The first states appeared in the southern regions of our planet, where there were the most favorable natural and geographical conditions for this. They originated in approximately the same period, about five thousand years ago.
What is the reason for the emergence of a new type of social relations
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 we althy 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 was the result of the need to control and distribute resources, a kind of supreme manager of economic objects, with the aim of their effective development, this way of organizingstates are most applicable to Ancient Egypt, where the irrigation system was the main economic object.
The criteria for their appearance
When and why did the first states emerge? This is a natural process that took place everywhere, but in different periods. In ancient times, the basis of life for all people was agriculture and cattle breeding. In order for it to develop successfully, appropriate natural and 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. The location of the water source was of particular importance: the further south it is located, the warmer the climate and, accordingly, the more favorable opportunities for agriculture. Here you can harvest not once, as in most of the world, but several times a year. This gave the peoples living in these regions an undoubted advantage in developing ways of life support and obtaining a surplus product.
Ancient regions of state building
Mesopotamia, or Mesopotamia, is a very favorable region for agriculture, mild, warm climate, excellent location and the presence of two large rivers of Western Asia - the Tigris and the Euphrates - provided the necessary amount of water for the development of the irrigation system and irrigation method of land use. The people inhabiting these lands were less dependent on the vagaries of the weather than others, so they could receivestable and rich harvests. Approximately the same situation developed in the valley of Africa's largest river, the Nile. But in order to build irrigation and irrigation complexes, it was necessary to organize 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 not quite state formations. These were their embryos, from which the most ancient countries of the world subsequently formed.
The vicissitudes of socio-economic and political components in ancient countries
The city-states that arise in these territories begin to control a strictly defined area. Relations between neighbors were always tense and often led to conflicts. Many independent associations hampered the economic development of this region and the stronger rulers were aware of this, so they gradually try to subjugate a large territory to their power, on which they establish uniform orders. It is according to this scheme 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 united Egypt andthe founder of the state, that's when and why the first states appeared.
Egypt - the first state
Now all the fruitful resources of the Nile were concentrated in the hands of one ruler, all the conditions appeared for the development of a unified state system of irrigated agriculture, and now the one who controlled it had significant material resources. The fragmentation that weakened 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 made it possible for Egypt to get ahead, and soon the Sumerian states fell into the sphere of influence of the Egyptian state, and then other strong states of the region. And it is not possible to say which state appeared first with chronological accuracy, therefore Egypt is considered the first state on the planet.
Theories of the genesis of political formations
The most objective theory on the question of when and why the first states appeared is the one according to which social differentiation has already been formed, a fairly stable social structure of society has appeared,and the state, which is formed as a result of these processes and phenomena, is only a regularity, designed to provide the necessary stability to the entire social system. That's when and why the first states appeared. This path applies to all power relationships in human history. But there are many more reasons for the emergence of the state, it can also be a hostile environment that contributes to the consolidation of society, strengthening the role of the individual, which is the ruler. Borrowings from the surrounding more developed peoples also play an important role. The religious and ideological component also contributes to this, suffice it to recall Mohammed, the founder of the new religion of Islam, and the importance it played in the formation of the Arab Caliphate. Therefore, the first states appeared as a result of a set of conditions, but the main criterion was still the level of economic development.
Summing up
The first states were mainly based on force, power always implies 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 a kind of organization for fruitful development, but did not interfere in local affairs, demanding only the performance of certain duties and obedience. Often it was of a formal nature, because of this, the first states were extremely unstable.
