The House of the Satrap

The Making of the Ancient Persian Empire

Rhyne King

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9780520416130
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

Starting 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.

Table of contents

• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Transliteration and Terminology
• Primary Sources: Editions, Translations, and Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Satrapal Wealth in Anatolia, 412–386
• 2. Satrapal Networks in Western Anatolia
• 3. Aršāma: Controlling and Cultivating Labor
• 4. Bēlšunu: Becoming an Achaemenid Satrap
• 5. Bakabaduš in Arachosia: Traversing the Iranian Plateau
• 6. Axvamazdā and the Control over Movement in Bactria
• Conclusions and Contributions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index