Government | Definition, History, & Facts

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class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"> <li data-target="#ref1"> <div class="pl-25"> <a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB">Introduction</a> </div> <div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li> <li data-target="#ref61442"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61442">Primitive government</a> </div> <div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61443"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61443">Agricultural society</a></li> </ul> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61444"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61444">The spread of civilization</a></li> </ul> </div></li> <li data-target="#ref260892"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Greece?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB">Greece</a> </div> <div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61446"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Greece?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61446">The city-state</a></li> </ul> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref260893"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Greece?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref260893">Monarchy, oligarchy, democracy</a></li> </ul> </div></li> <li data-target="#ref260894"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Rome?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB">Rome</a> </div> <div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61449"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Rome?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61449">The republic</a></li> </ul> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61450"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/Rome?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61450">The empire</a></li> </ul> </div></li> <li data-target="#ref61451"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/The-Middle-Ages?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB">The Middle Ages</a> </div> <div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61452"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/The-Middle-Ages?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61452">Dissolution and instability</a></li> </ul> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref61453"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/The-Middle-Ages?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref61453">Feudalism</a></li> </ul> <ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"> <li data-target="#ref260895"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/The-Middle-Ages?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref260895">The rise of law and the nation-state</a></li> </ul> </div></li> <li data-target="#ref260896"> <div class="d-flex align-items-center"> <button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em 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Author of <i>Longman History of the United States of America</i> and others. </div></a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div><span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Hugh Brogan</span> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"><span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"><a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB"> <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica </div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black"> Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. </div></a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div><span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span> </div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"><span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-10-26T00:00:00CDT">Oct 26, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/government/additional-info?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div> </div> </div><button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"><button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt> Key People: </dt> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Barack-Obama?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="973560">Barack Obama</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/George-Washington?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="636381">George Washington</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Abraham-Lincoln?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="341682">Abraham Lincoln</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="2156945">Gotabaya Rajapaksa</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Oleg-Baklanov?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="1292114">Oleg Baklanov</a> </dd> </dl><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt> Related Topics: </dt> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/Western-colonialism?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="126237">Western colonialism</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/democracy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="157129">democracy</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/kleptocracy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="1741764">kleptocracy</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/colonialism-international-relations?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="2132913">colonialism</a> </dd> <dd> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/reconciliation-government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" topicid="1739607">reconciliation</a> </dd> </dl><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/facts/government?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span> <section data-level="1" id="ref1"> <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref376996"></span>government</strong>, the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/political-system?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">political system</a> by which a country or <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> is <span id="ref248848"></span><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/state-sovereign-political-entity?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">administered</a> and regulated.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as <span id="ref248849"></span><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/monarchy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>monarchy</em></a>, <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/oligarchy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>oligarchy</em></a>, and <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/democracy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>democracy</em></a>—are of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/ancient-Greece?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greek</a> or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not yet exhausted their usefulness. This suggests that humankind has not altered very much since they were coined. However, such verbal and psychological uniformity must not be allowed to hide the enormous changes in society and politics that have occurred. The earliest <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="analytical" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analytical" data-type="MW">analytical</a> use of the term <em>monarchy</em>, for example, occurred in ancient Athens, in the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dialogues" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialogues" data-type="MW">dialogues</a> of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Plato?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Plato</a> (<em>c.</em> 428–<em>c.</em> 348 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>), but even in Plato’s time the term was not self-explanatory. There was a <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/king-monarch?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">king</a> in <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Macedonia-ancient-kingdom-Europe?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Macedonia</a> and a king in <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Persia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Persia</a>, but the two societies, and therefore their institutions, were radically different. To give real meaning to the word <em>monarchy</em> in those two instances, it would be necessary to investigate their actual political and historical <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="contexts" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts" data-type="MW">contexts</a>. Any general account of monarchy required then, and requires today, an inquiry as to what circumstances have predisposed societies to adopt monarchy and what have led them to reject it. So it is with all political terms.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">This article discusses the historical development of governments, primarily in the societies of the West. (<em>See also</em> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/political-science?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">political science</a>; <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/political-system?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">political system</a>; <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/state-sovereign-political-entity?