The first states appeared in the southern regions of our planet, where the most favorable natural and geographical conditions were for this. They originated in about one period of the order of five thousand years ago.
What is the reason for the emergence of a new type of social relationship
When and why the first states appeared, that is, their origin, is one of the controversial issues in science. According to the version of the famous German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the state arises in the process of strengthening social inequality, increasing the role of property and the emergence of a class of wealthy people. They, in turn, need a special apparatus to protect their interests and maintain influence on their fellow tribesmen. Undoubtedly, this phenomenon took place, but not only it contributed to the emergence of the state. There is also a theory according to which a new type of organization of society has become a consequence of the need to control and distribute resources, a kind of supreme manager of economic facilities, in order to effectively develop them, this way of organizing the state is most applicable to Ancient Egypt, where the irrigation system was the main economic and economic object.
Criteria for their appearance
When and why did the first states arise ? This is a natural process that occurred everywhere, but at different periods. In ancient times, the basis of the life of all people was agriculture and cattle breeding. In order for it to develop successfully, appropriate climatic conditions were necessary. Therefore, ancient people settled mainly along the banks of large rivers, which made it possible to fully satisfy the needs of people in this important resource. Of particular importance was the location of the water source: the farther south it is, the warmer the climate and, accordingly, the more favorable opportunities for agriculture. Here you can harvest more than once, as in most parts of the world, but several times a year. This gave the peoples living in these regions a definite advantage in the development of ways of providing for their livelihoods and obtaining an additional product.
The oldest regions of state building
Mesopotamia, or Mesopotamia, is a very favorable region for agriculture, a mild, warm climate, excellent location and the presence of two large rivers of West Asia - the Tigris and Euphrates - gave the necessary amount of water for the development of the irrigation system and irrigation method of land use. People living in these lands were less dependent on the vagaries of the weather, so they could get stable and rich crops. Approximately the same situation developed in the valley of the largest river in Africa - the Nile. But in order to build irrigation, irrigation complexes, it was necessary to establish the collective work of a large number of people, otherwise it was simply impossible to create effective agriculture. So, the first prototypes of state formations originate , and this is where the first states appeared, but these, in fact, were not yet completely state formations. These were their embryos, from which later the most ancient countries of the world were formed.
The ups and downs of socio-economic and political components in ancient countries
The city-states that appear in these territories begin to control a strictly defined area. Relations between neighbors were always tense and often led to conflicts. Many independent associations hindered the economic development of this region and more powerful rulers realized this, so gradually they try to subjugate a large territory on which they establish uniform orders. It is in this way that two strong and large kingdoms appear in the Nile Valley - Northern, or Upper, Egypt and Southern, or Lower, Egypt. The rulers of both kingdoms had a fairly strong power and army. However, luck smiled on the king of Upper Egypt, in a fierce struggle, he defeated his southern rival, and around 3118 he conquered the Lower Egyptian kingdom, and Mina becomes the first pharaoh of a single Egypt and the founder of the state, that's when and why the first states appeared.
Egypt is the first state
Now in the hands of one ruler all the fruitful resources of the Nile were concentrated, all the conditions for the development of a unified state system of irrigated agriculture appeared, and now the one who controlled it possessed significant material resources. The fragmentation weakening the country was replaced by a strong, united state, and the further development of Egypt perfectly demonstrates all the positive aspects of this process. For many years, this country dominated the entire Middle East region. Another favorable region of the Earth, Mesopotamia, could not overcome the centrifugal forces, the city-states that existed here could not unite under the rule of a single monarch. Therefore, constant conflicts destabilized the political and economic situation, which enabled Egypt to move forward, and soon the Sumerian states fall into the sphere of influence of the Egyptian state, and then other powerful states of the region. But to say which state appeared first does not seem possible with chronological accuracy, therefore Egypt is considered the first state on the planet.
Theories of the Genesis of Political Entities
The most objective theory to the question of when and why the first states appeared is that according to which social differentiation has already been formed, a rather stable social structure of society has appeared, and the state that is formed as a result of these processes and phenomena is just a pattern designed to provide the necessary stability the whole social system. That's when and why the first states appeared. This path applies to all imperious relationships in the history of mankind. But the reasons for the emergence of the state are much greater, it may also be a hostile environment, which contributes to the consolidation of society, strengthening the role of the individual, in which the ruler acts. Also a large role is played by borrowing from the surrounding more developed peoples. The religious and ideological component also contributes to this, it is enough to recall Muhammad - the founder of the new religion of Islam, and what significance it played in the formation of the Arab Caliphate. Therefore, the first states appeared as a result of a complex of conditions, but the main criterion was still the level of economic development.
To summarize
The first states were mainly based on power, power always involves submission. And in the conditions of the ancient world, it was the only way to preserve vast territories, often inhabited by very different and dissimilar tribes. Therefore, many states arose as peculiar organizations for fruitful development, but did not intervene in local affairs, demanding only the fulfillment of certain duties and humility. Often it was formal, because of this the first states were extremely unstable.