Postage stamps and postal history of Palestine

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The postage stamps and postal history of Palestine covers the history of postage stamps and postal systems in Palestine, since the documented beginnings of postal service in the region. Palestine did not exist in isolation, forming part of larger empires that ruled the Levant, the Middle East and sometimes beyond, throughout history.

History

Bronze age (3000–1200 BCE)

The earliest use of a postal system in Palestine is thought to date back to the Bronze Age, during the rule of Sargon of Akkad (2333–2279 BCE). His empire, "was bound together by roads, along which there was a regular postal service, and clay seals which took the place of stamps are now in the Louvre bearing the names of Sargon and his son."[1]

Iron age (1200–330 BCE)

During Persian rule (538–333 BCE), an extensive network of roads maintained by the Persian government formed part of an efficient imperial postal system. The postal system's establishment and improvements to the road network is credited to the monarch Darius I (521–486 BCE).[2] Mounted couriers, known as "fast messengers" (Persian language:pirradaziš), carried correspondence between the royal court and the provinces, stopping only to eat and rest, and change horses as needed, at supply stations located about one day's travel apart.[3] The Persian courier system forms part of the backdrop to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Esther.[citation needed]

Arab Caliphate (628–1099 CE)

The Umayyad empire (661–750 CE) in Palestine not only introduced the "first purely Arab coinage" but also developed a system of postal service.[4] The Abbasid caliphate (750–969 CE) also ran a postal system known as the Barīd (Arabic: بريد),[5] the word still used today for "mail" throughout the Arab world.[6] Under Fatimid rule (969–1099 CE), a pigeon post was maintained, which was later perfected by the Mamluks. The pedigrees of the carrier pigeons were kept in a special registrar.[7]

Crusader rule (1099–1187 CE)

The chroniclers of the First Crusade documented the chance interception of a message warning the duke of Caesarea of the coming of the Crusader armies when a carrier pigeon was felled by a hawk over a Crusader military encampment in May 1099. The message, written in Arabic, read as follows:

Greetings from the king of Acre to the duke of Caesarea. A generation of dogs, a foolish, headstrong, disorderly race, has gone through my land. If you value your way of life, you and others of the faith should bring harm to them, since you can easily do what you wish. Transmit this message to other cities and strongholds.[8]

Carrier pigeons were regularly used in this period. For example, Edward Gibbon notes that during the siege of Acre (1189–1191 CE) by the Crusaders, the inhabitants of the besieged city kept a regular correspondance with the Sultan's forces by way of carrier pigeon.[9]

Mamluk rule (1270–1516 CE)

During the rule of the Mamluks, mounted mail service was operated in Deir el-Balah, Lydda and other towns on the Cairo to Damascus route.[10] The postal system established by the Mamluks, under the leadership of Baybars, was known as the Barīd, as it was during the Abassid period. The nephew of the chief secretary to Sultan Baybars attributed the Barid's adoption and development by the Mamluks to the recommendations of his uncle, al-Sahib Sharaf al-Din Abu Muhammed Al-Wahab. The nephew records that in response to a request from Baybars to be kept up-to-date on the most recent developments concerning the Franks and the Mongols, Al-Wahab, "explained to him that which the Barīd had achieved in ancient and caliphal times and proposed [this system] to him; [the sultan] liked the idea and ordered [its establishment]."[5]

After the Mamluks disloged the Crusaders, annexed the Ayyubid principalities, and defeated the Mongol army in Anatolia, Baybars established the province of Syria (which included Palestine), with Damascus as its capital. At this point, imperial communications throughout Palestine were so efficient that Baybars would boast that he could play polo in Cairo and Damascus in the same week. An even more rapid carrier pigeon post was also maintained between the two cities.[11] Its use in forming a defensive league against the Crusaders was noted by Raymond of Agiles, who thought it rather "unsporting".[12]

Ottoman rule (1516–1917 CE)

During the Ottoman period, stamps were issued by the Turkish authorities.[13] Foreign powers under capitulation rights opened several post offices (Ashkenazy 1999).

Ottoman postal system

In A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine (1858), Josias Leslie Porter describes the different postal systems in operation in the region at the time. Of the system operated by the Ottoman authorities, he writes: "

"The Post Office in Syria is yet in its infancy. There are weekly mails between Jerusalem and Beyrout, performing the distance in about four days; there is a bi-weekly post between Damascus and Beyrout, taking about 22 hours in fine weather, but occasionally a fortnight in winter; and there is a weekly Tartar from Damascus to Hums, Hamâh, Aleppo and Constantinople - making the whole distance in 12 days. He leaves on Wednesday. All letters by these routes must be addressed in Arabic or Turkish, and prepaid. The Turkish posts have no connection with those of any other country; and consequently letters for foreign countries must be sent either through the consuls, or the post agents of those countries, resident at the seaports."[14]

French consulate system

Of the French postal arrangement, Porter describes it as "quick and safe, though frequently altered."[14] French mail-steamers, known as the Messagerie Imperiale ("Postal Line")Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). A total of 266 different stamps were produced by the JNF's Head Office in Jerusalem between 1902 and 1947.[15]

In 1915, Ahmed Djemal, who ruled over Syria and Palestine on behalf of the Ottoman empire, issued an anti-Zionist proclamation ordering the "confiscation of the postage stamps, Zionist flags, paper money, bank notes of the Anglo-Palestine Company, Ltd. in the form of checks which are spread among these elements and has decreed the dissolution of all the clandestine Zionist societies and institutions ..."[16]

Military and Civil Administration (1917-1948 CE)

EEF stamp issued in 1920.

