Polities of Cybertron

Although the bulk of Transformers fiction doesn't bother itself with detailing Cybertron, over time a few things have been said about Cybertron's polities.

City

Most frequently referred to in fiction are Cybertronian cities. However, particularly in the Generation 1 continuities, it is not always clear whether something is a city or a city-state.

City-state

Though the term city-state would imply cities with their own internal sovereignty, most city-states on Cybertron are usually unified through some sort of planetary government, usually a Council of Elders, a High Council or a Senate. City-states are only confirmed to exist in the Marvel and Dreamwave Generation 1 continuities. In Transformers: Exodus, it is stated each city-state had its own militia while the High Council Guards were in charge of civilian law. Prowl fulfilled a role as a go-between when he was a police officer.

Province

Provincial structures have only been established in the Marvel and Dreamwave Generation 1 continuities, and rather halfheartedly at that. Only Polyhex in the Marvel comics has been explicitly called a province (at first), while from description Stanix can be deduced to be one. Dreamwave never defined its Cybertronian provinces, but "The War Within #1" confirms the existence of at least sixteen of them.

Orbital Torus State

Orbital Torus States were introduced in the Dreamwave Generation One continuity, which depicted Cybertron's surface as divided in small areas of even ground separated from each other by sea, crevice or another large type of depression. Each Orbital Torus State occupies one of the patches of ground formed this way. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide shows about one half of Cybertron consisting of thirteen Orbital Torus States, suggesting there to be a total of about twenty-six of them. Iacon and Kaon are the two Polar States and Uraya, Praxus and Protihex make up a unit called the Tri-Peninsular Torus States.

Exactly what an Orbital Torus State is in relation to other types of polities is unclear. "The War Within #1" and "The Age of Wrath #1" confirm there are both provinces and city-states in Dreamwave G1 continuity. All locations that are designated as a city-states in the Marvel Comics continuity (and Polyhex) are Orbital Torus States in this continuity, suggesting an overlap of the two terms. What this means for the distribution of provinces—at least on Earth the bigger units in which city-states are located—is unknown.

2005 IDW continuity also features Torus States, first mentioned in "Chaos Theory Part 2" in the form of the Tri-Peninsular Torus States and "orbital borders", and later appearing in Autocracy. Autocracy also introduced several "Torus-Cities", most prominently Nyon, which may be the same thing as Torus States.

Town

Only Yuss has ever been designated as a town. It was featured in the Marvel Comics continuity, among cities, city-states and provinces. It is not known what the Transformers consider the difference between town and city.

Village

Cybertronian villages are confirmed to exist in the pre-Beast Wars Generation 1 amalgam, as Roulette and Shadow Striker lived in one before the war. The Dreamwave version of the Unicron Trilogy has the Mini-Con Sector divided into various villages.