Angarum was the name of the royal riding post in the
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:๐ง๐๐๐ถ, ๐ง๐๐, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
during the
Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:๐ง๐๐๐ถ, ๐ง๐๐, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
period. In book 8, paragraph 98 of The Persian Wars, the historian
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
talks about the couriers: "Nothing mortal travels so fast as these
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
messengers. The entire plan is a Persian invention; and this is the method of it. Along the whole line of road there are men (they say) stationed with horses, in number equal to the number of days which the journey takes, allowing a man and horse to each day; and these men will not be hindered from accomplishing at their best speed the distance which they have to go, either by snow, rain, heat, or by the darkness of night. The first rider delivers his despatch to the second and the second passes it to the third; and so it is borne from hand to hand along the whole line, like the light in the torch-race, which the Greeks celebrate to Vulcan. The Persians give the riding post in this manner, the name of ''Angarum''." (The angarum were called ''pirradazish'' by the
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
.)
See also
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Chapar Khaneh
''Chapar Khaneh'' ( fa, ฺุงูพุงุฑุฎุงูู, , ) is the Persian-language term that refers to the postal service system used throughout the Achaemenid Empire. It was created by Cyrus the Great and later developed by Darius the Great as the royal ...
*
Royal Road
The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the first (Achaemenid) Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western ...
*
Angaria (Roman law)
Angaria (Latin; grc-gre, แผฮณฮณฮฑฯฮตฮฏฮฑ, ''angareรญa'') was a sort of postal system adopted by the Roman imperial government from the ancient Persians. According to Xenophon, cites ''Cyrop''. VIII. 6; Cf. Herodotus VIII. 98. the Persian syste ...
*
Angarium
The Angarium (Latin; from Greek ) was the institution of the royal mounted couriers in ancient Persia. The messengers, called (), alternated in stations that had a day's ride distance along the Royal Road. The riders were exclusively in the servi ...
References
Postal history
Achaemenid Empire
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