Courier List
A viewset for viewing and editing Couriers.
GET /api/sc/couriers/?format=api&page=2
{ "count": 410, "next": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/couriers/?format=api&page=3", "previous": "https://seshat-db.com/api/sc/couriers/?format=api", "results": [ { "id": 51, "polity": { "id": 203, "name": "eg_saite", "long_name": "Egypt - Saite Period", "start_year": -664, "end_year": -525 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 52, "polity": { "id": 520, "name": "eg_thebes_hyksos", "long_name": "Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period", "start_year": -1720, "end_year": -1567 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Messengers. §REF§(Bourriau 2003, 199)§REF§" }, { "id": 53, "polity": { "id": 200, "name": "eg_thebes_libyan", "long_name": "Egypt - Thebes-Libyan Period", "start_year": -1069, "end_year": -747 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 54, "polity": { "id": 361, "name": "eg_thulunid_ikhshidid", "long_name": "Egypt - Tulunid-Ikhshidid Period", "start_year": 868, "end_year": 969 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§Silverstein, Adam J. Postal systems in the pre-modern Islamic world p. 77-78,§REF§ Royal couriers carried messages and directives of the court. a 'hamami' was a \"despatcher of carrier pigeons and letters from one town to another\" in Iraq, Egypt and Syria: 9th, 10th 11th CE. §REF§(Shatzmiller 1993, 140) Shatzmiller, Maya. 1994. Labour in the Medieval Islamic World. E. J. BRILL. Leiden.§REF§" }, { "id": 55, "polity": { "id": 84, "name": "es_spanish_emp_1", "long_name": "Spanish Empire I", "start_year": 1516, "end_year": 1715 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " “A regular postal service was set up between Valencia and Madrid in the early sixteenth century, with riders guaranteeing to cover a minimum of ten leagues a day, and if they were paid extra, up to twenty leagues (112 km).” §REF§(Casey 2002, 14) Casey, James. 2002. <i>Early Modern Spain: A Social History</i>. New York: Routledge. <a class=\"external free\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNTRSWT\" rel=\"nofollow\">https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNTRSWT</a>§REF§" }, { "id": 56, "polity": { "id": 208, "name": "et_aksum_emp_1", "long_name": "Axum I", "start_year": -149, "end_year": 349 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " \"the king of kings evidently had at his disposal an armed retinue which in peacetime consisted of his court, but in wartime of his guards (as in fourteenth-century Ethiopia). Apparently, court officials carried out the functions of government, serving, for instance, as envoys.\"§REF§(Kobishanov 1981, 385) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.§REF§" }, { "id": 57, "polity": { "id": 57, "name": "fm_truk_1", "long_name": "Chuuk - Early Truk", "start_year": 1775, "end_year": 1886 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Traditionally, messages were communicated through shell signals rather than couriers: 'A custom destroying marital fidelity in a really systematic fashion is the mosou. That is, on a shell signal all the men must gather in the men’s house, so that their wives are alone at home. Anyone can go to them at night without being punished, since, indeed, his wife too is abandoned.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 106§REF§ 'The chief does all these duties in the kobu[unknown], the public meeting. Men as well as women are invited to this kobu[unknown]. All the participants are called together by the blowing of the large shell from the chief’s house. The kobu[unknown] takes place in the udd, the large men’s house. All the dealings of the tribe are discussed in it, marital matters, land matters, quarrels, in short, all the linen, whether clean or dirty, is spread out before all eyes. Everybody is allowed to talk and present his complaints. Of course there is no lack of amusing scenes too. Sometimes the people become so excited that the parties insult each other, grab each other, and come to blows, so that the meeting has to be dissolved.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126§REF§ 'It is said of the old chiefs that they always had the blow shell beside them. When the puk, puk of the shell resounded from the chief’s house, the people knew its meaning immediately. They quickly came running in order to /117/ learn the wishes of the tyrant. At one time he would desire kon (pounded breadfruit), at another time fish, then [Page 128] bananas, then coconuts to drink. The chiefs today no longer dare commit these outrages but they still have sufficient means to obtain some things on the side. They announce a dance, for example, or hold an efilul (celebration in connection with house-building, held when the frame is erected). They certainly do not come out short at the feast connected with this. As a matter of fact, most chiefs understand very well how to entice from their people whatever they might like to have.