Satraps (Old Persian: xšaθrapāwn) were the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid (Persian) Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The word satrap is also often used metaphorically in modern literature to refer to world leaders or governors who are heavily influenced by larger world superpowers or hegemonies and act as their surrogates.