Persian Horse-men/couriers

 I know it's been Two weeks since we celebrated Purim, but I was searching through my Iranian stamps for some stamps my new friend in Florida wanted, and came across this beautiful stamp of a Sassanian Courier (that's what the Catalogue says). I suspect that this is somewhat related to the Capital of King Xeroxes' which was called Shushan in the Hebrew Scripture of the Book of Esther. It was issued in 1970 to celebrate the 2,500 Anniversary of the Persian Empire, which is actually pretty accurate, corresponding to what we now know as the miracle of Purim.

According to the Book of Esther, there were Three times that the official scribes were called to write letters in all 127 languages of the people who lived in the different countries & provinces of the Persian Empire. The first was concerning the decree that every man should be the "man of the house", which sounds absolutely ridiculous to me, and many of our Sages have made different comments & suggestions what the reason for this message to be sent as "urgent"?! Anyway, they were sent by the fastest couriers of the time, which there isn't a proper translation, as these are only mentioned in the Book of Esther, and we have no other reference. The ACHASHTERANIM were these special couriers who carried these letters, sealed with the King's signet-ring (Esther 1:22; 3:15; 8:9-10).

As far as I know, and please correct me if I'm wrong, most Jewish People learned from a young age to read & write, since, as Jewish parents, we are commanded to "teach these words to your children" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Therefore, it is very perplexing to me that these letters of the king were not sent to the Jews, but to the officials/governors of these Provinces; though, it seems that the Third letter, orchestrated by Mordechai & Esther, was sent to the Jewish people! Reading was not a "normal" pastime for most people back then, as they didn't have electricity, and went to sleep shortly after nightfall! I think my next post will be showing stamps from different countries, encouraging people to read, including this one from the USA:

 

And, the happy end was that we were saved and celebrate Purim every year! As I have so many friends and family who love horses, including my niece who has a Horse-themed stamp collection, it is fun to show this horse stamp, even though all Four legs are in the air in what looks to me as an impossible positioning for any Four-legged animal...