Section: Social Complexity

Subsection: Postal sytems

Postal Station

postal stations are specialized buildings exclusively devoted to the postal service. if there is a special building that has other functions than a postal station, we still code postal station as present. the intent is to capture additional infrastructure beyond having a corps of messengers. (See here)

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Variable	Definition
Polity	The Seshat Polity ID
Year(s)	The years for which we have the data. [negative = BCE]
Tag	[Evidenced, Disputed, Suspected, Inferred, Unknown]
Verified	A Seshat Expert has approved this piece of data.

Variable	Definition
postal_station	The absence or presence of postal station for a polity.

Actual Data:

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#	Polity	Year(s)	Postal Station	Description	Edit
1	(Portuguese Empire - Renaissance Period)	1495 CE 1519 CE	absent	EMPTY_COMMENT
2	(Portuguese Empire - Renaissance Period)	1520 CE 1579 CE	present	In the original 1520 royal letter that established the Portuguese postal service, "foi explicitada a necessidade de ordem régia específica para se estabelecerem os locais das estações necessárias ao funcionamento do serviço". Translation: the letter "clarified that a specific royal order would be required for the establishment of each of the stations necessary for the service to function". [Valle_Salvino 2018]
3	(Spanish Empire II)	1716 CE 1814 CE	present	None
4	(Ottoman Empire IV)	1840 CE 1922 CE	present	The Ministry of the Post was established on 23 October 1840. Its duty was to provide postal services for private individuals as well as the government and the first road link went from Istanbul to Edirne. [webpage_Postal service among the Ottomans...]
5	(Soviet Union)	1923 CE 1991 CE	present	None
6	(Eastern Zhou)	Full Year Range of Eastern Zhou is assumed. [-475, -256]	present	None
7	(French Kingdom - Late Capetian)	Full Year Range of French Kingdom - Late Capetian is assumed. [1150, 1328]	absent	None
8	(Grand Principality of Moscow, Rurikid Dynasty)	Full Year Range of Grand Principality of Moscow, Rurikid Dynasty is assumed. [1480, 1613]	absent	EMPTY_COMMENT
9	(Southern Song)	Full Year Range of Southern Song is assumed. [1127, 1279]	absent	"The creation of a system of relay postal stations has been credited to Chinngis Khan, but was most effectively employed by Chinngis Khan's successor Ogodei." [Avery 2003, p. 40]
10	(Portuguese Empire - Early Modern)	Full Year Range of Portuguese Empire - Early Modern is assumed. [1640, 1806]	present	In the original 1520 royal letter that established the Portuguese postal service, "foi explicitada a necessidade de ordem régia específica para se estabelecerem os locais das estações necessárias ao funcionamento do serviço". Translation: the letter "clarified that a specific royal order would be required for the establishment of each of the stations necessary for the service to function". [Valle_Salvino 2018]

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