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 127§REF§ 'The risks of nocturnal trysts are increased by a curfew, instituted under the Japanese to curb such behavior, and continued to the present by the island chiefs. A conch is blown at about nine o’clock by the island policeman or secretary as a signal for all who are not fishing or otherwise legitimately occupied to remain in their houses. Anyone who is seen and recognized thereafter at any distance from his own house is called before the chief and is usually at a loss to explain himself. This does not, however, involve the girl whom he intended to meet or met (unless he has just escaped from the house amid hue and cry and is thus identified), and the worst consequence is usually a few days of enforced labor on the island’s paths, to which little stigma is attached.' §REF§Gladwin, Thomas, and Seymour Bernard Sarason 1953. “Truk: Man In Paradise”, 108§REF§ 'In former times an important item in a chief’s equipment was the conch-shell trumpet ( sewi). It could be blown only by the chief, himself, and was not used except to summon his people to an important meeting on an emergency matter. Nowadays the conch is used to call the people to routine meetings, to community work, and to Protestant [Page 145] church services. The prohibition against unauthorized persons blowing it has been relaxed.' §REF§Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 144§REF§ Islanders also used special calls when communicating with each other over a longer distance: 'The hearing, like the eyes of the natives, is also acute. They call to one another over long distances and make them-selves understood. The caller puts his hands trumpet-like to his mouth and shouts through them. If the one called has understood, [Page 239] he answers in the same way. When calling, the first syllables are uttered quickly, whereas the latter ones are stressed slowly and strongly.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 238§REF§" }, { "id": 58, "polity": { "id": 58, "name": "fm_truk_2", "long_name": "Chuuk - Late Truk", "start_year": 1886, "end_year": 1948 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Traditionally, messages were communicated through shell signals rather than couriers: 'A custom destroying marital fidelity in a really systematic fashion is the mosou. That is, on a shell signal all the men must gather in the men’s house, so that their wives are alone at home. Anyone can go to them at night without being punished, since, indeed, his wife too is abandoned.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 106§REF§ 'The chief does all these duties in the kobu[unknown], the public meeting. Men as well as women are invited to this kobu[unknown]. All the participants are called together by the blowing of the large shell from the chief’s house. The kobu[unknown] takes place in the udd, the large men’s house. All the dealings of the tribe are discussed in it, marital matters, land matters, quarrels, in short, all the linen, whether clean or dirty, is spread out before all eyes. Everybody is allowed to talk and present his complaints. Of course there is no lack of amusing scenes too. Sometimes the people become so excited that the parties insult each other, grab each other, and come to blows, so that the meeting has to be dissolved.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 126§REF§ 'It is said of the old chiefs that they always had the blow shell beside them. When the puk, puk of the shell resounded from the chief’s house, the people knew its meaning immediately. They quickly came running in order to /117/ learn the wishes of the tyrant. At one time he would desire kon (pounded breadfruit), at another time fish, then [Page 128] bananas, then coconuts to drink. The chiefs today no longer dare commit these outrages but they still have sufficient means to obtain some things on the side. They announce a dance, for example, or hold an efilul (celebration in connection with house-building, held when the frame is erected). They certainly do not come out short at the feast connected with this. As a matter of fact, most chiefs understand very well how to entice from their people whatever they might like to have.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 127§REF§ 'The risks of nocturnal trysts are increased by a curfew, instituted under the Japanese to curb such behavior, and continued to the present by the island chiefs. A conch is blown at about nine o’clock by the island policeman or secretary as a signal for all who are not fishing or otherwise legitimately occupied to remain in their houses. Anyone who is seen and recognized thereafter at any distance from his own house is called before the chief and is usually at a loss to explain himself. This does not, however, involve the girl whom he intended to meet or met (unless he has just escaped from the house amid hue and cry and is thus identified), and the worst consequence is usually a few days of enforced labor on the island’s paths, to which little stigma is attached.' §REF§Gladwin, Thomas, and Seymour Bernard Sarason 1953. “Truk: Man In Paradise”, 108§REF§ 