Oligarchy

n.

1.

A form of government in which the supreme power is placed in the hands of a few persons; also, those who form the ruling few. All oligarchies, wherein a few men domineer, do what they list. - Burton.

Noun

1.

oligarchy - a political system governed by a few people

OLIGARCHY. This name is given to designate the power which a few citizens of a state have usurped, which ought by the constitution to reside in the people. Among the Romans the government degenerated several times into an oligarchy; for example, under the decemvirs, when they became the only magistrates in the commonwealth.

form of government, political system