Postal System & Hospital

The Persians under Darius I established the first fully developed postal system when he ordered the construction of a road network for the convenience of travel and then organized a service wherein horsemen could transport messages between his numerous cities or encampments. These mounted couriers were given opportunities to rest and refuel along the journey, but they were so focused on their task that they didn't stop. "Whatever the weather - it may be snowing, pouring, burning hot, or dark - they never fail to finish their allocated route in the quickest time," writes Herodotus in admiration of the Persian mail service (Histories, VIII.98).

Since 1914 CE, these words have served as the unofficial slogan of the United States Postal Service in a modified version. Beginning under the rule of Shapur I (240–270 CE), who established the Academy of Gundeshapur, a center of learning and culture, the Persians also started the first hospitals. Under the later Sassanian king Kosrau I (r. 531–579 CE), the school accepted physicians and scholars of all ethnicities and became the first teaching hospital in the world.