The State is a central theme of research in various fields of knowledge. In geography, and particularly in political geography, research focuses on its centrality and the role it plays in the organization of territory. This work seeks to revive the debate on the origin of the state, highlighting its fundamental characteristics, the expansion of its territorial capacity, and the use of the capital city as a management tool. To this end, a bibliographic survey was conducted that contributed to the discussion on the consolidation of the state and its mechanisms of territorialization, as well as on the role played by the capital city. The article is structured in three sections: the first addresses the historical recovery of the consolidation of the state; the second discusses the strengthening of its territorial capacity; and the third analyzes the theory of the capital city and its use as a tool for territorial management by the state.