| POSTAL SERVICES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
Although the word "mail" appeared in ancient Rome only at the turn of our era, for convenience it is customary to refer to various communication services that existed earlier. The same applies to terms such as “postmaster”, “sending correspondence” and others.
Post office in the land of the pyramids. It is known that already under the pharaohs of the IV dynasty (2900 - 2700 BC) in Egypt there was a post office with foot (fast) and horse-drawn messengers plying along military roads to Libya, Abyssinia, and Arabia. The local population was obliged to provide accommodation for the messengers. The pharaohs, in the form of special privileges, exempted individual cities from this duty. Information about this is found in ancient papyri. For example, Pharaoh Piopi (Lepi) II from the VI dynasty, which ruled the Old Kingdom in 2500 - 2400. BC e., granted benefits to the cities of Koptu and Dashur: “My Majesty has commanded that for the sake of King Sneferu this city should be freed from all kinds of work and duties assigned in favor of the royal house and court, ... so that all tenants of this city will be free from housing couriers going by water or land, up or down, for eternity..."
The service of royal messengers was difficult and dangerous. According to the customs of that time, a messenger who brought bad news could be executed by an angry ruler. A story about the dangers and hardships of such service was preserved in the diary of a scientist dating back to the XII Dynasty (2000 - 1788 BC): “When a messenger goes to a foreign country, he bequeaths his property to his children for fear of lions and Asians . And if he returned to Egypt, as soon as he reached the garden, as soon as he reached his house in the evening, how soon he must get ready for the journey again." The author bequeaths to his son: “Become whoever you want, but not a messenger.”
Letters were most often written on papyrus, rolled into a tube, tied with twine, and sealed with a clay seal.
Egyptian fellahs in Tel el-Amarna, where Akheta-ton, the capital of the Egyptian king Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) (1419 - 1400 BC), was located in ancient times, found his archive of foreign affairs in 1887. Several hundred clay tablets written in Babylonian cuneiform contained correspondence between the pharaoh and the kings of the Babylonian, Hittite, Mitanni and Assyrian states, as well as reports to the Egyptian king from the princes of the Syrian and Phoenician cities subordinate to him.
20 years later, in 1906, not far from Ankara, near the village of Boğazköy, the expedition of Professor G. Winkler excavated the Hittite capital Hattusas and found another huge archive (about 15 thousand clay tablets). Among various documents, many letters in Hittite, Akkadian and other languages were kept here. The letters dated mainly from the 14th to 13th centuries. BC e.
Among them was found the famous letter from the widow of the early deceased Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the Hittite king Suppilulium. “My husband is dead, I don’t have a son,” she wrote. “And you, they say, have many sons. If you give me one of them, he will be my husband. Why should I, a slave or something, take my own as a husband?” and honor him?"
On the roads of the huge Achamenid kingdom. The most advanced postal system for its time began to be created by the Persian king Cyrus II the Great (? -530 BC); it reached its highest level under Darius I (522 - 486 BC). In order to more firmly keep numerous peoples in subjection over a vast territory, it was necessary to have a powerful and developed network of roads. Persian roads not only had much in common with Assyrian military roads, but were superior to them; they can be called the predecessors of Roman roads. One of the main roads, the royal one, went from Sardis on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor through Armenia and Assyria to the south of Mesopotamia to Susa. Two other roads branched off from it: one to Tire and Sidon, the other to the borders of Bactria and India. There were many other roads.
Greek historians Herodotus (484 -425 BC) and Xenophon (430 - 355 BC) admired the condition of the roads and the clarity of the organization courier service. Herodotus, who traveled in the middle of the 5th century. BC e. on the Persian state, noted that the roads gave him the opportunity to get to know the country in detail. Along the entire length of the royal road there were royal hotels with beautiful living quarters. Troops were stationed at various points to ensure the safety of mail, travelers, and merchants with goods. To cover the route from Sardis to Susa (about 2,300 kilometers), the traveler, according to Herodotus, needed about 90 days.
