Decoration of hats of postal couriers of ancient Rome. The mark of a criminal: from Ancient Rome to the present day. Gladiatorial fights did not come from ancient Rome.

1. Some hundred years ago, delivery of parcels and letters across Russia was considered very fast, if it did not exceed six months. In the old days, royal messengers could pay own life for bad news, and therefore the work of a courier in those days was not only difficult, but also dangerous.
2. IN Ancient civilization The Incas managed to keep a vast territory under unified control thanks to excellent roads with a well-functioning courier service. The Ina roads were intended for pedestrians and llama caravans; there were distance indicators every 7.2 km, and after 19-29 km there were rest stations for travelers. In addition, courier stations were located every 2.5 km. Couriers (chaskis) transmitted news and orders by relay, and thus information was transmitted over 2000 km in 5 days.
3. In the Ancient Roman Empire, thanks to courier delivery, residents of the country could receive up-to-date information about events political life, litigation, scandals, military campaigns and executions. Being an imperial courier was very honorable, and this activity was quite well paid.
4. IN Ancient China The practice was to issue special news sheets, which were then delivered through couriers to various regions of the country. It can be said that courier delivery has been an important part of the public administration system for many centuries.
5. IN Ancient Egypt The most famous courier was Phillipides, who, according to legend, in 490 BC. brought the message of victory at the Battle of Marathon to Athens. After running about 40 km, he died from exhaustion, but became the founder of marathon running.
6. In the 13th century, the first special service for sending written messages, the so-called Yamskaya Gonba, was organized in Russia - a distinctive Russian institution that existed until the second half of the 19th century.
7. In the 16th century, to record correspondence and increase the personal responsibility of messengers for its safety, special marks began to be made on originals or copies of documents. In the 17th century, these notes became more detailed and contained, in addition to the surname and name of the messenger, the year, month and day of delivery of the correspondence.
8. In 1665, postal and courier routes were organized from Moscow to Riga and in 1669 to Vilnius, which made it possible to exchange correspondence, including private ones, with foreign countries.
9. In Russia, the courier postal service appeared in the 17th century; on November 17, 1710, Peter I signed a decree establishing a special courier route from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which was the prototype of the military field courier service approved by the Decree of Peter I of March 30, 1716.
10. In 1783, uniform tariffs for sending correspondence were introduced in Russia for the first time, depending on its weight and distance.
11. Since 1837, postal and courier items began to be transported by rail in Russia. Russia is one of the first countries to organize such transportation.
12. By the beginning of the 19th century, there were about 460 postal and courier institutions in Russia, where 5 thousand couriers regularly served.
13. In America, the first courier services began to be provided in 1907 by the American company UPS. This company was engaged in flower delivery, postal items and small cargo.
14. In 1946, Ken Thomas founded the TNT shipping company. He placed the main emphasis on the implementation of regular communication between cities. And he brought his innovations: all clients who wanted to make sure the delivery was successful were now given a special certificate signed by the recipient.
15. In 1969, air delivery first appeared, which made it possible to

The etymological roots of the word “courier” should be sought in Poland late XVII century, where kurier first came into use, but the lexical unit itself is, rather, French ( courrier) or Latin (curro - “run”) origin. However, it is worth recognizing that the very fact of moving messages and cargo has existed ever since settlements remote from each other began to be built. Due to the need to exchange information in peacetime (and especially in wartime) messengers and messengers very quickly appeared and were sent on errands.

The oldest way to travel is on foot, and the history of courier delivery as a phenomenon began with it. Long before the ancient Egyptian civilization, approximately 3 thousand years BC, the legendary Semiramis conveyed her will with messengers before traveling to India.

Job foot courier was full not only of difficulties, but also of many dangers, since during his service he managed to visit not only various parts of his native state, but also foreign lands. The men understood the full responsibility of the position, so they bequeathed property to their families in advance and gave instructions in which they often noted the work of the messenger as an undesirable example to follow - “become whoever you want, but not them.”

