Communication is key for most aspects of human life, from the relationships we share with others to the governance of modern states. This is as true today as it was in the ancient world, so it comes as no surprise that a standardized method for relaying communications—a postal system—developed in some of the world’s earliest civilizations, including Egypt and China. Indeed, during the Persian Achaemenid Empire (sixth–fourth centuries BCE), government administrators established the first post offices. These buildings were intended as waystations for messengers to pick up or drop off missives and as relay points for the system’s messengers and […]
