The history of the human community is full of various phenomena of relationships. One of them was once the relationship between the feudal lord and the subordinates. Suzerainty is a form of submission in which the feudal lord, who owned land and other types of property, subjugated other people. These people were called his vassals. Consider this form of relationship in more detail.
A bit of history
The beginning of the formation of this type of relationship was laid in medieval Europe, although its origins can be traced back to antiquity. This type of relationship was based on the right to own land, which allowed the land owner to demand from the peasants who lived on his land, not only the payment of a monetary lease, but also the service of his master.
Thus, answering the question: overlord is who, it is worth noting that this was the name of the large feudal lord, who allowed other people to use their land, while demanding vassal subordination from them.
"Ladder of Submission"
From here a system of so-called vassal subordination was born, when a large feudal lord could have his vassals, the same also had the right to have their vassals. At the same time, the first chief feudal lord could not subjugate the vassal, who is at a lower level of submission.
The prevalence of such relations in medieval Europe reached its zenith to such an extent that even vassal states were created that were subordinate to larger states.
In the last century, such states began to be called "puppet", alluding to the subordination of the leaders of such states to the interests of other, stronger nations. At the same time, the leading states themselves were called "elder brothers."
Examples of this type of relationship on a global scale
History knows many examples of such relations, which were based on the dominance of some states and the subjugation of others to them.
So, the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918 acted as the “elder brother” for the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The same relations of domination connected the empire of the Ottoman Turks and the indigenous population of Crimea before the conquest of the peninsula by the Russian Empire.
At one time, China adopted this type of relationship in its ties with Tibet.
Thus, we can conclude that suzerainty is far from an obsolete form of state relations. This type of interaction is still encountered in the world as something ordinary. Moreover, there are states in the modern world that pursue a deliberate policy of such an "elder brother", not hesitating to express their imperial ambitions to the whole world.