Why did some riders carry bells?

To warn the next station to prepare a horse

Who supplied horses and food to the stations?

Local households as a form of tax

Mongol Postal Relay Quiz: The Yam Network of Riders

Long before the telegraph, a message could cross Asia surprisingly fast thanks to a chain of stations, horses and riders, and this Mongol postal relay quiz explains how it worked. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the yam, Ogedei Khan, relay stations, paiza passes, bells on riders, Marco Polo's account, households that supplied horses and comparisons with the Pony Express.

Start Mongol Postal Relay Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Name
What was the Mongol relay system called?
Founder
Which ruler greatly expanded the system in the 1230s?
Stations
What did relay stations provide?
Spacing
Roughly how far apart were stations?
Pass
What showed a traveler's authority to use the stations?
Bells
Why did some riders carry bells?
Speed
Roughly how far could urgent messages travel in a day?
Polo
Which traveler described the system in detail?
Support
Who supplied horses and food to the stations?
Compare
Which later US mail service is often compared to the yam?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What was the Mongol relay system called?
Answer: The yam
It is also written as jam or ortoo.
Q2: Which ruler greatly expanded the system in the 1230s?
Answer: Ogedei Khan
He succeeded Genghis Khan.
Q3: What did relay stations provide?
Answer: Fresh horses, food and lodging
Riders could keep moving quickly.
Q4: Roughly how far apart were stations?
Answer: About 30 to 50 km
Distances varied with terrain.
Q5: What showed a traveler's authority to use the stations?
Answer: A paiza tablet
Tablets were made of gold, silver or wood.
Q6: Why did some riders carry bells?
Answer: To warn the next station to prepare a horse
Fresh mounts were ready on arrival.
Q7: Roughly how far could urgent messages travel in a day?
Answer: Up to about 300 km
Riders rode in relays.
Q8: Which traveler described the system in detail?
Answer: Marco Polo
He wrote about the many stations.
Q9: Who supplied horses and food to the stations?
Answer: Local households as a form of tax
It was a heavy duty for some.
Q10: Which later US mail service is often compared to the yam?
Answer: The Pony Express
Both used relays of riders.

Mongol Postal Relay Quiz – The Yam Network of Riders

The yam was the Mongol Empire's relay system for messages, officials and goods. Ogedei Khan, son of Genghis Khan, greatly expanded it in the 1230s, linking China, Central Asia and Persia.

Stations stood roughly 30 to 50 km apart and supplied fresh horses, food and lodging. Authorized travelers carried a paiza, a tablet of gold, silver or wood. Riders with bells warned the next station, and urgent messages could cover up to about 300 km a day.

Local households supplied horses and provisions as a form of tax. Marco Polo described the network in detail, and it is often compared with the much later Pony Express.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

How the yam worked
Who built it
What travelers carried
How fast messages moved
Who supported the stations

Did You Know?

The system helped control a vast empire.
Merchants sometimes used stations too.
Similar relays existed in Persia and China earlier.
Station keepers kept careful records.
Mongolia's postal tradition honors the yam.