Suzerainty

Imagine that you are playing with your toys and your friend comes over to your house to play. You have rules that you and your friend have to follow while playing together. You have to share your toys, take turns, and not break anything. You are kind of like the boss because it's your house, and your friend has to obey the rules you set.

Now, let's say that you and your friend decide to invite another friend over to play. You and your friend still have rules, but you now also have rules for your new friend to follow. However, you don't want to be responsible for your new friend all the time, so you make your friend kind of like a mini-boss. That means your new friend has to follow both of your rules, and your first friend can also help enforce the rules.

This is what suzerainty means. A suzerain has more control and power than a vassal, but a vassal still has rules and responsibilities to follow. A suzerain is like a boss who has more power over a vassal, who is like an employee. It was a system of government that was used a long time ago, especially in medieval times.