The royal mail was delivered much faster. The distance of 20 kilometers between the hotel stations was divided into parasangs (five kilometers), at the end of which there were pickets of couriers, always ready to hit the road. The mail was transmitted according to the principle of a relay race: the rider, having received the mail, raced at full speed to the neighboring picket, passed the package to another, who raced further. Therefore, the state mail covered the enormous distance from end to end of the royal road in six to eight days, passing 111 stations.
The Greeks called this post office "angareion", and the messengers called it "angara". “The Persians were so skillful in organizing the transmission of news,” writes Herodotus, “that no one in the world can surpass their messengers... Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor darkness will delay the messengers of King Darius, will not prevent them from rushing at the highest speed the section of the route allocated to him... Nothing in the world is carried out as quickly as orders delivered by his couriers... " Herodotus is echoed by Xenophon, who writes about the messengers of Cyrus the Younger (? - 401 BC): “No one in the world can compete with them in speed, pigeons and cranes can barely keep up with them.”
The Persians were the first to introduce a regularly operating postal service, which is now commonly called military fieldhowl mail. Behind the army on its conquest was a special service that maintained postal communications with the capital of the state. There is information that particularly important and urgent military news and orders were transmitted from picket to picket by fire signals.
Under the Hellas sky. Features of political life ancient Greece determined the uniqueness of its postal connections. Numerous small states and city-states did not maintain regular postal communication among themselves - they simply did not need it. If there was a need to convey important news (for example, military), then they used sea vessels(for communication with the islands and numerous colonies along the shores of the Mediterranean and Black Seas) or hemerodromes - “day messengers” (if necessary, they ran at night). Grammatophores (“letter carriers”) were used to transmit news over short distances. The service of both was considered responsible and honorable. Hardy and fast runners were selected for it, often Olympians - winners of the Olympic Games.
History has preserved information about Lasthenes, a hemerodrome from Thebes, who overtook fleet-footed horses over long distances. His friend Efhid accomplished a feat by sacrificing his life, like the famous marathon messenger. Efhid ran more than 200 kilometers to deliver the sacred fire from the Delphic Temple when the sacred fire in the temple on the Acropolis of Athens went out due to the oversight of the priestess. Efkhid ran so fast that, returning to Athens, he died from overwork. Another famous messenger Philip ran 225 kilometers in 24 hours to convey to the Lacedaemonians the Athenians' request for military assistance against the invading Persians.
In ancient Rome. In the vast expanses of the ancient Roman state and the countries conquered by Rome, from the Middle East to Britain, an extensive communication system operating according to clear regulations was created. Postal service existed even during the times of the Republic, but was streamlined by Julius Caesar (100 - 44 BC), was improved during the reign of Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD), and reached its peak under the emperors Nerva , Trajan, Hadrian (96 - 138 AD). Individual routes with a total length of about 100,000 kilometers were gradually combined into unified system. The postal service was called "cursus publis" - public mail. To be fair, we note that this name did not entirely correspond to the truth: only members of the imperial family, patricians, officials, and legionnaires could use the mail. But over time, for a certain fee, the post office began to serve wider sections of Roman free citizens. At a distance of one day's travel, there were the main postal stations - mansios, where one could change the cart, the driver, eat and spend the night. Between two mansios there were usually six to eight intermediate stations - mutacios, where horses were changed if necessary. Mail was delivered by both foot ambassadors (cursorius) and mounted messengers (veredarii). In addition to letters, passengers and cargo were transported. For this, strictly defined types of carts were used (Fig. 14, A)- from light two-wheeled ones, drawn by horses, to heavy four-wheeled ones, which were harnessed by 8-10 horses, mules, donkeys or oxen. Everything was described down to the smallest detail: the types of shipments, the carrying capacity of the carts, the categories of passengers and employees, their contents, etc.
We owe the appearance of the word “mail” to this communication system. The stations did not have special names. If it was necessary to indicate a station, they wrote or said: “the station located at the point N" or "an intermediate station located at a point NN". From the word “posita” - “located” - the word “mail” arose over time, which in the 13th century. included in most European languages. Many researchers believe that the word "mail" in medieval Europe first used on Italian(“poeste”)B 1298 in Marco Polo’s famous book “Travels
The most powerful public education the ancient world is certainly Ancient Rome. This city not only subjugated the Apennine Peninsula, but also spread its possessions over a vast territory: from Britain to North Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula to Syria.
