Together these compose modes of production and Marx distinguished historical eras in terms of distinct predominant modes of production (Asiatic).[4] Marx and Engels highlighted and emphasised that the role the state played in Asiatic societies was dominant, which was accounted for by either the state's monopoly of land ownership, its sheer political and military power, or its control over irrigation systems.[5] Marx and Engels attributed this state domination to the communal nature of landholding and the isolation of the inhabitants of different villages from one another.