Detail map of Xicheng Qu, Beijing Shi, China,Tsentralnyy administrativnyy okrug, Moskva, Russia,Өндөрхаан / Undurkhaan, Khentii, Mongolia

A: Xicheng Qu, Beijing Shi, China, B: Tsentralnyy administrativnyy okrug, Moskva, Russia, C: Өндөрхаан / Undurkhaan, Khentii, Mongolia

Genghis Kahn Installs a Postal System within the Mongol Empire and China

Circa 1200
"Genghis Khan as portrayed in a 14th-century Yuan era album; now located in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. The original version was in black and white." (Wikipedia)

"Genghis Khan as portrayed in a 14th-century Yuan era album; now located in the National Palace MuseumTaipei, Taiwan. The original version was in black and white." (Wikipedia)

About 1200 the Genghis KhanGreat Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, installed an empire-wide messenger and postal station system named Örtöö within the Mongol Empire. During the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, this system also covered the territory of China. Postal stations were used not only for the transmission and delivery of official mail, but were also available for traveling officials, military men, and foreign dignitaries. These stations aided and facilitated the transport of foreign and domestic tribute, and trade in general. 

By the end of Kublai Khan's rule there were more than 1,400 postal stations in China alone, which in turn had at their disposal about 50,000 horses, 1,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 400 carts, 6,000 boats, over 200 dogs and 1,150 sheep. The postal stations were 15 to 40 miles apart, and had reliable attendants. Couriers reaching postal stations would be provided food, shelter and spare horses. It was estimated that couriers could travel 20-30 miles per day. Foreign observers, such as Marco Polo attested to the efficiency of this early postal system.

These statistics were taken from a Wikipedia article. An Excerpt 
from
 The 
Book
 of 
Ser
 Marco
 Polo: The 
Venetian 
Concerning 
Kingdoms
 and 
Marvels
 of 
the 
East. Volume
1,
 translated
 and edited
 by 
Colonel
 Sir
Henry
 Yule (London:
 John
  Murray,
1903) available online at http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/figures/ser_xxvi.pdf contains additional and different details.

 

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