Editing Vassal state (section)

===Achaemenid Persia===
{{main|Satrap}}
While the Persians made use of [[Satrap|satraps]] (appointed Persian governors)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lendering |first1=Jona |title=Satraps and Satrapies |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/satraps-and-satrapies/ |website=Livius |access-date=2021-05-17 |archive-date=2021-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428192628/https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/satraps-and-satrapies/ |url-status=live }}</ref> rather than vassal rulers in subject regions, there were rare cases of vassal states being utilised. [[Herodotus]] writes that negotiations took place between King [[Amyntas I of Macedon|Amyntas I]] of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] and the Persians after the former's subjugation by the [[Achaemenid dynasty|Achaemenids]] by 513 BC. The Macedonians became further connected to the Persians as Amyntas married his daughter to a Persian nobleman (Hdt. 5.21.). Under [[Darius the Great|Darius I]], Macedonia was organised into a regular tax district of the Empire (Hdt. 6.44.). Their control over Macedonia is attested in the [[DNA]] inscription at Naqsh-I-Rustam. Amyntas’ son [[Alexander I of Macedon|Alexander I]] supported [[Xerxes I]] during the Persian invasion of Greece. In 479 BC, the Achaemenid forces were defeated by the Greeks, and Macedonia was no longer considered Greek by other city-states.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lendering |first1=Jona |title=Macedonia |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/place/macedonia/ |website=Livius |access-date=2021-05-17 |archive-date=2021-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509082213/https://www.livius.org/articles/place/macedonia/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another region considered a vassal state rather than a satrap was [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]]. According to Herodotus, they aided [[Cambyses II]] in his invasion of Egypt (525 BC).<ref name="Dandamayev 1986">{{cite web |last1=Dandamayev |first1=Muhammad |title=Arabia i. The Achaemenid Province Arabāya |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arabaya-arabia-a-province-of-the-achaemenid-empire |website=Encyclopedia Iranica |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215251/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/arabaya-arabia-a-province-of-the-achaemenid-empire |url-status=live }}</ref> As such, Arabia did not become a satrap and was exempt from paying annual tribute.<ref name="Dandamayev 1986" /> Instead, they are attested to in the [[Behistun Inscription|Behistun]] inscription and in the [[Persepolis]] [[Persepolis Administrative Archives|Fortification Tablets]] as providing 1000 talents per year.<ref name="Dandamayev 1986" /> In Xerxes’ invasion of [[Greece]], Herodotus mentions the Arabians among the different sections of the Persian Army as being led by [[Arsamenes]] – the son of Darius I.<ref name="Dandamayev 1986" />

Despite the size of the Achaemenid Empire, there was efficient communication and connectivity between different regions. The [[Royal Road]] which ran through most of the empire allowed for the movement and sharing of goods, culture, and ideas between the Achaemenid satraps and vassal states.<ref name="Henry 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Colburn |first1=Henry |title=Connectivity and Communication in the Achaemenid Empire |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |date=2013 |volume=56 |issue=1|pages=29–52 |doi=10.1163/15685209-12341278 }}</ref>