As already noted in another response, many kings had literally no power except over those who were literally right in front of them. The freedom to disobey authorities without consequence was the hallmark of most of human history (as noted below). Read my story on autonomy for more.

Certainly, an Us vs. Them orientation is a part of human nature, but there are many factors that can influence how that is expressed or enacted. For example, many, many authorities are of the belief that ancient peoples travelled extensively, much more widely than later peoples. Some of this was related to cultivating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships but also, as noted in The Dawn of Everything, the three main components of historical autonomy are:

~The freedom to leave one’s community, knowing one will be welcomed in faraway lands;

~The freedom to shift back and forth between social structures, depending on the time of year; and

~The freedom to disobey authorities without consequence

So, as with most things related to human behavior, there are a lot of complexities in part depending on the social dynamics of the culture.