Maka (satrapy)

Maka (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎣 Maka-) was a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire and later a satrapy of the Parthian and Sassanian empires (known as Mazun), corresponding to Greek Gedrosia, in the barren coastal areas of modern Pakistan and Iranian Baluchistan. Alternatively, it may have corresponded to modern day Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, plus the northern half of Oman (see Magan).

The territory of Maka (𓅓𓂝𓎼, M-ā-g) on the Statue of Darius I.

Makan on the tomb of Artaxerxes I, c. 430 BC.

Makan with cuneiform identification label on the tomb of Artaxerxes II, c. 360 BC.

Maka soldier of the Achaemenid army, c. 338 BC. Tomb of Artaxerxes III.

Maka was already a part of the Achaemenid Empire before Darius the Great came to power in 522 BC - it is mentioned in the Behistun inscription that it was already there when he inherited the throne. It is possible (because Cambyses and Smerdis are not known to have been there) that it was conquered by Cyrus the Great in 542 BC. He is known to have campaigned on the other side of the Persian Gulf (he seems to have lost most of his army in the Gedrosian Desert). It continued to be a satrapy until Alexander's conquests of Persia, at which point it became independent. According to Herodotus, the "Mykians" belonged to the same tax district as the Drangians, Thamanaeans, Utians, Sagartians and "those deported to the Persian Gulf".

According to Fleming, Maka, in the area of Gedrosia, can be considered one of the Indian satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire.

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