The Complexity of Medieval Rule
Here's a screenshot from the EU4 mod called "Voltaire's New Nightmare". The purpose of that mod is to recreate the Holy Roman Empire with horrifying levels of detail. There are apparently several thousand provinces, each of which you can individually conquer. This mod is so hard to run that to make it work the makers of the mod had to remove the rest of the world. (Hence the green areas around the HRE) Here's a more close-up picture. Every different color signifies a different country. And here's an even more close-up picture with one single province selected (thick yellow outline). Notice how the province is split into around a dozen different parts. This made me realize why borders in medieval times were so complicated. It all has to do with vassalage. Nowadays countries are ruled through armies of bureaucrats. This is possible because throughout the world, there are well-established school systems, which produce staggering levels of bureaucratic talent, ...