Editing Traditional authority (section)

=== Patrimonialism ===

[[Patrimonialism|Patrimonial government]] occurs when the ruler's household expands with the  household administration giving rise to governmental offices. All officials are personal dependents or favourites of the ruler, appointed by him. Their interactions with the ruler are based on paternal authority and filial dependence. The officials treat their work as a personal service to the ruler. The ruler has complete control over the officials; he empowers them from case to case, assigns specific tasks, promotes and demotes. They have no rights, rather they have privileges granted and withdrawn by the ruler. It is rare to discover any clear and stable hierarchy and responsibility in the deluge of official titles of most patrimonial administrations.

[[Military]] force is an important instrument of a patrimonial rule. Weber distinguished five types of military organisations. In all of those cases the military is a tool of the ruler, solely for his use—but he is responsible for its upkeep (equipment, maintenance and wages).

With the growth of the territory organized and more independent administrative staff and military force became a necessity. This usually leads to [[decentralisation]], and some individuals gain more independence in the form of certain rights (for example, the right to inheritance and marriage without the consent of the rulers, to be judged by independent courts instead of officials of the royal household, etc.).

One of the best examples of almost [[pure type]] of patrimonialism is [[ancient Egypt]], where the population was entirely dependent upon the control of the waterways ([[Nile River]]). This facilitated the creation of [[centralised government]]. When the royal household required it, the individual had to perform the public duties, such as participate in labor-intensive project (rising of the [[pyramids]]). Thus the whole country was in fact the patriarchal household of the [[pharaoh]].

When land is given to military or officials for the performance of their duties, their independence increases and the power of the ruler weakens (consider the [[Mameluks]] and their rebellions, or the difference between Chinese [[Confucian]] [[Scholar-bureaucrats|literati]] who were never able to overthrow the power of the [[emperor]] and [[Europe]]an [[knights]] who evolved into powerful [[aristocracy]] in many cases vastly limiting the power of the [[monarch|kings]] (especially in the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]])).

Patrimonial dominance has often prevailed in the [[Orient]], where land remained in the control of the ruler. However, in the [[Western world|Occident]] the ruler lost control of the lands given to the nobility, which according to Weber was a major reason for patrimonialism being replaced by feudalism.