The speed of the Roman Imperial post
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9319065 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A M Ramsay (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1925 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 60-74 |
| Publication date | 1925-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Roman Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0075-4358 • E-ISSN: 1753-528X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/295601 |
| OpenAlex | W1969629384 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 35 |
In attempting to estimate the rate of the Imperial Post in the first two centuries, two points must be borne in mind. The first of these is that the object chiefly aimed at was not speed, but the certainty of arrival within a reasonable and calculable time. It was as an instrument of government, and a means of centralising the administration of the Empire, that Augustus instituted the Imperial Post. This is clear enough from the whole scheme of his administrative system, and is accepted by ancient writers generally, though expressed most clearly by Procopius, in the period when the Byzantine government had demonstrated the full use which might be made of the institution. ‘The earlier Emperors, in order to obtain information as quickly as possible regarding the movements of the enemy in any quarter, sedition or unforeseen accidents in individual cities, and the actions of the governors or other persons in all parts of the Empire, and also in order that the annual tributes might be sent up without danger or delay, had established a rapid service of public couriers throughout their dominions according to the following system. As a day's journey for an active man they fixed eight ‘stages,’ or sometimes fewer, but as a general rule not less than five. In every stage there were forty horses and a number of grooms in proportion. The couriers appointed for the work, by making use of relays of excellent horses, when engaged in the duties I have mentioned, often covered in a single day, by this means, as great a distance as they would otherwise have covered in ten.’
Administration (probate law · Adversary · Ancient history · Archaeology · Business · Byzantine architecture · Certainty · Computer security · Empire · Government (linguistics · Institution · Order (exchange · Political science · Quarter (Canadian coin · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Computer Science · History · Law · Philosophy
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| Unique citing works | 35 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 1920 - 2024 (105) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 35 |