Postal System
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Ancient Persia: The beginning
Ancient Persia: The beginning
Ancient Persia, the large empire with many seas and rivers and other geographical strengths, was beaten three times in the Persian Wars against the small city states of Greece. Although they lost to the underdogs many times around, before they finally fell, they left many important inventions behind. One of these is the Persian Postal System. The development of the Persian postal system, originally by Cyrus the Great, had a significant impact by creating a faster relay of information that helped convey messages quickly across the large empire used especially by the king, and a faster communication for the military.
The remains of a section of the Postal System in modern day Turkey.
Why the postal system was needed
Why the postal system was needed
The Postal System was a relay of stations set up on the royal road that reached across the wide empire (Floor pg. 1). The government sent horseback messengers on the road and when they came to a station, the horses were switched out, the riders were given a break, and then they kept going (Benjamin pg 5). The system was created by both Cyrus the Great and Darius, both emperors, who wanted to speed up communication across the empire as well as find a way to connect it.
Government Use
Government Use
One way the postal system worked was to convey information for the king across the great empire. The government of Persia could use the system to tell the king when there was a problem in a far away province of his (Sheldon pg. 3), tell citizens when there was trouble (Sheldon pg. 6), and even to keep an eye on his satraps or simply keep in contact with them (Sheldon pg. 3).
Illustration of a horseback rider on the Postal System.
Pathway of the Postal System across the empire that the military used.
Military Use
Military Use
Not only did the system help the government, but it also aided the military of Persia and therefore the empire itself. The king would learn of an uprising more quickly and could send his army to the area to calm things down whether by the people or by the satraps of a province (Floor pg. 2 and Sheldon pg. 4). While the postal system was usually reserved for government use, the military could use express messengers, messengers on horseback, when needed (Floor pg. 2).
Impact
Impact
The postal system had a lasting impact by connecting a vast area and conveying important information more quickly for both the government and the military. The king could keep in contact with the rulers of his provinces, the government could inform citizens when there was a problem, and the military could use the system to convey messages to each other (Sheldon pg. 3 and 6). Overall, the Postal system’s impact was one of the greatest inventions to come out of Ancient Persia.
Additional information about Persia and the Postal System
Additional information about Persia and the Postal System
Sheldon- this source provides more information on how the Royal Road and Postal System was used.
Floor- this source gave more describes the postal system in more detail.
Silverstein- this source provides more information on how well the Postal System worked.
Bekhrad -This article has background knowledge on the Postal System and includes many interesting images.
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