Some notes on karanos in the Achaemenid Empire

Abstract

The paper examines a question of karanos in the Achaemenid Empire. The prevailing view among those who write about the administrative system of the Achaemenid Empire and the military activities of Persian kings and satraps is that the word karanos designated a regional commander-in-chief of the Persian army. However the evidences having been considered in this paper show that the term karanos does not simply apply to a Persian regional commander-in-chief. Commanders of any rank could be called karanoi, and they were not equal in status: a karanos can be a regional commander, the commander of a campaignarmy and even the commander of a detachment within a royal army.