satrap
Americannoun
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a governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy.
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a subordinate ruler, often a despotic one.
noun
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(in ancient Persia) a provincial governor
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a subordinate ruler, esp a despotic one
Etymology
Origin of satrap
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin satrapa < Greek satrápēs < Old Persian khshathra-pāvan- country-protector
Explanation
A governor of an ancient Persian province was called a satrap. These areas ruled by satraps were called "satrapies." The Persian emperor Cyrus the Great first chose satraps to rule individual provinces, around 530 BCE. Each satrap controlled a specific amount of land, collecting taxes and maintaining law and order. The word satrap continued to be used in various places, including India and East Asia, to refer to local rulers. The word comes from the Latin satrapes, with the Old Persian root xšathrapavan, "guardian of the realm," from xšathra-, "realm," and pavan-, "guardian."
Vocabulary lists containing satrap
Mesopotamia - Introductory
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Mesopotamia - Middle School and High School
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Chapter 7: The Ancient Greeks
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tyrant, Satrap, Pharaoh, Khan, Caesar, Emperor, Tsar and Kaiser have left their sulphurous trail across the pages of history.
From Time Magazine Archive
I previously took from them 150 chariots, 1,500 horsemen, 20,000 archers, 1,000 men armed with shields and lances, and I confided the country to my Satrap.
From Babylonian and Assyrian Literature by Anonymous
Satrap, a governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy, with large military and civil powers; when the central authority began to wane, some of them set up as independent rulers.
From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin
The Satrap inform’d them of every praise-worthy Deed that occurr’d within his District.
From Zadig Or, The Book of Fate by Voltaire
Fly, then, and tell him, 'twas my last request That Zames take my post until the junction, So hoped for, yet delayed, of Ofratanes, Satrap of Susa.
From The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 5 Poetry by Coleridge, Ernest Hartley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