Capital connection with remote provinces became an urgent necessity for Rome.
For this purpose, an unprecedented network of high-quality, stone-paved roads was built. Their total length already at the time of Gaius Julius Caesar was 150 thousand kilometers.
By the way, popular expression "All roads lead to Rome" is not as metaphorical as it seems at first glance. The oldest and widest roads really converged like rays in the capital of the empire. It was along these roads that legions from Rome went to war or to suppress rebellions.
The Appian Way, preserved to this day.
Although the basics of regular state post office It was laid down by Julius Caesar, and it acquired its canonical form under Augustus. It was he who united all the routes into a single network, which was called " kursus publis". This mail was controlled personally by the emperor and was intended exclusively for state needs. Government officials managing the post office were required to have a “diploma” - a document certifying their services to the state. In the provinces postal service was controlled by governors, and its maintenance fell entirely on the shoulders of the local population, which was supposed to supply mail carts, horses and riders.
Foot messengers were called " tablelariums". Insignia Roman couriers became a headdress, first decorated with feathers and then with stylized wings. After all, he wore a similar winged helmet Mercury- messenger of the gods and patron of trade.
Urgent messages were delivered by horse messengers, and valuable government cargo was transported on carts. Mounted messengers called "beredos" - from the Persian word "berd", meaning "animal of burden".
Not all Roman provinces could be reached by land, and in this case for mail transportation used ships
“Suddenly today we have ships from Alexandria, which usually go ahead and announce the arrival of the fleet following them. That’s why they are also called mail ships.”
The main advantage " kursus publis"There was a well-established system of road post stations.
The stations were divided into two categories. The so-called "mancios" were well-appointed inns, painted red. Here the messengers were offered not only lodging and food, but also an extensive network of services. The “Mancio” was run by a chief manceps, under whose leadership were the “stationarius” (stable keepers), “hippocomas” (grooms), “mulions” (mule drivers), “mulomedicus” (veterinarians) and “carpentarii” (cart keepers).
It is believed that it is from the Latin expression "mansio posita in..." ("A station located at a point") subsequently it became isolated modern concept "post" - "mail".
In addition, between the two "mancios" there were 6-8 intermediate small stations - "mutatsio", which served primarily for changing horses.
“Cursus Publique”, reconstruction by L. Burger.
To ensure traffic safety, the Romans set up military camps along important routes, which at the same time also served as a construction battalion - i.e. repaired the roads.
At busy intersections, special walls even appeared, playing the role of original newspapers. Everyone wrote whatever they wanted on them - from news and announcements to epigrams and love notes like “Mark loves Elena.” No wonder some joker wrote the following on one of these walls: “I am surprised at you, wall, how you don’t collapse, continuing to carry so many trashy inscriptions.”.
About how effective it was" kursus publis"is evidenced by the following fact. If Julius Caesar, constantly changing horses, could cover no more than 100 miles a day, then Emperor Tiberius, using the services postal service, moved twice as fast. As a result, the rulers of the Roman Empire received fresh news quite regularly.
But private correspondence was prohibited through state mail. Therefore, the wealthiest of Roman citizens had their own messengers from among the slaves. Such a speedboat could travel about 70 km per day. If the message had to be sent over a long distance, then it was transmitted through traders or traveling acquaintances. True, such messages arrived much slower than government messages. There is a known case of a certain Augustus (not the emperor) got a letter only nine years later.
Seneca, from Letters to Lucilius:
“I received your letter only many months after it was sent. Therefore, I considered it unnecessary to ask the person who delivered it about your life.”
Unfortunately, the achievements of the Romans were forgotten for a long time, after the empire fell under the onslaught of the barbarians, and Europe plunged into the “dark ages” for a long time. Decline postal service was so strong that even in the 16th century the messenger moved one and a half times slower than roman courier during its heyday" kursus publis".