'In former times an important item in a chief’s equipment was the conch-shell trumpet ( sewi). It could be blown only by the chief, himself, and was not used except to summon his people to an important meeting on an emergency matter. Nowadays the conch is used to call the people to routine meetings, to community work, and to Protestant [Page 145] church services. The prohibition against unauthorized persons blowing it has been relaxed.' §REF§Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 144§REF§ Islanders also used special calls when communicating with each other over a larger distance: 'The hearing, like the eyes of the natives, is also acute. They call to one another over long distances and make them-selves understood. The caller puts his hands trumpet-like to his mouth and shouts through them. If the one called has understood, [Page 239] he answers in the same way. When calling, the first syllables are uttered quickly, whereas the latter ones are stressed slowly and strongly.' §REF§Bollig, Laurentius 1927. “Inhabitants Of The Truk Islands: Religion, Life And A Short Grammar Of A Micronesian People”, 238§REF§" }, { "id": 59, "polity": { "id": 448, "name": "fr_atlantic_complex", "long_name": "Atlantic Complex", "start_year": -2200, "end_year": -1000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " No information found in sources so far." }, { "id": 60, "polity": { "id": 447, "name": "fr_beaker_eba", "long_name": "Beaker Culture", "start_year": -3200, "end_year": -2000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 61, "polity": { "id": 460, "name": "fr_bourbon_k_1", "long_name": "French Kingdom - Early Bourbon", "start_year": 1589, "end_year": 1660 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": "§REF§(<a class=\"external free\" href=\"http://www.ladressemuseedelaposte.fr/La-Poste-en-quelques-dates\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.ladressemuseedelaposte.fr/La-Poste-en-quelques-dates</a>)§REF§" }, { "id": 62, "polity": { "id": 461, "name": "fr_bourbon_k_2", "long_name": "French Kingdom - Late Bourbon", "start_year": 1660, "end_year": 1815 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " §REF§(Ladurie 1991, 241)§REF§" }, { "id": 63, "polity": { "id": 457, "name": "fr_capetian_k_1", "long_name": "Proto-French Kingdom", "start_year": 987, "end_year": 1150 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Foot messengers and couriers.§REF§(Boyer 1995, 1748-1751)§REF§" }, { "id": 64, "polity": { "id": 458, "name": "fr_capetian_k_2", "long_name": "French Kingdom - Late Capetian", "start_year": 1150, "end_year": 1328 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Foot messengers and couriers.§REF§(Boyer 1995, 1748-1751)§REF§ End of 13th century there were \"specialised carriers\" of goods from Italian merchants in Italy. They could deliver spices directly to Paris. This by-passed and helped lead to the demise of the International Fairs. §REF§(Spufford 2006, 148)§REF§" }, { "id": 65, "polity": { "id": 309, "name": "fr_carolingian_emp_1", "long_name": "Carolingian Empire I", "start_year": 752, "end_year": 840 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Likely only for the wealthy." }, { "id": 66, "polity": { "id": 311, "name": "fr_carolingian_emp_2", "long_name": "Carolingian Empire II", "start_year": 840, "end_year": 987 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " but only for the wealthy." }, { "id": 67, "polity": { "id": 449, "name": "fr_hallstatt_a_b1", "long_name": "Hallstatt A-B1", "start_year": -1000, "end_year": -900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 68, "polity": { "id": 450, "name": "fr_hallstatt_b2_3", "long_name": "Hallstatt B2-3", "start_year": -900, "end_year": -700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " Is it reasonable to infer from the warrior society the presence of messengers?" }, { "id": 69, "polity": { "id": 451, "name": "fr_hallstatt_c", "long_name": "Hallstatt C", "start_year": -700, "end_year": -600 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " Not implausible, but not mentioned by sources." }, { "id": 70, "polity": { "id": 452, "name": "fr_hallstatt_d", "long_name": "Hallstatt D", "start_year": -600, "end_year": -475 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " Not implausible, but not mentioned by sources." }, { "id": 71, "polity": { "id": 304, "name": "fr_merovingian_emp_1", "long_name": "Early Merovingian", "start_year": 481, "end_year": 543 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 72, "polity": { "id": 456, "name": "fr_merovingian_emp_3", "long_name": "Proto-Carolingian", "start_year": 687, "end_year": 751 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 73, "polity": { "id": 306, "name": "fr_merovingian_emp_2", "long_name": "Middle Merovingian", "start_year": 543, "end_year": 687 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 74, "polity": { "id": 453, "name": "fr_la_tene_a_b1", "long_name": "La Tene A-B1", "start_year": -475, "end_year": -325 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " Not implausible, but