Why did Jean Bodin argue that a state needed a single supreme power?

Jean Bodin, a French political philosopher, developed his theory of sovereignty during the 16th century, a period marked by the instability and anarchy of the French civil wars between Roman Catholics and Huguenots.1

Bodin argued that a state required a single, supreme power to secure order and authority. In his seminal work, The Six Bookes of a Commonweale, he posited that the distinctive mark of a state is this absolute, unique, and self-subsisting power to command, which is primarily expressed through the making of laws.1

He believed that government was instituted by providence for the well-being of humanity, and therefore, the sovereign's authority did not depend on the consent of the subjects. While he maintained that this power should be exercised according to natural law and divine principles, he insisted that subjects have a duty of obedience and may not resist the sovereign, as a centralized authority is essential to prevent the chaos of civil conflict.1