What were the main missions of ancient couriers? First of all, this is the connection of troops: detachments located at a great distance from each other had to regularly learn the news, otherwise it was not possible to act together.

The most famous messengers, mentioned in ancient literature, are the Greeks. Hemerodromes, as they were then called, received orders and moved between cities. Basically, they were in the service of the government, and they were described only as delivering news as quickly as possible. The young men who went to the hemerodromes moved very quickly and lightly - they did not take weapons on the road except a bow, arrows and slings, so as not to lose speed under the weight of the ammunition.

The most famous couriers of ancient times are Philonides, who served Alexander the Great and covered 90 km in 9 hours, and Phillipides, who brought the good news of the victory at Marathon to Athens, but, alas, died from exhaustion.

During times ancient Rome foot couriers were also popular. They received the name cursorius (that is, fast-running) or tabelarii (in Latin “table” - tablet) - depending on the functions they performed. As a rule, they were located at the courts of wealthy patricians or were in public service, but they were forbidden to take correspondence and things for transfer from private individuals. Often the prohibition was violated, and the messengers were punished, although, however, this was a common thing for them: they recruited cursorii from among freedmen or slaves.

The tablearii, which were supported by the ruling elite, tried to increase their material wealth. So, for example, one day they asked Vespasian for a little more money for shoes, but he refused them any money at all. Messengers began to dress richly only with the advent of the next emperor, who allowed them to wear feathers on their headdress. Subsequently, peculiar wings appeared on their shoulders - a sign of the speed of delivery.

It is known that in ancient times there was such a phenomenon as messenger relay. So, on the outskirts of the villages there were tents, in which messengers waited their turn to set off. Each one had a stick with bells, by the ringing of which the population of the next village recognized the messenger and prepared to meet him. There, the previous messenger was replaced by the next one - with the same “ringing” stick. Couriers not only traveled by land, they sometimes had to swim, and were given special belts to cross.

Interestingly, the Incas and Aztecs also used courier services, and the most important cargo that was delivered throughout Mexico and Peru was fresh fish to the table of the ruling person. In these countries, couriers were called by the mysterious word “chaski”.

Chinese courier mail originated in the Zhou dynasty, with both pedestrian messengers and those on horseback. During the Tang Dynasty, a hierarchy could already be observed in the ranks of postmen: the head of state personally appointed postmaster generals. As a result, imperial orders were transmitted with lightning speed. Engravings from those years depict couriers on the road with wide umbrellas at the ready.

Foot mail passed from ancient times to feudal times, proving to be a reliable way to move documents and things. City, monastery and university messengers were supported by managers and wore a special uniform with a badge, which was a kind of distinctive sign.

Meanwhile, in countries such as India and China, foot messengers gave way to mounted ones. Slaves built new roads, and letters and parcels were now delivered across the land to the most secluded and distant corners. Thus, the reign of Emperor Octavian is directly associated with the strengthening of equestrian courier associations.

The year 1464 was significant for Europe, hungry for postal connections: by order of Louis XI, a state post office with couriers was established.

Mounted messengers were also common in England at that time, but they carried out only royal commissions. Under Edward I, postal stations began to be organized where horses could be hired.

The work of courier lines was improved largely due to the fact that they punished people for being late very severely. So, for example, a messenger could be hanged for failure to fulfill his duties on time.

In the Middle Ages in Germany, the main courier lines were maintained by the Hanseatic League. Continuous communication was maintained with cities such as Venice, Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam. It is interesting that butchers also became couriers, who had to travel many hundreds of kilometers to purchase raw materials. It was they who signed contracts with the authorities, pledging to hand over the mail. This type of courier services has become very popular in Southern Germany. As soon as the herd drivers (cattle transporters) entered the city, they blew the horn, and people gathered in the square.