not mentioned by sources." }, { "id": 75, "polity": { "id": 454, "name": "fr_la_tene_b2_c1", "long_name": "La Tene B2-C1", "start_year": -325, "end_year": -175 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Level of development high enough to mint coins, likely high enough for full-time messengers." }, { "id": 76, "polity": { "id": 455, "name": "fr_la_tene_c2_d", "long_name": "La Tene C2-D", "start_year": -175, "end_year": -27 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Level of development high enough to mint coins, likely high enough for full-time messengers." }, { "id": 77, "polity": { "id": 333, "name": "fr_valois_k_1", "long_name": "French Kingdom - Early Valois", "start_year": 1328, "end_year": 1450 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " End of 13th century there were \"specialised carriers\" of goods from Italian merchants in Italy. They could deliver spices directly to Paris. This by-passed and helped lead to the demise of the International Fairs. §REF§(Spufford 2006, 148)§REF§" }, { "id": 78, "polity": { "id": 459, "name": "fr_valois_k_2", "long_name": "French Kingdom - Late Valois", "start_year": 1450, "end_year": 1589 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 79, "polity": null, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " This reference concerns possessions in South Africa: \"...by horses and, in the 'twenties, by postcarts: a weekly postal service was set up in 1834. In 1852 there was a daily service from Cape Town to Paarl and Stellenbosh, thrice weekly to Grahamstown and twice weekly to the Karoo. The postcart also conveyed passengers. Following the issue of the famous three-cornered Capes in 1853, a penny post was established in limited areas in 1860 and four years later it was possible to extend it to the whole Colony. But, despite better roads, the ox-waggon remained the commercial vehicle and was still in use a century later.\"§REF§(? 1963, 795) ? in Eric A Walker. ed. 1963. The Cambridge History of the British Empire. Volume III. South Africa, Rhodesia and The High Commission Territories. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.§REF§" }, { "id": 80, "polity": { "id": 113, "name": "gh_akan", "long_name": "Akan - Pre-Ashanti", "start_year": 1501, "end_year": 1701 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " Sarbah describe the use of messengers: 'Where it is decided to contest the claim, the plaintiff with the court fee seeks the court linguist, and tells him his plaint for the information of the ruler and his council. Thereupon a messenger is sent to the defendant and the head of his family (if known) to summon him to the trial, telling him the plaint and requesting him to bring his witnesses at the trial, the date of which is given him. In some districts, for example Akim, the messenger is sent only to the headman of defendant's family, and not to himself; if the headman is not found, it seems the Odzikuro of the village or some inmate of the family abode should be informed; the date for appearance is not fixed, but the defendant has to appear with reasonable despatch. In former days, a person failing to appear and unable to give a reasonable excuse for his absence was guilty of contempt, and fined, in addition to being brought by force. No case is heard in default of appearance; an opportunity is given to every defendant, and no one is to be condemned unheard.' §REF§Sarbah, John Mensah 1968. “Fanti National Constitution: A Short Treatise On The Constitution And Government Of The Fanti, Asanti, And Other Akan Tribes Of West Africa Together With A Brief Account Of The Discovery Of The Gold Coast By Portuguese Navigators, A Short Narration Of Early English Voyages, And A Study Of The Rise Of British Gold Coast Jurisdiction, Etc., Etc.”, 35§REF§ 'An Ohene, or man of rank, coming to a town, ought to send messengers in advance to announce the time of his arrival, in order that the people may receive him with the customary honour due to his rank. Likewise, where such a person or some armed men intend to pass through a town, must timely notice be given to the head ruler of the town, and to the headman of the particular quarter where [Page 49] they will pass. Armed men are not allowed to enter a town without permission first had and obtained. The order of precedence is that the lower grade or inferiors go in front of the superior, who is always surrounded by his personal retinue, and arrives last.' §REF§Sarbah, John Mensah 1968. “Fanti National Constitution: A Short Treatise On The Constitution And Government Of The Fanti, Asanti, And Other Akan Tribes Of West Africa Together With A Brief Account Of The Discovery Of The Gold Coast By Portuguese Navigators, A Short Narration Of Early English Voyages, And A Study Of The Rise Of British Gold Coast Jurisdiction, Etc., Etc.”, 48p§REF§ He does not clarify whether these were 'specialists' in the strict sense of the term. We have assumed this to be the case, given the use of couriers in the Ashanti period. This is open to re-evaluation." }, { "id": 81, "polity": { "id": 