Satrap

A satrap (ˈsætrəp) was a governor 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. A satrap served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy. The word came to suggest tyranny or ostentatious splendour, and its modern usage is a pejorative and refers to any subordinate or local ruler, usually with unfavourable connotations of corruption. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. The word satrap is derived via Latin satrapes from Greek satrápes (σατράπης), itself borrowed from an Old Iranian *khshathra-pa. In Old Persian, which was the native language of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as khshathapavan (𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠, literally "protector of the province"). The Median form is reconstructed as *khshathrapavan-. It is cognate with Sanskrit kshetrapal (क्षेत्रपाल). The Biblical Hebrew form is aḥashdarpan אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפָּן, as found in Esther 3:12. 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 khshathrapavan is shahrbān (شهربان), but the components have undergone semantic shift so the word now means "town keeper" (shahr [شهر] meaning "town" + ban [بان] meaning "keeper"). 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.