Carriage mail, with the help of which it was possible to transport large loads and even people, also from ancient times, when horses and chariots had to be supplied to imperial court commoners, for whom this, by the way, was a heavy duty. In Rus', this type of crossing was called the Yamskaya chase. The postal station, where there were horses that could be needed for transportation at any time, was called a pit. Such an inn usually consisted of a couple of huts and, of course, stables, and the coachman lived there and looked after the household. He was elected from among the peasants or townspeople. The distance between stations could reach from 40 to 100 versts.

At first, horses carried messengers in carts and wagons, which was not entirely convenient, then in the 18th century Viennese carriages and carriages replaced them. In winter, messengers traveled in sledges and carts, but the most famous, perhaps, was the troika, which was later sung by Russian poets.

If we talk about air communications, then its most ancient look- This pigeon mail. For military, as well as peaceful and commercial purposes, many states used these birds as couriers, and this was especially common in Egypt.

During the years 1870-1871, pigeons carried more than one hundred and fifty thousand official dispatches during the Franco-Prussian War. In Paris, special rooms were even created where microletters extracted from capsules on the paws of birds were deciphered. In the twentieth century, pigeons served more peaceful purposes - they delivered fresh correspondence faster than others.

In 1890 it appeared pneumatic mail, in the conditions of which the “post office-exchange” communication was established using pipes and trailers. Speed ​​- 250 thousand per hour. Later, by analogy with pneumatic mail, electric lines began to appear, for example, the London postal underground, the construction of which began in 1916, implied movement through tunnels located 50–80 feet underground. Correspondence was delivered by trains with small carriages that could move in two directions. The automatic control system made it possible to do without conductors.

However, pneumatic mail is not the most interesting way delivery of papers to addressees. Palan and Nadine are islands in Indonesia whose residents still use bottles to send correspondence. Interestingly, every letter sealed in a “capsule” has an address and eventually reaches the person waiting! The secret of accuracy is that the Java Sea has special circular currents, so the bottle floats to its destination, it is caught and delivered to the address. Yes, it’s a little risky, but no one will force you to pay customs duty!

As you can see, at all times a person is looking for the most convenient ways of moving for himself and transporting goods and documents. Within the framework of modern realities, the most reasonable method is courier mail, and how people came to this conclusion, you had the opportunity to read above.

Hello dear readers of the site Sprint-Response. Today we will review the game and also provide the correct answers in the game "Who want to be a millionaire?" for May 13, 2017 (13.05.2017).

The host of the show is in the studio as usual Dmitry Dibrov. And also the participants of the TV game are sitting at the gaming table: Alexey Lysenkov and Vladimir Markin. The players chose a fireproof amount of 200,000 rubles. So let's begin short review games.

1. What do you call a person who performs small, simple tasks?

• uncle on a walker
• aunt on romper
• girl at the fly-out
• errand boy

2.How should a Soviet pioneer respond to the call “Be ready!”?

• "Always ready!"
• "Herding Cows"
• "Who are you?"
• "Ivan Petrov"

3. Where is the heroine of the song performed by Lyubov Uspenskaya going to sit?

• on a bike
• in a convertible
• in a jalopy
• into a starship

4.What can you earn in many games?

• glasses
• pince-nez
• monocles

5. Who sang ditties in the cartoon "The Flying Ship"?

• water
• Koshchei
• goblin
• Granny hedgehogs

Players took the first clue "Help from the Hall" in the fifth question.

6. What predator lives high in the mountains?

• Snow Leopard
• cheetah
• manul

7.In addition to horsepower, what is the power of a car measured in?

• in joules
• in newtons
• in kilowatts
• in lumens

8. What was the nickname of Sir Lancelot, the Knight of the Round Table?

• Ozerny
• River
• Nautical
• Ocean

9. The melody of which song by the bard Sergei Nikitin was recorded by the Paul Mauriat Orchestra?

• "Brich-Mulla"
• "To the music of Vivaldi"
• "Alexandra"
• "Dialogue at the New Year's tree"

10. What decorated the hats of postal couriers in Ancient Rome?

• lightning
• wheel
• wings

The players took the "Right to make mistakes" clue in the tenth question.