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">state</a>.)</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> </section><span class="marker h2"></span> <section data-level="1" id="ref61442"> <h2 class="h1"><span id="ref248850"></span><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/primitive-culture?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Primitive</a> government</h2> <section data-level="2" id="ref61443"> <h2 class="h2">Agricultural society</h2><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">So long as humans were few, there was hardly any government. The division of function between ruler and ruled occurred only, if at all, within the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/family-kinship?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">family</a>. The largest social groups, whether <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/tribe-anthropology?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tribes</a> or villages, were little more than loose associations of families, in which every elder or family head had an equal voice. <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/chief-political-leader?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chieftains</a>, if any, had strictly limited powers; some tribes did without chieftains altogether. This prepolitical form of social organization may still be found in some regions of the world, such as the Amazonian jungle in <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/South-America?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">South America</a> or the upper <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Nile-River?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Nile River</a> valley in Africa.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">The rise of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/agriculture?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">agriculture</a> began to change that state of affairs. In the land of <span id="ref248851"></span><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Sumer?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sumer</a> (in what is now Iraq) the invention of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/technology/irrigation?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">irrigation</a> necessitated grander arrangements. Control of the flow of water down the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Tigris-Euphrates-river-system?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tigris and Euphrates</a> rivers had to be coordinated by a central <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/authority?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">authority</a>, so that fields could be watered downstream as well as farther up. It became necessary also to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="devise" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/devise?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" data-type="EB">devise</a> a <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/science/calendar?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">calendar</a>, so as to know when the spring <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/science/flood?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">floods</a> might be expected. As those skills evolved, society evolved with them. In early Sumer, it is reasonable to assume, the heads of the first <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/city?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">cities</a>, which were little more than enlarged villages, only gradually assumed the special attributes of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/monarchy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">monarchy</a>—the rule of one—and the village council only gradually undertook a <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/money/division-of-labour?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">division of labour</a>, so that some specialized as <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/priesthood?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">priests</a> and others as warriors, farmers, or tax gatherers (key figures in every civilized society). As organization grew more complex, so did <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/religion?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">religion</a>: an elaborate system of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/worship?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">worship</a> seemed necessary to propitiate the quite <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="elaborate" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/elaborate?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" data-type="EB">elaborate</a> family of gods who, it was hoped, would protect the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/city?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">city</a> from attack, from <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/science/natural-disaster?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">natural disaster</a>, and from any <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/examination-law?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">questioning</a> of the political arrangements deemed necessary by the ruler group.</p> <div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Unfortunately—but, given <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/human-nature?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">human nature</a>, inevitably—the young cities of Sumer quarrelled over the distribution of the rivers’ water, and their wealth excited the greed of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/nomadism?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">nomads</a> outside the still comparatively small area of civilization (a word deriving from the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/Latin-language?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Latin</a> word for city, <em>civitas</em>). <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/war?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">War</a>, perhaps the most potent of all forces of historical change, announced its arrival, and <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/armed-force?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">military</a> leadership became at least as important an element of kingship as divine sanction. It was to remain so throughout the long <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/history?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">history</a> of monarchy: whenever kings have neglected their military duties, they have endangered their thrones. The wars of Sumer also laid bare another <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="imperative" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperative" data-type="MW">imperative</a> of monarchy—the drive for <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/empire-political-science?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">empire</a>, arising from the need to defend and define frontiers by extending them and the need to find new means to pay for troops and weapons, whether by the plunder of an enemy or by the conquest of new lands, or both.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> </section> <section data-level="2" id="ref61444"> <h2 class="h2">The spread of civilization</h2><span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">The history of Old World monarchy, and indeed of civilization, was to consist largely of variations on the patterns mentioned above for four or five millennia. Trade contacts carried the principles of civilization to Egypt and to India (China, like the pre-Columbian societies of the Americas, seems to have evolved independently). And everywhere, once the social order was established, the problem of defending it became <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="paramount" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/paramount?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" data-type="EB">paramount</a>. Although the broad zone of civilization spread steadily, so that by the reign of the Roman <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/emperor-title?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">emperor</a> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Trajan?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Trajan</a> (98–117 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>) there was a continuous band of civilized societies from Britain to the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/China-Sea?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">China Sea</a>, it was always at risk from the <span id="ref248852"></span><a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/barbarian?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">barbarian</a> nomads who roamed the great steppelands of central Eurasia. These nomads had retained the loose and simple institutions of primitive societies, but they had in other ways evolved as rapidly and successfully as the cities themselves (and partly under the cities’ influence). The steppe was horse country, and, armed with <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/technology/bow-and-arrow?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">bows and arrows</a>, the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="barbarians" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/barbarians?