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satrap

thumb|The Herakleia head, probable portrait of a Persian (Achaemenid) Empire Satrap of [[Asia Minor, end of 6th century BCE, probably under Darius I]] A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap.

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A satrap was a governor who ruled over provinces in ancient Persian and Median empires, as well as in later empires that followed them like the Sasanian and Hellenistic empires. The satrap system was an important way for these vast empires to administer and control their distant territories through appointed provincial rulers.

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native label: σᾰτράπης
Commons category: Satraps
start time: 0530-00-00

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~9 min read

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10 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Medo-Persian
Seleucid
Parthian and Sassanian
Indian
See also
References
Further reading
External links

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.