Delivery of Messages in Ancient Times

Rulers and military commanders realized the importance of the fast and safe delivery of messages. They took great care, therefore, to organise an efficient body of messengers. In times of war, when the leader had to leave his capital, it became especially important for him to have accurate information and to be able to rule and direct through written instructions. The first ‘mail’ routes therefore came into existence.

In ancient China, a mail route of about one thousand miles existed along the Yangtze-Kiang River. The runners carried a little bell around their neck so that people could be warned of their approach. They were called ‘tshien-fu’, strong men, and they were able to cover up to seventy miles a day. Letters were transported along the Chinese rivers on boats and junks, too. To keep the letters dry, they were wrapped in oiled paper.

When Semiramis, the legendary queen of Assyria who built the famous ‘Hanging Gardens’, undertook her expedition into distant India with three million infantrymen, five hundred thousand soldiers on horseback and one hundred thousand chariots, she organised a very reliable courier service which ensured her communication with the Assyrian Empire.

An excellent courier service was established some five thousand years ago in ancient Egypt. In the course of excavations, drawings were discovered showing a messenger handing a letter to the Pharaoh. Instructions for the services of messengers survived and even lists of their names.

The best courier service in America was built up by the Aztecs. The Spanish conquistadors found out during their campaign against Montezuma in Mexico, that this ruler had a special group of runners who were attached to military units. Their task was to inform the Emperor as quickly as possible of the result of every battle and of all important events.

The delivery of messages, mostly oral, was not the only duty of Montezuma’s runners. They also carried for the Emperor’s table fruit, fish and other delicacies from the most remote corners of his land. The runners adapted their behaviour according to the kind of message they were carrying. When they brought news of a victorious battle, their hair was tied with red ribbons; they wore a white scarf around their waist, while in the left hand they carried a shield, and a sword in the right hand. When the messenger brought news of a lost battle, his hair was dishevelled, he never said a word to anyone on his way, but proceeded to the Emperor to kneel before him to deliver the bad news.