We don't know when "back then" is so need a date or time to answer the question. It could be 5000 years ago or last week.
they were governed by a king or queen.
The people.
Consent of the governed matters because if the governed people do not consent to the governing body, they will revolt against it. It is also considered unjust to rule over people without their consent.
Sudan is governed by Islamic Sharia Law and governed by a state president
Democracy
At the time of Jesus they were governed by the Roman power, which was ruthless power.
if you are talking about from the 1200-1500, they were governed by emperors who had the mandate of heaven. the mandate of heaven is when the emperor claimed to be sent from god to rule the people.
A proprietary colony is a colony governed by a supporter of england. He gets a land grant for being a good boy. A self governed colony was governed by the people. The king has nothing to do with it.
Democracy.
territory
the cant but they can
They were governed by a system of government called an Oligarchy. It meant ruled by few. These few people were normally rich people and they could overturn kings.