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Mongol Relay Station System

Type Object Region Eurasia Time c. 1220–1400

The relay (jam/yam) network the Mongol Empire established across Eurasia, providing horse changes, food, lodging, and escorts for envoys, officials, …

Timeline

  1. c. 1220–1260Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauGenghis Khan ordered jam stations set up along the routes of conquest, with horses, food, and lodging provided at set intervals so envoys and officials could change horses and ride swiftly using tallies, forming an overland postal skeleton spanning the steppe.
  2. 1351–1360Dadu–Chagatai Khanate post road · Central AsiaIn the 1350s the Yuan dynasty still maintained official communication between Dadu and the western khanates through the jam system; Persian travelers recorded relay riders covering hundreds of li a day, and merchants could also pay to use the relay facilities.
  3. c. 1360–1400Within the Golden Horde · Steppe ZoneThe decline of the Yuan and the fragmentation of the khanates broke the intercontinental unified relay system; each khanate retained local stations but they no longer connected, sharply reducing the efficiency of official overland communication across Eurasia.

Sources