satrap

satrap , governor of a province (satrapy) of the ancient Persian Empire. He was nominated by the king and given extensive powers. Darius I reorganized the privileges and duties of his satraps in the 6th cent. BC; the number of satraps varied from 20 to 28 during his reign. To prevent the concentration of power in one man's hands, certain officials, responsible only to the king, checked up on the satrap. The king also regulated the taxes and imposed a fixed sum upon each satrap. Alexander the Great revised the system, replacing Persians with Macedonians and reducing their powers. The command of the troops was taken from the satraps, who lost the right to engage mercenaries and to issue coinage.

satrap A provincial governor of the ACHAEMENIDS, as first established by DARIUS I (the Great) who divided his empire up into twenty satrapies. Although the satraps nominally owed allegiance to the king, the considerable power and autonomy vested in them fostered disloyalty and there were frequent uprisings, the most notable being that of 366–358 BC against ARTAXERXES II. Alexander the Great retained the system after his conquest, as did the Parthians, but under the SASSANIAN EMPIRE the term “satrap” designated a less important figure.