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1. Concept A city state, or city republic, in the strict sense, is an organizational form of politically autonomous community that was particularly common in Mediterranean Antiquity, enduring into the early modern period. It was associated with the settlement type and the social and legal form of the town. This definition is an open one, combining social, political, spatial, legal, and cultural criteria [7. 65–67]. One particular feature of the city state that distinguishes it from other forms of state lies in the self-perception, among the often structural…

In the narrower sense,  Raadpensionaris was the title of the most important functionary of the estates of the realm of the province of Holland in the Republic of the United Netherlands from 1618 until its end in 1795. Prior to 1618, he bore the title  advocaat van den lande or Land’s Advocate. After the late 15th century, as jurist, secretary, speaker, and sometimes emissary of the estates of Holland he became increasingly important, especially in communicating with princely and sovereign institutions. There were also similar officials with other titles (including  syndikus and…