Rank and status are a fourth area of importance. Polygamy has historically been a system of inequality between men and women, but it also reveals other hierarchies, both among women and among men. Wives in such systems experienced subordination, to the husband, of course, but sometimes to other wives and women in the husband’s household, including a mother-in-law or a sister-in-law. Some plural wives were managers and queens, and some were enslaved. Polygyny has tended to take place in societies that practice patrilocal marriage: that is, marriage in which wives join their husbands’ communities. Such wives were often more vulnerable, far from the protection of their families. Sometimes they joined households in which a mother-in-law or a senior wife reigned supreme. In some cases, wives carried with them the rank from their families. Those who came with bridewealth, protected by complex family negotiations, tended to have greater status, while those who came in as enslaved or “chore” wives tended to have little. In general, though not always, senior or first wives had the greatest authority, though they might not be the personal favorite of the husband. Polygamy has supported masculine ambitions to authority, status, and resources. High-ranking men have practiced it most; it both augments and demonstrates their ability to command resources and people. Men speak to other men of their power by showing off their plural wives. In royal settings in particular, it has served the ambitions of the ruling dynasty, and it has been a way of incorporating tribute states, with women sent as wives to the center of power.