Maka (satrapy)

Achaemenid Provinces during the rule of Darius I

Maka was a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire and later a satrapy of the Parthian and Sassanian empires (known as Mazun), corresponding to modern day Bahrain, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates, plus the northern half of Oman and also Balochistan and Sindh province of Pakistan. Maka was already a part of the Achaemenid empire before Darius the Great came to power in 522 BC, because it's 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 conquest 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".