Daroga, en Perse, commandant général de la police du gouvernement.
--
"Призрак оперы", глава 22
<…>
there are in every town other officers for the maintenance of order, such as
the darogha, the meer-ufus and the mohtusib. The darogha, or superintendant of
the bazars or markets, holds his office from the government. He settles the
disputes that occur in the markets, hears complaints, and decides without
appeal. If a shopkeeper refuses to execute, or violates, his agreement, and
complaint is made to the darogha, he obliges him to perform it; or, if a debtor
should prove that he is totally unable to satisfy claims made upon him, he
grants a certain time for the fulfillment of his contract. This magistrate also
superintends the morals of the people; and, if he detects any of them drinking
wine, or in the society of courtesans, he compels them to purchase his
connivance at no small expense. Hence the office of darogha is extremely
lucrative: for, in addition to the presents and bribes which he is in the habit
of receiving, the shopkeepers supply him gratuitously with every thing he
requires, that they may ensure his protection and favour.
-- Encyclopaedia Londinensis, or, Universal dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature, Том 19, Лондон, 1923 г., статья "Персия".
Как видим, дарога действительно выполнял правоохранительные функции в части гражданско-правовых отношений и арбитража, а также общественных нравов. В его юрисдикцию входили преступления, совершённые в течение дня; по ночам за правопорядком следил
meer-ufus.
Кроме того, эта должность - замечательная кормушка для родственника правящей династии.
И довольно очевидно, какие услуги мог оказать блюстителю нравов человек, который любит быть в курсе подробностей чужой личной жизни.
Но не нужно думать, что дарога привлекал нарушителей исключительно к административной ответственности:
Criminal
justice is administered by the civil magistrates, according to the ourf, or
common law. There is neither public prison nor public executioner: the
only places of confinement are dark and
filthy apartments in the houses of magistrates, whose servants perform the
office of executioners. The kinds of punishment are numerous, and vary
according to the nature of the crime, and the quality of culprit. The bastinado
is the most common. The legs of the sufferer are tied together and raised by
means of a cord fastened to a tree or stake: the soles of the feet are then
heated with a stick. The rule is to give at least thirty strokes, but never
more than three hundred. When a person is convicted of perjury, his throat is
crammed with tow or rags, and melted lead poured into his mouth. Swindlers are
branded on the forehead with a red-hot iron; house-breakers and coiners of
counterfeit money have a hand cut off. Tradesmen using false weights are put
into a kind of walking pillory. A thick plank, with a hole in the middle to
admit the head, rests upon the shoulders of the culprit; to this plank is
fastened a bell: a straw cap is placed on his head, and thus accoutered he is
paraded through the streets of the town.
Там ещё есть прекрасное описание смертной казни через четвертование. В общем, вот чем занимались милый дарога и верный Дарий в покоях мазендеранских палаццо. Ничего удивительного, что приказ убить Эрика и строителей шахского дворца был отдан именно дароге: силы и средства у него для этого явно имелись.