Today another intellectual game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” took place. In this article you can see answers to all questions in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" for May 13, 2017 . Two pairs of players participated in the game today with host Dmitry Dibrov. Below are the questions and answers themselves, I decided not to write answer options, so as not to distract readers, because you only need the necessary information.
The first couple of players in the game "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" for 05/13/2017
1. What do you call a person who performs small, simple tasks?
- errand boy
2.How should a Soviet pioneer respond to the call “Be ready!”?
- "Always ready!"
3. Where is the heroine of the song performed by Lyubov Uspenskaya going to sit?
- in a convertible
4.What can you earn in many games?
5. Who sang ditties in the cartoon “The Flying Ship”?
- Granny hedgehogs
6. What predator lives high in the mountains?
- Snow Leopard
7.In addition to horsepower, what is the power of a car measured in?
- in kilowatts
8. What was the nickname of Sir Lancelot, the Knight of the Round Table?
- Ozerny
9. The melody of which song by the bard Sergei Nikitin was recorded by the Paul Mauriat Orchestra?
- "To the music of Vivaldi"
10. What decorated the hats of postal couriers in Ancient Rome?
- wings
11.Which artist's house is one of the most famous museums in Amsterdam?
- Rembrandt
The players of the first pair did not win anything and left without a penny of the money they won.
The second pair of players in the program “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” for 05/13/2017
1. What are animal and plant organisms made of?
- from cells
2. How did Ershov describe the Little Humpbacked Horse: “On his back with two humps and...”?
- with arshin ears
3. What is used in acupuncture?
- needles
4.Which Shakespeare play is the basis for the musical Kiss Me, Kate?
- "The Taming of the Shrew"
5.What do koalas eat?
- eucalyptus leaves
6. Which country's martial arts are known as wushu?
- China
7. From which poem by Pushkin did Vladimir Motyl take the title for his film “Star of Captivating Happiness”?
- "To Chaadaev"
8. What letter does a rugby goal resemble?
9. Which musical instrument depicted on the coat of arms of Ireland?
10. On which lake did Tsar Peter I build the Amusement Flotilla?
- Pleshcheyevo
The players answered incorrectly and left without a penny of the money they won.
Interestingly, the terminology of the hospitality industry owes a lot to the Romans. And here they also contributed to the development of many civilizations. The word hospitality comes from the Latin hospitium. The same root words are host (owner), hospice (shelter), hotel (hotel, hotel). Hospitalists - this is what people were called in antiquity, together with their family, who received guests in their home. With the hosts, the foreign state entered into an alliance of mutual assistance, friendship and protection.
After the introduction of regular state postal service (during the time of Emperor Octavian from 63 BC), state inns also appeared. The state established courtyards in cities and on the main roads along which couriers and civil servants traveled from Rome all the way to Asia Minor or to Gaul Batalova L.V. From the history of tourism development, Sat. scientific articles. Vol. Izhevsk, 1999, - 148 pp.
State inns were created, located at a distance of one day's ride on horseback from each other. As new territories were conquered and the Roman Empire expanded, its customs, economic and organizational structure also spread to new provinces and conquered countries. The fact of the special interest of the state testifies to how seriously the reliability of an institution that provided travelers with shelter, food and overnight accommodation was considered in ancient times. Thus, the code of Roman laws provided for the responsibility of such an establishment for the guest’s belongings. It was then that the opportunity arose to safely spend the night in the inn. Even today, the legislation of a number of states regulates this issue, based on the above provisions of the Rome civil law. After all, protecting guests in all countries is one of the main goals of the hotel business.
Merchants, merchants and other common people could never be accommodated next to government officials and government messengers. This circumstance influenced quality condition inns. Those in which representatives of the aristocracy and government officials stayed were built according to all the rules of architectural art and offered a wide range of services for those times. Subsequently, Marco Polo said that at such inns “it is not shameful for a king to stop.” Polo Marco. Book of Marco Polo. M.: Geographgiz, 1956..
Taverns and inns, designed to serve lower-class citizens, offered minimal conditions for overnight accommodation and recreation. For example, very often travelers simply slept on straw, and in order not to freeze in the cold season, they snuggled up to the warm side of their horse. There was no talk of any additional comfort. The organization of the hotel business in the Roman Empire was based on a certain classification of hotels developed by the state authorities. There were two types of hotels: only for patricians (mansiones), the other for plebeians (stabularia).