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" data-type="EB">barbarians</a> of all epochs possessed marvelously swift and deadly light cavalry. They fought constantly among themselves for pasturage, and the losers were forever being driven west, south, and east, where they often overcame any defenses that the farms and cities of civilization could muster against them.</p> <div class="module-spacing"> <div class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"> <style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"><img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp"> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10"> Get Unlimited Access </div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold"> Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more. </div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"><a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source%3Dpremium%26utm_medium%3Dinline-cta%26utm_campaign%3Dblack-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Yet the nomads’ military <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/voir-dire?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">challenge</a> was never sufficient to overturn civilization entirely. Either the invaders would overrun the settled lands and then adopt civilized customs, or the frontier defenses would prove strong enough to hold them off. There were even long periods of peace, when the barbarian threat was negligible. It was at such times that the spontaneous ingenuity of humankind had greatest play, in politics as in everything else. But it is noteworthy that, in the end, what may be described as the ancient norm always reasserted itself, whether in Europe, the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Middle-East?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Middle East</a>, India, or China. Military crises—barbarian invasions, <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/civil-war?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">civil wars</a>, or war between competing polities—recurred, necessitating the strengthening of government.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">The effort to secure a measure of peace and prosperity required the assertion of authority over vast distances, the raising of large armies, and the gathering of taxes to pay for them. Those requirements in turn fostered <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/literacy?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">literacy</a> and numeracy and the emergence of what later came to be called <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/bureaucracy/Bureaucracy-and-the-state?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB#ref257620" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">bureaucracy</a>—government by officials. <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Bureaucratic" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Bureaucratic" data-type="MW">Bureaucratic</a> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/imperialism?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">imperialism</a> emerged again and again and spread with civilization. Barbarian challenge occasionally laid it low but never for very long. When one city or people rose to <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/hegemony?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">hegemony</a> over its neighbours, it simply incorporated their <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bureaucracy" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucracy" data-type="MW">bureaucracy</a> into its own. <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Sumer?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sumer</a> and <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Babylon-ancient-city-Mesopotamia-Asia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Babylon</a> were conquered by <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Assyria?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Assyria</a>; Assyria was overthrown by the <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/Mede?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Medes</a> of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Persia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Persia</a>, in alliance with a resurgent Babylon and nomadic <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/topic/Scythian?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Scythians</a>; the empire of the Persians was overthrown by <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/biography/Alexander-the-Great?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alexander the Great</a> (356–323 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>) of Macedonia; the Macedonian successor states were conquered by <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/ancient-Rome?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rome</a>, which was in due course supplanted in the Middle East and <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/North-Africa?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Africa</a> by the Islamic <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Caliphate?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Caliphate</a> of Baghdad. Conquerors came and went, but life for their subjects, whether peasants or townspeople, was not much altered by anything they did, as long as the battles happened elsewhere.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Nevertheless, from time to time experiments were made, for no monarchy had the resources to rule all its subjects directly. So long as they paid tribute punctually, local rulers and local <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="communities" href="https://translate.google.com/website?sl=auto&tl=en&hl=en-GB&u=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communities" data-type="MW">communities</a> were perforce left to govern themselves. Even if they did not pay, the effort required to mount a military operation at a distance from the imperial centre was so great that only in exceptional circumstances would it be undertaken, and even then it might not succeed, as the kings of Persia found when they launched punitive expeditions from <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Anatolia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Asia Minor</a> against mainland Greece at the beginning of the 5th century <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span> (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/event/Greco-Persian-Wars?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greco-Persian Wars</a>). Thus, in normal times the inhabitants of the borderlands had extensive freedom of action.</p> <div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Although civilization, as its advantages became clear, spread west and northwest out of Asia, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="bureaucratic" href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/dictionary/bureaucratic?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" data-type="EB">bureaucratic</a> monarchy could not easily follow it. The sea was becoming a historical factor as important as the steppe and the great irrigable rivers. <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Tyre?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tyre</a> and <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Sidon?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sidon</a>, maritime cities of <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Phoenicia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Phoenicia</a> (modern Lebanon), had long exploited their coastal situation, not only to remain independent of the landward empires but also to push across the sea, even beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, in quest of trade. Their daughter cities—<a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Carthage-ancient-city-Tunisia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carthage</a>, <a href="https://www-britannica-com.translate.goog/place/Utica-Tunisia?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Utica</a>, and Cádiz—were the first colonies, but primitive communications made it impossible for Phoenicia to rule them.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> </section> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span> </div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript> <iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe> </noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script> <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":7,"pageId":240105,"pageLength":1465,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> <script defer src="https://static.cloudflareinsights.com/beacon.min.js/vcd15cbe7772f49c399c6a5babf22c1241717689176015" integrity="sha512-ZpsOmlRQV6y907TI0dKBHq9Md29nnaEIPlkf84rnaERnq6zvWvPUqr2ft8M1aS28oN72PdrCzSjY4U6VaAw1EQ==" data-cf-beacon="{"rayId":"8ea509a52b78562c","version":"2024.10.5","serverTiming":{"name":{"cfExtPri":true,"cfL4":true,"cfSpeedBrain":true,"cfCacheStatus":true}},"token":"5cc7d7124de641b181da990fc8c9a0b6","b":1}" crossorigin="anonymous"></script> <script>function gtElInit() {var lib = new google.translate.TranslateService();lib.translatePage('en', 'en', function () {});}</script> <script src="https://translate.google.com/translate_a/element.js?cb=gtElInit&hl=en-GB&client=wt" type="text/javascript"></script> </body> </html>

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