The House of the Satrap: The Making of the Ancient Persian EmpireStarting in the sixth century BCE, the conquests of the Persian kings Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius transformed the lives of humans on a continental scale, as their empire reached from the Iranian plateau to eastern Europe, Central Asia, and North Africa. Beyond the imperial center, the kings’ vast territory was ruled by royal representatives known as satraps, who managed the practicalities of running the empire. In this book, Rhyne King explores how the empire was governed by investigating how the satraps and the structures supporting them—their “houses”—operated across great distances. Examining satrapal houses in Egypt, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Central Asia, King demonstrates how these systems encouraged local self-interest and advancement even as they benefited the imperial whole. Ultimately, he argues, it was these Persian forms of transregional governance that were key in enabling the vast polity to endure for more than two centuries. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 11 | |
The Scope of This Book | 18 |
Satrapal Wealth in Anatolia 412386 | 27 |
Satrapal Networks in Western Anatolia | 56 |
Controlling and Cultivating Labor | 88 |
Becoming an Achaemenid Satrap | 119 |
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Common terms and phrases
Achaeme Achaemenid court Achaemenid Empire Achaemenid history administrative Agesilaus agricultural Akkadian Alcibiades Anatolia Ancient appears Arachosia Aramaic ardu Aršāma Artaxerxes Artaxerxes II Athenian Babylonia Bactria Bagavanta Bakabaduš baziš Bēlšunu Black Sea Briant Cambridge camels chapter cities coinage context crown grants Cyrus the Younger Cyzicus Darius II Dascylium demonstrates Dercylidas discussed documents dossier economic edited Egypt Elamite elite estates Hallock Hell Hyland infrastructure inscription Iranian Jursa Kas.r Archive King King’s kurru kurtaš labor land letters Lysander maintained managers Mania Nakhthor Naveh and Shaked networks Nippur Oxford Parnakka Pārsa Peloponnesian Persepolis Fortification Archive Persian Pharnabazus Pirngruber pirradaziš Plut political provides Psamšek record region reign of Darius relationships road system role royal Sardis satrapal house satrapal wealth slaves social southwestern Iran Spartan Spithridates status Stolper subordinates Susa tablets texts tion Tissaphernes translation travel authorization Tuplin University Press Urāš-nās western Anatolia Wouter Henkelman Xenophon