What year did patriotism start?

Patriotism is defined as a love of one's country. The term was not in use in ancient times, but certainly, the empires of ancient times had citizens who were "nationalistic" and loyal to their governments. It cannot be said that there was a "why" attached to this. It was simply the most practical and natural thing to do in order to keep their city -states, empires, or kingdoms in tact.