Satraps () were the governors of the provinces
of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires
and in several of their successors, such as
in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic
empires.
The word "satrap" is also often used metaphorically
in modern literature to refer to world leaders
or governors who are heavily influenced by
larger world superpowers or hegemonies and
act as their surrogates.
== Etymology ==
The word satrap is derived via Latin satrapes
from Greek satrápēs (σατράπης),
itself borrowed from an Old Iranian *xšaθra-pā/ă-.
In Old Persian, which was the native language
of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as xšaçapāvan
(𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠, literally "protector
of the province"). The Median form is reconstructed
as *xšaθrapāwan-. It is cognate with Sanskrit
kṣatrapa (क्षत्रपम्),
kṣatrapati, and kshatriya.
In the Parthian (language of the Arsacid Empire)
and Middle Persian (the language of the Sassanian
Empire), it is recorded in the forms šahrab
and šasab, respectively.In modern Persian
the descendant of xšaθrapāvan is shahrbān
(شهربان‎), but the components have
undergone semantic shift so the word now means
"town keeper" (shahr [شهر‎] meaning "town"
+ bān [بان‎] meaning "keeper").
== Medo-Persian satraps ==
Although the first large-scale use of satrapies,
or provinces, originates from the inception
of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great,
beginning at around 530 BCE, provincial organization
actually originated during the Median era
from at least 648 BCE.
Up to the time of the conquest of Media by
Cyrus the Great, emperors ruled the lands
they conquered through client kings and governors.
The main difference was that in Persian culture
the concept of kingship was indivisible from
divinity: divine authority validated the divine
right of kings. The twenty-six satraps established
by Cyrus were never kings, but viceroys ruling
in the king's name, although in political
reality many took advantage of any opportunity
to carve themselves an independent power base.
Darius the Great gave the satrapies a definitive
organization, increased their number to thirty-six,
and fixed their annual tribute (Behistun inscription).
The satrap was in charge of the land that
he owned as an administrator, and found himself
surrounded by an all-but-royal court; he collected
the taxes, controlled the local officials
and the subject tribes and cities, and was
the supreme judge of the province before whose
"chair" (Nehemiah 3:7) every civil and criminal
case could be brought. He was responsible
for the safety of the roads (cf. Xenophon),
and had to put down brigands and rebels.
He was assisted by a council of Persians,
to which also provincials were admitted and
which was controlled by a royal secretary
and emissaries of the king, especially the
"eye of the king", who made an annual inspection
and exercised permanent control.
There were further checks on the power of
each satrap: besides his secretarial scribe,
his chief financial official (Old Persian
ganzabara) and the general in charge of the
regular army of his province and of the fortresses
were independent of him and periodically ported
directly to the shah, in person. The satrap
was allowed to have troops in his own service.
The great satrapies (provinces) were often
divided into smaller districts, the governors
of which were also called satraps and (by
Greco-Roman authors) also called hyparchs
(actually Hyparkhos in Greek, 'vice-regents').
The distribution of the great satrapies was
changed repeatedly, and often two of them
were given to the same man.
As the provinces were the result of consecutive
conquests (the homeland had a special status,
exempt from provincial tribute), both primary
and sub-satrapies were often defined by former
states and/or ethno-religious identity. One
of the keys to the Achaemenid success (as
with most enduring great empires) was their
open attitude to the culture and religion
of the conquered people, so the Persian culture
was the one most affected as the Great King
endeavoured to meld elements from all his
subjects into a new imperial style, especially
at his capital, Persepolis.
Whenever central authority in the empire weakened,
the satrap often enjoyed practical independence,
especially as it became customary to appoint
him also as general-in-chief of the army district,
contrary to the original rule. "When his office
became hereditary, the threat to the central
authority could not be ignored" (Olmstead).
Rebellions of satraps became frequent from
the middle of the 5th century BCE. Darius
I struggled with widespread rebellions in
the satrapies, and under Artaxerxes II occasionally
the greater parts of Asia Minor and Syria
were in open rebellion (Revolt of the Satraps).
The last great rebellions were put down by
Artaxerxes III.
== Hellenistic satraps ==
The satrapic administration and title were
retained—even for Greco-Macedonian incumbents—by
Alexander the Great, who conquered the Achaemenid
Empire, and by his successors, the Diadochi
(and their dynasties) who carved it up, especially
in the Seleucid Empire, where the satrap generally
was designated as strategos; but their provinces
were much smaller than under the Persians.
They would ultimately be replaced by conquering
empires, especially the Parthians.
== Parthian and Sassanian satraps ==
In the Parthian Empire, the king's power rested
on the support of noble families who ruled
large estates, and supplied soldiers and tribute
to the king. City-states within the empire
enjoyed a degree of self-government, and paid
tribute to the king. Administration of the
Sassanid Empire was considerably more centralized
than that of the Parthian Empire; the semi-independent
kingdoms and self-governing city states of
the Parthian Empire were replaced with a system
of "royal cities" which served as the seats
of centrally appointed governors called shahrabs
as well as the location of military garrisons.
Shahrabs ruled both the city and the surrounding
rural districts. Exceptionally, the Byzantine
Empire also adopted the title "satrap" for
the semi-autonomous princes that governed
one of its Armenian provinces, the Satrapiae.
== Western satraps ==
The Western Satraps or Kshatrapas (35–405
CE) were Saka rulers in the western and central
part of the Sindh region of Pakistan, and
the Saurashtra and Malwa regions of western
India. They were contemporaneous with the
Kushans who ruled the northern part of the
subcontinent from the area of Peshawar and
were possibly their overlords, and with the
Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in central India
to their south and east and the Kushan state
to their immediate west.
== Satraps today and in fiction ==
It is also used in modern times to refer (usually
derogatorily) to the loyal subservient lieutenants
or clients of some powerful figure (with equal
imprecision also styled mogul, tycoon, or
the like), in politics or business.
In Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and Greek,
the word sátrapa/satrápēs (σατράπης)
not only carries the aforementioned ancient
historical meaning, but in modern usage also
applies to people who abuse power or authority.
It can refer as well to those living in luxurious
and ostentatious conditions or to individuals
who act astutely and even disloyally.
The College of 'Pataphysics used the title
Transcendent Satrap for certain of its members,
including Marcel Duchamp, Jean Baudrillard
and the Marx brothers.
In the Serbian language, satrap is used to
mock a person who displays servile tendencies
to an authority figure.
THRUSH, the primary antagonist organization
in the TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,
was divided into satrapies, based on geographic
location.
Science-Fiction and Fantasy novelist Fred
Saberhagen's Empire of the East series uses
the Satrap as a political unit in relation
to the eponymous Empire.
== See also ==
Suzerainty
Orontid Dynasty
== References ==
Ashley, James R. (2004) [First published 1998].
"Appendix H: Kings and Satraps". The Macedonian
Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II
and Alexander the Great, 359–323 B.C. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland. pp. 385–391. ISBN 978-0-7864-1918-0.
== Further reading ==
A. T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire,
1948.
Pauly-Wissowa (comprehensive encyclopaedia
on Antiquity; in German).
Robert Dick Wilson. The Book of Daniel: A
Discussion of the Historical Questions, 1917.
Available on home.earthlink.net.
Rüdiger Schmitt, "Der Titel 'Satrap'", in
Studies Palmer ed. Meid (1976), 373–390.
This article incorporates text from a publication
now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed. (1911). "Satrap". Encyclopædia Britannica
(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press..
Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses, 1992.
== External links ==
Livius.org: Satraps and satrapies