114, "name": "gh_ashanti_emp", "long_name": "Ashanti Empire", "start_year": 1701, "end_year": 1895 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "present", "comment": null, "description": " 'Couriers carried both verbal messages, which they were trained to memorize, and written communications. They also served as guides to missions and embassies travelling to or from the capital. In each and every capacity, however, they were required to have a knowledge of the roads and of the distances from one place to another. This was their nkontaabuo.' §REF§Wilks, Ivor 1993. “Forests Of Gold: Essays On The Akan And The Kingdom Of Asante”, 195§REF§ '[The afenasoafo] were expected to adhere to firm travelling schedules. Couriers to Elmina in 1816, for example, were sworn on oath to arrive there within nine or ten days. In 1817 it took almost two hours to brief couriers bound for Cape Coast. ‘Nine days’, reported Bowdich, who was present on the occasion, ‘are allowed for the journey to Cape Coast, and nine for the return.’ Half a century later little had changed. When a mission was despatched to Cape Coast in 1872, it was reported that the Asantehene ‘fixed the ambassadors 20 days to and fro’. It was, then, the regulated movement of couriers along the roads, rather than that of soldiers or traders, which provided the Asante with a notion of a standard speed. The business of a soldier was fighting, and of a trader, trading, but the business of a courier was, in a very real sense, travelling.' §REF§Wilks, Ivor 1992. “On Mentally Mapping Greater Asante: A Study Of Time And Motion”, 179§REF§" }, { "id": 82, "polity": { "id": 67, "name": "gr_crete_archaic", "long_name": "Archaic Crete", "start_year": -710, "end_year": -500 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 83, "polity": { "id": 68, "name": "gr_crete_classical", "long_name": "Classical Crete", "start_year": -500, "end_year": -323 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 84, "polity": { "id": 74, "name": "gr_crete_emirate", "long_name": "The Emirate of Crete", "start_year": 824, "end_year": 961 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 85, "polity": { "id": 65, "name": "gr_crete_post_palace_2", "long_name": "Final Postpalatial Crete", "start_year": -1200, "end_year": -1000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 86, "polity": { "id": 66, "name": "gr_crete_geometric", "long_name": "Geometric Crete", "start_year": -1000, "end_year": -710 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 87, "polity": { "id": 69, "name": "gr_crete_hellenistic", "long_name": "Hellenistic Crete", "start_year": -323, "end_year": -69 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 88, "polity": { "id": 63, "name": "gr_crete_mono_palace", "long_name": "Monopalatial Crete", "start_year": -1450, "end_year": -1300 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 89, "polity": { "id": 59, "name": "gr_crete_nl", "long_name": "Neolithic Crete", "start_year": -7000, "end_year": -3000 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 90, "polity": { "id": 62, "name": "gr_crete_new_palace", "long_name": "New Palace Crete", "start_year": -1700, "end_year": -1450 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 91, "polity": { "id": 61, "name": "gr_crete_old_palace", "long_name": "Old Palace Crete", "start_year": -1900, "end_year": -1700 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 92, "polity": { "id": 64, "name": "gr_crete_post_palace_1", "long_name": "Postpalatial Crete", "start_year": -1300, "end_year": -1200 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 93, "polity": { "id": 60, "name": "gr_crete_pre_palace", "long_name": "Prepalatial Crete", "start_year": -3000, "end_year": -1900 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 94, "polity": { "id": 17, "name": "us_hawaii_1", "long_name": "Hawaii I", "start_year": 1000, "end_year": 1200 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 95, "polity": { "id": 18, "name": "us_hawaii_2", "long_name": "Hawaii II", "start_year": 1200, "end_year": 1580 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "IFR", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": null }, { "id": 96, "polity": { "id": 19, "name": "us_hawaii_3", "long_name": "Hawaii III", "start_year": 1580, "end_year": 1778 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " Chiefs had retainers who would carry messages quickly through the chiefdom§REF§Kirch, P. V. 1985. Feathered Gods and Fishhooks: An Introduction to Hawaiian Archaeology and Prehistory. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Pg. 266.