The latest issue of Honest History has arrived, and we’re traveling back to the heart of ancient Persia! More than just a massive empire, this civilization was a powerhouse of influence and innovation.
This week, Grace Magee explores the creative thinking that allowed the Persians to thrive. From cooling the desert heat to revolutionizing communication, these ancient inventions are so effective that some are still used today. Can you guess which ones? Let’s dive into the marvels of the ancient world!
1. Ancient Ice Makers | Yakhchals
The ancient Persians figured out a way to have ice—even in the middle of the desert. Their secret was yakhchals: massive beehive-shaped buildings built over underground storage pits. The walls were made of a special insulating mixture and were so thick that they kept the summer heat out. In the winter, ice froze in the shallow, shaded pools outside or was harvested from nearby mountains. When the Persians brought it inside, it stayed cool enough that they could enjoy ice cold drinks and desserts all year round.
“Yakhchāl of Abarkuh, Iran” by Pastaitaken - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4944242
2. The First Postal Service | Chapar Khaneh
Cyrus the Great knew that in order to rule an empire as big as his, he needed to be able to communicate quickly with every corner of it. In his day, nothing was faster than a man on a galloping horse—so Cyrus turned the best of these men into the Chapar Khaneh, the first organized postal service. Along the roads, he set up relay stations where his postal riders could hand off messages, eat, rest, or switch to a fresh horse. Thanks to them, it no longer took months to bring news across the empire.
FUN FACT!
The famous historian Greek Herodotus described the riders of the Chapar Khaneh, saying they were stopped “... neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed.” The United States Post Office uses a version of this quote as their unofficial motto!
3. Cooling the Air | Windcatchers
The skylines of ancient Persian cities didn’t have skyscrapers. Instead, they had windcatchers. Known as a badgir, this hollow tower rose high into the air and had openings at the top for the cool wind to blow into. It went down, down, down and whooshed into the buildings below, acting like ancient Persian air conditioning.
A wind catcher in Yazd, Iran. Image by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52136980
4. Engineering Water | Qanats
Much of ancient Persia was hot and dry, and its expert craftsmen figured out a way to solve the problem of water: qanats. To make one, they found a mountain that showed signs of having water underneath it. Then, they dug a series of wells connected by an underground tunnel, channeling the water down into farms and towns from its home under the mountain. Their calculations had to be perfect; if the tunnel was too steep, the water would run fast enough to erode it, and if it was too shallow, the water wouldn’t run at all.
Want to learn more? Don't forget to check out the latest issue of our kids magazine, Issue 33 | Jewels of Persia!
