History: satrapy

A unit of Persian governance similar to a province. The Persian empire consisted of more than twenty of these provinces which were arranged by geography and ethnicity. Each satrapy was ruled by a Satrap or Governor. The satrapies were under the rule of the Great King of Persia, but had a fair amount of autonomy as compared with other empires. The flexibility in the Persian system of government is one of the reasons for it's long term success.