§REF§, but they do not appear to have been full-time." }, { "id": 97, "polity": { "id": 153, "name": "id_iban_1", "long_name": "Iban - Pre-Brooke", "start_year": 1650, "end_year": 1841 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " 'In ancient times, when a warleader wanted to lead his people in war, he usually sent an urgent temuku tali (“string with knots”) to call together his warriors. Attached to each string was a chicken's feather and small piece of half-burnt wood. The meaning of these articles was that the message carried by the string must be transmitted in a great hurry and quickly relayed from one longhouse to another day and night, till it reached its final destination. Feathers are said to symbolize the swiftness of flight and the half-burnt wood, the torches to be used at night in carrying the message from one longhouse to another. The message itself was transmitted verbally. Each knot in the string signified one day and had to be untied each morning by the recipients. On the day when the last knot was untied, all the warriors who had armed themselves would arrive at the warleader's longhouse to join the war expedition.' §REF§Sandin, Benedict, and Clifford Sather 1980. “Iban Adat And Augury”, 4§REF§ These messages were not transmitted by professional couriers, but by regular community members. 'The other method used by ancient warleaders to summon their warriors was to send their most trusted warrior from one longhouse to another, with a sharp spear ( sangkoh ) heavily decorated with the hair of enemies. On arrival at each fighting man's longhouse, the bearer of the spear informed his comrades-in-arms that they were requested to join the warpath on a certain day. On receiving this message, each warrior started to arm himself with weapons such as nyabor, langgai tingang, surong bila, ilang and pedang swords; terabai (shield), sumpit (blowpipe), sangkoh, bujak, perambut and berayang spears. A day or two before the war party was due to set out, all the fighters assembled at the warleader's longhouse, sufficiently provisioned by their wives with rice and cakes. These methods of calling people to war ended in about 1900.' §REF§Sandin, Benedict, and Clifford Sather 1980. “Iban Adat And Augury”, 5§REF§ The same is true for invitations sent out to other longhouse communities on the occasion of festivals." }, { "id": 98, "polity": { "id": 154, "name": "id_iban_2", "long_name": "Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial", "start_year": 1841, "end_year": 1987 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "TRS", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "absent", "comment": null, "description": " 'In ancient times, when a warleader wanted to lead his people in war, he usually sent an urgent temuku tali (“string with knots”) to call together his warriors. Attached to each string was a chicken's feather and small piece of half-burnt wood. The meaning of these articles was that the message carried by the string must be transmitted in a great hurry and quickly relayed from one longhouse to another day and night, till it reached its final destination. Feathers are said to symbolize the swiftness of flight and the half-burnt wood, the torches to be used at night in carrying the message from one longhouse to another. The message itself was transmitted verbally. Each knot in the string signified one day and had to be untied each morning by the recipients. On the day when the last knot was untied, all the warriors who had armed themselves would arrive at the warleader's longhouse to join the war expedition.' §REF§Sandin, Benedict, and Clifford Sather 1980. “Iban Adat And Augury”, 4§REF§ These messages were not transmitted by professional couriers, but by regular community members. 'The other method used by ancient warleaders to summon their warriors was to send their most trusted warrior from one longhouse to another, with a sharp spear ( sangkoh ) heavily decorated with the hair of enemies. On arrival at each fighting man's longhouse, the bearer of the spear informed his comrades-in-arms that they were requested to join the warpath on a certain day. On receiving this message, each warrior started to arm himself with weapons such as nyabor, langgai tingang, surong bila, ilang and pedang swords; terabai (shield), sumpit (blowpipe), sangkoh, bujak, perambut and berayang spears. A day or two before the war party was due to set out, all the fighters assembled at the warleader's longhouse, sufficiently provisioned by their wives with rice and cakes. These methods of calling people to war ended in about 1900.' §REF§Sandin, Benedict, and Clifford Sather 1980. “Iban Adat And Augury”, 5§REF§ The same is true for invitations sent out to other longhouse communities on the occasion of festivals." }, { "id": 99, "polity": { "id": 50, "name": "id_majapahit_k", "long_name": "Majapahit Kingdom", "start_year": 1292, "end_year": 1518 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " King known to have employed state officials§REF§(Hall 1994, 104)§REF§ but this is not direct evidence for specialist couriers." }, { "id": 100, "polity": { "id": 51, "name": "id_mataram_k", "long_name": "Mataram Sultanate", "start_year": 1568, "end_year": 1755 }, "year_from": null, "year_to": null, "tag": "SSP", "is_disputed": false, "is_uncertain": false, "name": "Courier", "courier": "unknown", "comment": null, "description": " The state had paid officials§REF§(Moertono 2009, 15)§REF§ but no specific details on whether specialist messengers existed." } ] }