Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor between 1493 and 1519, was not the most astute of rulers. He spent a lot of money on projects that never really went anywhere, like an imperial postal service. But he did have imagination, and he harnessed the power of the printing press more effectively than any other ruler. #2 The Roman postal service was an achievement of breathtaking imagination and administrative ambition. The service was not generally open to the public, but it was used to transport a large amount of military freight along the roads. #3 The wooden tablets found in the Vindolanda excavation have transformed what is known of the writing culture of the northern Empire. Britain was as far away as it was possible to be from the production centers of papyrus, which was the most common writing material in Roman times. #4 The Romans were very good at exercising power, and the postal service was a reflection of that. The Romans understood that control of information was essential to the government of widely dispersed and thinly garrisoned possessions.
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Aug 20, 2022
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