Heinrich Heine wrote on Janufrom Paris about current French politics: 'King Philip exercised the maxim of his Macedonian namesake, 'Separate and rule', to the most damaging excess.' By this, Philip II of Macedonia (359 -336 BC) had gained dominance over the Greek city-states. 7), diviser pour régner ( French for divide in order to rule ) was a maxim of the French king Louis XI. Within this tier, the states could rise through good behavior, even to different degrees of self-administration.Īccording to Prosper Mérimée ( Chronique du règne de Charles IX, 1829, Vorr. The spectrum of valence ranged from the subject, the subiecti, through allies ( foederati ) and allies ( socii ) to legally equal friends of the Roman people (amici populi Romani) who were granted the civitas Romana, Roman citizenship, for their loyalty to the alliance was excellent. In addition, Rome ensured that the individual allies were clearly different. They were forbidden to conclude contracts among themselves. The individual member states only had contracts with the central power Rome. This maxim was already practiced in the legal organization of the Roman Empire. In conclusion, the origin of this proverb has not yet been clarified. The Latin formulation is partly Niccolò Machiavelli, who in his 1532 book The Prince explains to the Prince Medici how he should exercise his rule, partly also Louis XI.