11.Which artist's house is one of the most famous museums in Amsterdam?

• Bruegel
• Rembrandt
• Vermeer
• Bosch

The players took the clue “Call a friend” and “50:50” when answering the eleventh question, unfortunately the players still answered incorrectly. Winning 0 rubles.

The place of the players in the studio is taken by grandfather and granddaughter: Vsevolod Shilovsky and his granddaughter Aglaya. The second part of the game begins "Who want to be a millionaire?" dated May 13, 2017. The players chose a fireproof amount of 100,000 rubles.

1. What are animal and plant organisms made of?

• from the enclosures
• from the paddocks
• from cells
• from aquariums

2. How did Ershov describe the Little Humpbacked Horse: “On his back with two humps and...”?

• with square eyes
• with arshin ears
• with branched horns
• with strict legs

3. What is used in acupuncture?

• threads
• needles
• pins
• buttons

4.Which Shakespeare play is the basis for the musical Kiss Me, Kate?

• "The Taming of the Shrew"
• "As You Like It"
• "A dream in a summer night"
• "Storm"

5.What do koalas eat?

• bamboo
• cacti
• cane
• eucalyptus leaves

6. Martial arts Which country is known known as Wushu?

• China
• Korea
• Japan
• Indonesia

7. From which poem by Pushkin did Vladimir Motyl take the title for his film “Star of Captivating Happiness”?

• "Monument"
• "To Chaadaev"
• "Winter morning"
• "I loved you"

When answering the seventh question, players took the clue “Help from the Hall.”

8. What letter does a rugby goal resemble?

In ancient times, and even in the Middle Ages, a messenger (as couriers were called in those days) who delivered a message with bad news was often threatened with death. Such messengers were often executed - remember from Pushkin in “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”: “In anger, he began to perform miracles / And he ordered the messenger to be hanged.” Just 150-200 years ago, delivery times for letters and parcels even within one country like Russia could be measured in years. If the letter was in transit for less than 6 months, it was considered that it arrived very quickly.

Today, the courier service in Russia is well established top level and among all others, parcel delivery in St. Petersburg “Express Tochka Ru” stands out - this company has proven itself at the highest level - saving time and money.

Organization of the postal service in the Inca country
Before its death as a result of the conquistador invasion, the Inca civilization occupied South America a huge territory. One of the main achievements of this civilization is considered to be an excellently organized courier service at an accessible technical level. The Inca country had an extensive road network, and the roads were well equipped. Every 7.2 km there was always a sign with information about the distance to the nearest city; after 19-29 km there were special stations intended for travelers to relax. Specialized courier stations were located very often: at intervals of 2.5 km. Inca couriers (“chaskis”) delivered their cargo (sometimes these were oral messages) by relay race: upon arriving at the station, the tired courier handed over his load to the rested one, who immediately continued on his way. This process lasted around the clock. Thus, dispatches were delivered over distances of up to 2 thousand km. for a period of less than 5 days.


The relay principle was borrowed and implemented in many countries. Thus, in the developed part of Russian territory in the 17th-20th centuries, there was an extensive network of postal stations, where government couriers, as well as other persons traveling through state affairs could rest and/or exchange tired horses for fresh ones.

Ancient courier services
In Ancient Rome, courier delivery was very high quality. It was thanks to her that residents of remote provinces could learn about the news relatively quickly. The position of state (during the Republic) and later, imperial courier was very prestigious and highly paid.

China was in ancient times centralized state with a developed management structure. Naturally, he also could not do without an organized courier service. It was in China that they first began to produce special sheets of paper with summaries of important news, which were delivered by couriers to all parts of the Celestial Empire.