The Roman hotel was a certain complex of premises with a fairly wide functional purpose: these were not only rooms for accommodating travelers, but also warehouses, stables, shops, workshops, etc. Hotels, as a rule, were built of stone and housed necessary list services. IN winter time they were heated. Some hotels served only officials using special documents issued government authorities. This tradition has been preserved to this day in the form of special rooms for VIPs at airports, train stations and other places where tourists stay.
With the improvement of the functioning of postal communications in the second half of the 4th century, when it long time combined the needs for transport and sending news; visiting yards were set up along the roads. They were called "mancio" and "stazio". The first of these terms meant a visiting courtyard, in which there were conditions for accommodating the imperial retinue, the second - a traffic police post.
Later, the leveling of these inns took place. Between the mansio and stazio there were inns of lesser importance, or mutacio (places where the horse team changes), in which the most urgent needs of travelers could be satisfied: something to eat, to spend the night, to replace mounts or pack animals.
The distance between two mansios depended on the nature of the terrain, but on average it was 40-55 km. Between two mansios there could be one or two smaller visiting yards, and this depended not only on the area, but also on its population.
Such inns differed from each other in the volume and quality of their services, ranging from a praetorium, in which the imperial retinue could be received, to modest institutions. A fully equipped inn could offer almost everything a traveler needed. Here one could eat, spend the night, change riding animals (in the stables of large visiting yards there were up to forty horses and mules), carts, drivers, find servants, people who returned draft animals to the previous station, veterinarians, coachmen and wheelwrights repairing damaged carriages Kotler F., Bowen J., Makens J. Marketing. Hospitality and tourism /Trans. from English - M.: UNITY, 1998..
Inns and visiting yards and postal stations were not built specifically for these purposes; they served not only the following travelers, although they certainly had priority in service. The post office, despite the fact that it served mainly the central government, was maintained by local residents. The emperors simply selected pre-existing inns of the quality required for the service and included them in the system, requiring free overnight accommodation for each diploma holder.
Only in remote areas, such as on passes or on secluded roads, was the imperial power forced to build everything from the very foundation. In such places, all travelers, private individuals, as well as representatives of official authorities were accepted for an overnight stay in order to compensate for expenses. Carts, animals, drivers, grooms - everyone was recruited for service there from the local surroundings, if possible. From that time on, people began to appear who worked in inns. Inns, especially on the main roads, were built by the Romans with skill and were quite comfortable for their time.
Over time, the maintenance of a visiting yard became burdensome for its manager, since with the development of society and civilization, the demands on it constantly increased. They were presented not only by those who had the right to use the visiting yard by law, but also by those officials without conscience who arbitrarily confiscated horses and carriages or brazenly brought with them to the visiting yards people who did not have the right to free service. Special inspectors (curiosi, kursus, publici) checked the legality of using diplomas after their expiration date, traveling on a route other than the one that the person presenting the document should have followed, and using a different type of mount than those used by those passing through.
Emperors one after another published strict laws to stop abuses and keep service at drive-in yards at an appropriate level.
There were regulations regarding the number of carts and animals that could be used by officials, determining the maximum permitted load, the number of drivers, travel routes, the weight of saddles and packs, even the size and type of whips. One injunction stated that “no one will reward any driver, charioteer or veterinarian serving in a public establishment, because they receive food and clothing that is enough for them.” In other words, it was forbidden to give “tips” to these employees. Instructions not to give them were rarely carried out, and all indications are that these orders were not carried out properly.
Each person using the post office had to know exactly where the various inns were located. Available to travelers were itinerariums, which listed visiting yards along a given road and the distances between them.
