 is a young adult male with a severe idiopathic scoliosis with a double curvature that affected the ribcage and lower limbs. Such a three‐dimensional deformity resulted in changes to his body mechanics and induced motion asymmetry. Consequently, his health and mobility must have been significantly affected by such a severe condition. (iv) PAL‐45 is an adult female with signs of nutritional problems in childhood and entheseal changes probably related to her activity. Three ante‐mortem traumas are registered: rib fracture, frontal depressed circular fracture and a nasal septal deviation. This traumatic event took place two weeks, approximately, prior to PAL‐45's death. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Summer Solstice Ceremonies Performed by Bird Jaguar III de Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico

The sculptural styles of different Maya cities, while conforming to the canon of figural representation that is uniquely Maya, can also easily be identified as those of a particular city. Similarly, epigraphers begin to recognize that each city, while operating from the same cultural and linguistic premises, gave precedence to specific types of events in its historial record. Tikal, for example, in addition to accessions, recorded mostly Period Ending dates on its stone monuments. Palenque rulers thought it important to clarify the history of births and accessions of the various rulers of the site as well as the births and significant actions of the Maya supernatural ancestors. The events recorded at Yaxchilan are mostly not on Period Ending Dates, nor do they focus on the activities of supernaturals. At Yaxchilan, the major classes of events are historical captures, autosacrifices by males and females, and other· ritual events. These other events, the miscellaneous category, if you will, form a large portion of the monumental inscriptions. Many of these events were periodic commemorations of similar events by earlier rulers (Tate 1984). Another group of important ritual events occurred in con~ junction with several specific solar phenomena: the first annual passage of the sun over the zenith at Yaxchilan, and summer solstice.

THE EFFECTS OF CIVIL OFFICIALS HANDLING MILITARY AFFAIRS IN MING TIMES

The early rulers of the Ming dynasty focused much of their effort on limiting and controlling the power of military leaders and institutions. The resulting successful subordination of the military under civilian power had consequences not only for the many defects inside the military system, but also for the security of the Ming state. Therefore, the reign was from its beginning confronted with numerous armed conflicts.On the other hand, the Ming was one of the longest and most stable dynasties in Chinese history. In actuality, only a few conflicts threatened the central power. It seems that other forces effectively compensated for the military’s weakness.This paper focuses on the growing role of civil officials in military affairs. It demonstrates the different characteristics of the phenomenon in which non-professionals performed military functions on different tactical levels. In this context it should be discussed whether “civil” performance generated new solutions for military problems. Furthermore, the author will show how civil officials contributed to the advancement of military knowledge. The last part of the article deals with the collaboration of civil officials and the military which results in the formation of a new military elite during the sixteenth century. The investigation will show how the members of the elite were interrelated, what interests they shared with each other and what effects they produced.

“Where is Bazi? Where is Zizi?” The List of Early Rulers in theBalladfrom Emar and Ugarit, and the Mari Rulers in the Sumerian King List and Other Sources

This paper argues that the peripheral recensions of theBallad of Early Rulersreflect Mesopotamian forerunners, and do not represent re-workings by the local scribes. The Ugarit recension is based on an Old Babylonian forerunner, and the Emar recension is based on a Middle Babylonian version that incorporated material from other scholarly sources. To support this contention, the Babylonian literary and scholarly background of the early rulers is discussed, and a reconstruction and analysis is offered of the Mari section of the Sumerian King List, in which two rulers of theBalladappear. The textual history of theBalladcontributes to the general debate regarding the origin, date of composition and transmission of Mesopotamian literature and its reception throughout scribal centers, not only in Ugarit and Emar, but also in Ḫattuša, Canaan and Egypt during the Late Bronze Age. A new copy of the Emar Ballad manuscript by Andrew George is offered at the end of this paper.

The War for Mexico’s West: Indians and Spaniards in New Galicia, 1524 – 1550

This is a lucidly argued book about a dark period in Mexican history. In the years after the fall of the Aztec Empire, disease ravaged the native population. To make matters worse, the crown granted sweeping governmental powers to soldiers of fortune. These men had little interest in the rule of law and a very great interest in getting rich. The chaos that ensued has been almost as disorienting for historians as it was for those who lived through it. Altman does a masterly job of combing through the tangled documentary record of this period, exploring New Spain’s emergence from chaos, and showing how a functioning colony was established.The early chapters draw on the voluminous records of three residencias, or royal investigations of the colony’s early rulers, to narrate the conquest and settlement of Nueva Galicia. These chapters focus on two related stories. The first is that of Spanish conquistadors trying to impose colonial order by violent means, only to find that violence brought about greater disorder than before. Nuño de Guzmán plays a leading role in this tale; Altman finds little to contradict Bartolomé de las Casas’s view that he was a wicked man. Guzmán was brutal to his indigenous enemies and — a much more serious strategic error — cruel to his Tlaxcalan allies as well. By the time the Mixtón rebellion erupted in 1540, Guzmán had been removed from office. But his legacy of violence lived after him, depriving settlers of much needed local allies.The second story Altman tells is that of ordinary people struggling to form communities in the midst of chaos. Altman’s expertise in the formation of colonial towns in central Mexico affords her exceptional insight on this topic. Much of what she argues is surprising. A semifunctional colonial society emerged in the 1520s and 1530s. The encomienda system worked. Indians paid tribute. Products were exchanged in networks of long-distance trade. Settlers founded towns and formed households with native women. They cultivated the land, learned local languages, and had mestizo children, all despite the storm of violence raging around them. Though Altman does a superb job of documenting these complicated years, it is still hard for the reader to imagine what it was like to live in such a world, where both cultural mixing and endemic violence were the norm.Altman’s chapters on the Mixtón uprising confirm much of what is already known about it. The rebellion was provoked by the cruelty of the Spanish, was well planned, and involved many native communities fighting for a common cause. The novelty of Altman’s account lies in her authoritative establishment of the basic facts and in the rich detail she has mined in the archives. Altman shows, among her many discoveries, that Zacateco Indians from the north played a role in uniting Cazcan communities against the Spanish. The Zacatecos also spread an anti-Christian ideology among the rebels. Altman goes on to show that Viceroy Antonio Mendoza was the key figure in the suppression of the revolt, and that his skillful acquisition of native allies was decisive in securing victory. If there is one disappointment in these chapters, it is that Altman does not explore the Andalusian roots of Mendoza’s behavior. The Mendoza family was deeply involved in the governance of the formerly Muslim Kingdom of Granada, and one wonders how the viceroy’s experience of imperial alliance-making there influenced his treatment of native peoples in Mexico.However one answers that question, Altman shows that the Mixtón War changed the colony in profound ways. The Spanish learned that there were limits to the utility of violence and that basic institutions of law and government were needed for the colony to function. More importantly, the colonizers learned that they needed allies among the native peoples in order to survive. The native societies of western Mexico were transformed by the war. Driven into the hills, cities, and mining towns, many rebel Indians survived, but their distinctive cultures were all but wiped out. As Altman tells it, the history of Spanish failure and adjustment in Nueva Galicia, and of native rebellion and fragmentation, was complicated, important, and bitterly sad. The War for Mexico’s West sheds a brilliant light on these dark years. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars of Mexican and borderlands history will profit from reading it.

Across the Mongolian Steppes

Across the Mongolian Steppes