Perhaps the most famous courier ancient world is the Greek Phillipides, who delivered the news of the victory over the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon to Athens. Having run 42 km, 195 m, without rest, from the battlefield to central square Athens, he shouted “Rejoice! We whitewashed it!” and fell dead. It is in his honor that the program Olympic Games competitions in the discipline “Marathon running” were introduced, which are still held today.

Organization of postal and courier services in Russia
The first specialized service for the delivery of written correspondence was organized in Rus' back in the 13th century. It was called “Yamskaya persecution” and was a very original purely Russian institution, which, not without changes, continued to exist almost until late XIX centuries. The coachman profession was one of the most widespread.


From the 16th century In order to improve accounting and introduce the personal responsibility of the messenger for the safety and timely delivery of correspondence, special “marks” began to be placed on the packaging of documents, which became prototypes of a postmark. Since the 17th century Such notes indicated the personal details of the messenger and the date of delivery of the document.

In 1665, the Moscow-Riga postal and courier route was laid, and 4 years later a similar route to Vilnius. This is how regular postal communication with Europe was organized for the first time.

On November 17, 1710, Peter I signed a decree on the organization of a specialized courier route Moscow - St. Petersburg. And 6 years later, 30.03. In 1716, the same Peter I approved the All-Russian Military Field Courier Service.

Since 1783, uniform postal delivery rates began to operate in Russia. The price was determined taking into account the weight of the item and the distance to the recipient.

Since 1837, they began to use mail for the transportation of mail in Russia. railways. Moreover, Russia was one of the first states where rail postal transportation was put on a regular basis.

IN early XIX V. The Russian postal and courier service consisted of approximately 460 institutions, and the total number of couriers serving in them was 5 thousand people.

IN THE USA
The first regular delivery services for small cargo (including flowers), as well as mail in the United States, began to be provided by UPS in 1907.
Since 1946, the TNT company, created by K. Thomas, began to provide its services. It was this company that established regular intercity mail service. Among Thomas's innovations was the introduction of return delivery services, where the sender received from the company a certificate of delivery of his item, signed by the recipient.
Since 1969, airplanes have been regularly used for courier deliveries. It was from this moment that courier delivery companies could begin to cover the entire world with their activities, rather than individual regions.

The mark of a criminal: from Ancient Rome to the present day

It is possible that the criminals of our day would have broken the law if they had found themselves in Ancient Rome or Ancient Greece. After all, there they branded criminals - they burned letters on their shoulders, and in Ancient Egypt - in a special way knocked out a front tooth.

The Middle Ages hardened judges and jailers. Criminals are subject to real injuries depending on the severity of the offense. IN medieval Europe a thief is left without ears, a robber is left without a nose, a perjurer’s finger or hand is cut off, a deceiver’s ears are cut... If the criminal is caught a second time, he will face execution.

In the novel by the French writer A. Dumas “The Three Musketeers” there is a character who caused a lot of trouble to the musketeer friends. This is Lady Winter - my lady. Dumas describes how the Comte de la Fère was amazed to see a mark in the shape of a lily on her shoulder. This lily is not an invention of Dumas, but historical fact. In France, this is how thieves were branded, and the lily signified the coat of arms of the head of state. In England, a “shameful spot” was burned onto a thief’s hand with a hot iron.

In 1789, French legislation briefly abolished cruel punishments, but Napoleon reintroduced them in 1799. Now a thief is marked with the letter “V”, a repeat offender bears the mark “VV”, “TF” means forced labor. "G" or "GAL" means that the owner of this mark is a prisoner of the galleys. What is a galley?

A galley is an ancient ship, low and long in shape, on which both the ancient Romans and the troops of the French king Louis XIV sailed. Moreover, the Romans used slaves for rowing, and Louis XIV used all people of other faiths, all non-Catholics. After the 18th century, some of the galleys were used as floating prisons. This is where the criminal, marked with the mark “GAL,” was sent.