There were also conventional maps, from which one could find out not only where the inn was located, but also what they could offer there. A copy of one such map, made in the Middle Ages, the so-called Peitinger table, reached the Renaissance period. It was drawn on a long sheet of parchment, 33 cm wide and 6.7 cm long. It is extremely inaccurate in cartographical terms, but represents the roads of the entire Roman Empire in a way that can be easily read. It contains information similar to that which can be found on a modern automobile map: lines indicating roads, names of cities and large villages and other places where you can stop; numbers indicating the distances between them in Roman miles. It is interesting to note that many of the names have small colored drawings - symbols. They served the same purpose as the surprisingly similar symbols in modern guidebooks. They had to indicate at first glance what the possibilities were for spending the next night while following this road Shapoval G.D. History of tourism. Minsk, IP, "Enoperspective" - 1999, - 216 p.
The names, without accompanying drawings, denoted the simplest guest house, which could provide little more than water, a roof over one's head, food and a fresh change of mounts.
For example, a traveler, leaving Rome along the Aurelian Way, leading north along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, could learn from the map that the first suitable place to stay would be Alsium, eighteen Roman miles from the capital, with a minimum of amenities (there was no picture at the name), from there it was ten miles to Pyrgi with a minimum of amenities, then it was six miles to Punic, where there were also few amenities, but from there it was a stone's throw to Aqua Apollinaris with a first-rate hotel (indicated by a quadrangular building), from there it was four miles to Aqua Tauri with the same amenities, as in Aquas of Apollinaris, etc.
Government messengers hurried from station to station at an average speed of five miles per hour, or for have a normal day the journey covered fifty Roman miles. Thus, news from Rome reached Brundisium in seven days, to Byzantium - about 25 days, to Antioch - about 40 days, to Alexandria - about 55 days. IN exceptional cases, moving day and night, messengers could triple this speed. When in 69 AD. e. in Moguntiak above the Rhine (now Mainz, Germany) the legions rebelled, news of this reached Rome within 8-9 days. The messenger in such cases covered an average of 150 Roman miles per day. The traveler, who was given government assignments, counted on the conveniences provided by the public post and had few worries. He presented his diploma at a nearby inn and received the appropriate means of transportation, looked at his list of stations or a map for appropriate stopping places along his route, ate there, spent the night, changed teams and crews until he arrived at his destination. Officially, persons traveling privately were not allowed to use the mail, but human nature being what it is, exceptions were inevitable.
Those who traveled privately and could not legally or illegally use government mail had the opportunity to find overnight accommodation in visiting inns and shelters, since in many provinces they were the only, and in some areas, the best inns. Moreover, if he did not travel in a carriage with his own team, he could hire one, which was quite accessible to someone who was going to travel not on foot, but with the help of vehicles. If along the open road he reached the post station immediately after official group, which requisitioned everything that was at the disposal of this station, he had no choice but to wait. In any case, he moved slower than the government messenger.
Already in the 3rd century. BC. The builders of Rome erected tall apartment buildings - insula - to accommodate both the city's growing population and visitors. These were three-, four-, and sometimes five-story buildings with a wooden frame. In Rome, the insulae were inhabited by both the poor and the middle class of townspeople; Rich people lived in mansions. In such multi-storey building Individual rooms or entire floors were rented out. In the Roman port of Ostia, where the lack of space was especially acute, everyone lived in multi-story insulae (the remains of a number of not only well-appointed insulae, but also decorated with frescoes and reliefs, have survived). In other cities where there was enough space for construction (such as Pompeii), the insula was not erected at all, houses with a garden or mansions were built. Hundreds of cities in Rome had aqueducts - water pipes that supplied water to the city. As a rule, aqueducts were monumental structures on arched supports. The longest aqueduct - 132 km - was built under Emperor Hadrian in Carthage. At the same time, houses appeared - lupanaria (brothels) Shapoval G.D. History of tourism. Minsk, IP, "Enoperspective" - 1999, - 216 p..
Some wealthy landowners also built inns on the borders of their properties. They were usually run by slaves who specialized in housekeeping. Those inns and taverns that were located closer to the cities were more often visited by wealthy citizens, and therefore they were maintained by freedmen or retired gladiators who decided to invest their savings in the “restaurant business.” Innkeepers in those days were deprived of many civil rights, including the right to serve in the army, bring cases against someone in court, take an oath, and act as guardians of other people's children. In other words, the moral standards of any person involved in this business were automatically called into question.
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