British Egyptian Expeditionary Force stamps and service (1917-1920 CE)

In November 1917, the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force occupied Palestine. Initially, the EEF (and the Indian Expeditionary Force) had given civilians basic postal services for free, with additional services paid in British or Indian stamps. Free mail was withdrawn with the printing of appropriate stamps. These EEF stamps were valid in Palestine, Cilicia, Syria, Lebanon, and Transjordan. Prior to the British Mandate in Palestine, Hebrew was not an official language, and so these stamps bore only Arabic (or Turkish) inscriptions besides English.[17]

British Mandate Palestine (1920–1948 CE)

Palestine came under civil administration of British Mandate of Palestine in 1920.[i] In line with League of Nations rules, the High Commissioner sanctioned stamps (as pictured here) and coins bearing the three official languages of British Mandate Palestine: English, Arab, and Hebrew. [18]

The British Post service designed its first four stamps in 1923, upon the suggestion of the Sir Herbert Samuel (the High Commissioner), following a public invitation for designs. This series of definitive stamps were first printed on April 13, 1927. The stamps pictured the Rachel's Tomb (see picture), the Tower of David, the Dome of the Rock, and a view of a mosque in Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. According to Reid, the British Mandate "scenes carefully balanced sites of significance to Muslims, Jews, and Christians."[19] Issued in stages, this series of Pictorials lasted until the end of the Mandate in May 1948.

Rachel's Tomb on a British Mandate stamp

During the British mandate, postal stamps and services were provided by British authorities. In 1933, the British Post offices in Palestine and Iraq were the first places to use air letter cards. During the volatility of 1947 and 1948, British postal services deteriorated and were replaced by ad hoc interim services prior to the partition and the establishment of the State of Israel.[citation needed] Just before the formal end to the British Mandate over Palestine, the Mandatory government destroyed the existing stocks of postage stamps and had Palestine removed from the World Postal Union.[20] A total of 104 stamps bearing the name "Palestine" were issued by the British between 1918 and 1942.[13]

Post-1948

See also: Postage stamps and postal history of Israel

From 1948, stamps were issued by the State of Israel under the Israel Postal Authority. Between 1948 and 1967, Egypt and Jordan overprinted some of their own stamps with the word "Palestine" and promoted their use on letters in Palestinian areas under Israeli control.[13] Of these "Palestine" stamps, 44 issued by Jordan and 180 issued by Egypt are listed in the Scott catalogues.

On occasion, the Arab Higher Committee and other entities have issued postal stamps.[citation needed]

Palestinian National Authority

Starting in 1994, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) established post offices throughout the PNA, developed its own unique postmarks and issued stamps.[21] Sometimes, mail addressed to Arab countries cannot be delivered and is marked with a "no service" cachet, that explains that the Postal Authority regrets that the letter could not be delivered due to the Israeli occupation powers refusing to allow the forwarding.[21]

Agreements signed between Israel and the PNA following the Oslo Accords, specifically proscribe the wording that can be used on the stamps issued, specifying that they "shall include only the terms 'the Palestinian Council' or 'the Palestinian Authority.'"[22]

The Scott Publishing Company began incorporating stamps issued by the PNA into its catalogue of worldwide stamps in 1999. The initial listing was for the 77 stamps issued between 1994 and July 1997 and appeared in the July issue of Scott Stamp Monthly, the company's magazine for collectors.[13]

The Universal Postal Union typically does not recognize stamps issued by entities that have not achieved full independence; however, the lands controlled in the Gaza Strip and West Bank by the PNA are recognized by the union.[13]

References

  • ^ [i]From 1918-22, the area today known as Jordan was part of the British Mandate of Palestine, before it was separated out to form the Transjordan. Unless otherwise specified, this article uses "British Mandate" and related terms to refer to the post-1922 mandate, west of the Jordan river.
  1. ^ Bristowe, 2003, p.24.
  2. ^ Hitti, 2004, p. 220.
  3. ^ Yoder, 2001, p. 42.
  4. ^ Hitti, 2004, p. 457.
  5. ^ a b Silverstein, 2007, pp. 165–166.
  6. ^ "Dictionaries". Sakhr. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  7. ^ Hitti, 1996, p. 240.
  8. ^ Runciman, 2006, p. 263.
  9. ^ Gibbon, 1837, p. 1051.
  10. ^ Shahin, 2005, pp. 421–423.
  11. ^ Oliver, 2001, p. 17.
  12. ^ Brown, 1979, p. 81.
  13. ^ a b c d e Barth Healey (July 19 1998). "Philatelic Diplomacy: Palestinians Join Collectors' List". Retrieved 2008-02-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b Porter, 1858, p. 1viii.
  15. ^ Bar-Gal, 2003, p. 183.
  16. ^ Sicker, 1999, p. 118.
  17. ^ Fisher, 1999, p. 215.
  18. ^ (See Article 22 of the Palestine Mandate)
  19. ^ Donald M. Reid (April 1984). ""The Symbolism of Postage Stamps: A Source for the Historian"". Journal of Contemporary History. Vol. 19:2: 236. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |journal= (help)
  20. ^ Rosenzweig, 1989, p. 136.
  21. ^ a b "A Short Introduction To The Philately Of Palestine: PNA Post Offices and Postmarks". Zoebbel. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  22. ^ Finkelstein, 2003, p. 175.

Bibliography

See also

Postage stamps and postal history of Israel and Palestine

External links

Additional reading

  • McSpadden, Joseph Walker (1930). How They Carried the Mail: From the Post Runners of King Sargon to the Air Mail of Today. University of California.
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