The French laws of that time did not spare petty swindlers; they also wore a special mark on their bodies. And in Austria up to late XVIII centuries, criminals had various letters burned onto their backs. Using these letters, it was possible to determine where the crime was committed and what kind of crime it was.

It was only in 1832 that the barbaric method of marking lawbreakers was permanently abolished in France. Criminals were branded for the longest time in China - until 1905. And in Thailand even in 1940 In a similar way the guilty were punished, although the red-hot iron was replaced by tattoos.

From the book 100 Great Myths and Legends author Muravyova Tatyana

MYTHS OF ANCIENT ROME

From the book Jewish Dietetics, or Deciphered Kosher author Lyukimson Petr Efimovich

From the holy apostles to the present day As follows from the text of all the Gospels, during life (or, following Christian terminology, while remaining in one’s physical body) Jesus Christ was a deeply religious Jew, devoutly fulfilling all the instructions of the Pentateuch and believing that

From book encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions author Serov Vadim Vasilievich

From Romulus to the present day From the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin” (1823-1831) by A. S. Pushkin (1799-1837) (chapter 1, stanza 6). Romulus was, according to Roman mythology, the founder of Rome. See. also in chronological order

From the book Italy. Calabria author Kunyavsky L. M.

From the book Italy. Sardinia author Kunyavsky L. M.

What came to us from Ancient Rome We live using the achievements and discoveries of previous generations, but we rarely remember where things came from. Here are some examples of the heritage of the ancient Romans. Fountains In ancient Roman fountains (Latin fonte - source), water did not shoot upward in streams, but

From the book Italy. Umbria author Kunyavsky L. M.

What came to us from Ancient Rome We live using the achievements and discoveries of previous generations, but we rarely remember where things came from. Here are some examples of the heritage of the ancient Romans. Fountains In ancient Roman fountains (Latin fonte - source), water did not shoot upward in streams, but

From the book Encyclopedia of the most mysterious places planets author Vostokova Evgenia

From the book Here Was Rome. Modern walks around ancient city author Sonkin Viktor Valentinovich

A thousand words about the history of Ancient Rome in the middle of the 8th century BC. e. (or maybe a little earlier or later; the traditional date of the founding of Rome is April 21, 753 BC) several tribes of central Italy chose a piece of land at the intersection of river and land roads and

From the book Guide to Radio magazine 1981-2009 author Tereshchenko Dmitry

Technology of Our Days Global radio interferometric network Matveenko L.1996, No. 12, p. 8. XXI century - the century of globalization and personalization of communications Bulgak V. 1997, No. 5, p. 5. Radio observations from satellites of earthquake harbingers Larkina V. 1999, No. 1, p. 55. Geotronics: electronics in geodesy.

From the book 200 famous poisonings author Antsyshkin Igor

FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE PRESENT “Apothecary: Pour this powder into any Liquid and drink it all. If you have more Strength than twenty people, you will die Instantly.” V. Shakespeare. "Romeo and Juliet". THE FOUNDATION OF POLAND AND THE CHALICE OF POISON The legendary Polish king of the 8th century Leszek bequeathed after

From the book Home Museum author Parch Susanna

FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE PRESENT Balezin S. At the great African lakes. – M.: Nauka, 1989. -208 pp. Bogdanov A. Humility according to Joachim // Science and religion. -1995. – No. 7.Big Soviet Encyclopedia: T. 40. – M.: Gosnauchizdat, 1955. – 760 p. Borisov Yu. Diplomacy of Louis XIV. – M.: International.

From the book I Explore the World. Forensics author Malashkina M. M.

From the book Universal Encyclopedic Reference author Isaeva E. L.

Policemen on the streets of ancient Rome The first policemen appeared in the countries of the Ancient East. In Egypt, they not only watched over slaves and guarded the tombs of the pharaohs, but also maintained order in the streets and markets. Egyptian police persecuted and punished