The subject of the course is the clarification of the concept of the State through the study of its historical genesis and its comparative parable with the concepts of the city-state and the empire. The analysis of the evolution of the state institution using the methods of historical sociology covers the stages of the territorial state, the feudal kingdom, the territorial kingdom, the hegemonic state, the confessional state, the absolutist state, and the nation-state. The course examines the relationship between the state institution and social classes, the Church, and urban communities.