First States
Introduction
Historians study states and the people who live in them. “State” is a broad term. States may be ruled by kings, religious leaders, or democratically elected officials. States come in many sizes, from large empires to small city- states. The citizens of a state might have many rights or almost none.
It may not look exciting here, but this image is so significant there’s probably a historian out there with a tattoo of it. Why? It’s part of the Code of Hammurabi, some of the earliest recorded laws that we know about, and comes from the Babylonian state. Public domain.
Today’s world is almost entirely divided into states and almost everyone belongs to one. Yet in the past many people did not live in states.
How should a state be defined, and why did states first arise? We will consider these questions by looking at scholars’ work.
What is a state?
State is the formal term used to describe a country and its government. The state is usually defined as an organized community living under a unified government. States usually claim control over a defined territory with borders. A state claims authority over a group of people in the territory. The state makes and enforces laws.
People without states still make decisions. Usually, the process of making decisions is less formal and decisions are less permanent.
Some scholars believe that states must have at least four levels of government. These levels govern smaller units. For example, one level governs the entire nation. Another level might only govern a single city or village.
Some scholars argue that this definition is not enough. People in a state must believe they are connected to others. They share beliefs about how the world works. They might believe that the king has a god-like right to rule, or that Congress can collect taxes. The most important part is that people believe they are part of the same community.
Rare is the human whose image is recreated in stone, preserved for two millennia and put on display at the British Museum. But this guy, Ptolemy I, was a Pharaoh, and the many people under his rule believed in his authority as part of believing in their Egyptian state. By Stella, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Characteristics of early states
Most of us think states allow us to elect our government officials. Yet in other times, people believed the government had absolute authority over them. Few people believed they had the right to elect their government. So, how is a state defined? Historians and other scholars have suggested that early states shared several traits.
Here are six common traits of early states:
- Urban: Most early states had cities.
- Agricultural: Almost all states were built in farming societies.
- Occupational specialization: Within early states, some people were not farmers. They were artisans like leather- workers and metal-workers.
- Complex economy: Early states had large, complicated economies.
- Social stratification: People were not equal in early states. There were differences in wealth and social status.
- State authority: The government claims the authority to make and enforce laws.
A work area in Harappa, an early state in South Asia. Archaeologists and historians have identified occupational specialization in Harrapan society, but disagree about the level of social stratification. By Amir Islam, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Why did humans create states?
States are important now, but modern humans existed without them for about 245,000 years. So, why did humans create states? In general, there are two broad explanations for the rise of states. These explanations seem to contradict each other. Yet it is possible that both are correct.
The first explanation is called the “coercive theory.” Some historians argue that states arise because some people want to control others. For example, a small group might want to have more wealth and do less work. They create laws and recruit an army to force others to farm on their behalf. The coercers become the government.
The second explanation is often called “voluntary theory.” It has several versions. In one version, humans found that they needed to do work that required cooperation. For example, people might need to build an irrigation system to grow crops better. They created the state to get people to work together. Another version suggests that communities needed rules. To make sure trading was done fairly and reduce violence, people wanted laws that could be enforced. That typically requires a state.
Historians have tried to test these theories. They look at specific examples of states, especially early states. They then evaluate whether the models fit the examples.
| State | Region | Era - approximately |
| Uruk | Mesopotamia | 4000-3000 BCE |
| Sumerian states | Mesopotamia | 4000-3000 BCE |
| Egypt | Northern Africa | 3500 BCE |
| Harappa | South Asia’s Indus River Valley | 2600 BCE |
| Erlitou | Central China | 1800-1600 BCE |
| Monte Albán | Southern Mexico | 300 BCE |
| Tiwanaku | South America | 300-500 CE |
| Nri | West Africa’s forests | 900 CE |
| Hawaii | Pacific Ocean | 1000 CE |
| Kitara | East African highlands | 1200-1400 CE |
Table 1 Early states, regions, and eras
The state has been important to human history. Yet not everyone in history lived in a state. As historians, we must wonder whether concentrating on the state makes us miss out on the important experiences and contributions of people who did not live in states. We also must consider the problems that states have caused. Are states a step forward, or would we have been better off without them? Even so, the state was certainly a key element of human history. States are still very important today. It is useful to study the history of states.
Trevor Getz
Trevor Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University. He has written or edited eleven books, including the award-winning graphic history Abina and the Important Men, and co-produced several prize-winning documentaries. He is also the author of A Primer for Teaching African History, which explores questions about how we should teach the history of Africa in high school and university classes.
Image credits
This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:
Cover: Persian warriors in line © FrankvandenBergh / E+ / Getty Images
It may not look exciting here, but this image is so significant there’s probably a historian out there with a tattoo of it. Why? It’s part of the Code of Hammurabi, some of the earliest recorded laws that we know about, and comes from the Babylonian state. Public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Code_of_Hammurabi_IMG_1937.JPG
Rare is the human whose image is recreated in stone, preserved for two millennia and put on display at the British Museum. But this guy, Ptolemy I, was a Pharaoh, and the many people under his rule believed in his authority as part of believing in their Egyptian state. By Stella, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptolemy_I_as_Pharaoh_of_Egypt.jpg
A work area in Harappa, an early state in South Asia. Archaeologists and historians have identified occupational specialization in Harrapan society, but disagree about the level of social stratification. By Amir Islam, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harrapa_Work_Area.jpg
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