In early societies, there was little mobility but, as travel from one state to another developed, problems emerged: what should happen if different forms of marriage exist, if childerns became adults at different ages, etc.? One answer is that people must be given a connection to a legal jurisdiction, like a passport, that they carry with them wherever they go.
Domicile is governed by lex domicelii, as opposed to lex patrai which depends upon nationality, which is the relationship between an individual and a country. Where the state and the country are co-extensive, the two may be the same. However:
Domicile is distinct from habitual residence where there is much less focus on future intent. Domicile is being supplanted by habitual residence in International conventions dealing with conflict of law and other private law matters.
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