What was the dominant form of government in Europe for thousands of years

The dominant form of government in Europe for thousands of years was the monarchy.

Monarchies began to be established in Western Europe shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. The holders of power became known as "Kings" in English.

At first, the monarchs had little power, and they had to form alliances with regional lords, in a system known as feudalism.

As centuries passed, monarchs began to consolidate power, and the era of feudalism came to an end. The new era was known as absolutism because the monarch had absolute power over its subjects.

Monarchies began to fall in the eighteenth century, with the French monarchy being among the first.

However, there are still monarchies in Europe, for example, in England, Denmark or the Netherlands. Notwithstanding, the monarchs now only hold symbolic power.