Ottoman Empire Postal Organization

The history of the postal system dates back to the founding years of the Ottoman Empire. During the reign of the first Sultan, Osman Gazi, communication was maintained through Runners . These runners were called Ulak, Tatar, or Çapar.

As the empire grew and expanded, a formal communication institution became necessary. During the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid I (1774–1789), the organized Tatar Corps worked to maintain state communications. The Ottoman communication system was transformed into an organized institution during the tenure of Grand Vizier Lütfi Pasha (1539–1541) under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, through the establishment of relay stations (Menzilhane) across the country. This organization continued until the establishment of the Postal Ministry in 1840.

On 23 October 1840, the Postal Directorate was established under the Ministry of Trade to operate the postal service, and Ahmet Şükrü Bey was appointed as the first director. The postal law governing the newly planned postal organization was prepared by a commission chaired by Ahmet Şükrü Bey, drawing from the French Postal Law. The first postal law, consisting of 44 articles, entered into force on 16 November 1840.

The first post office, named Postane-i Amire, was opened in Istanbul in 1840 and later expanded nationwide. In 1843, the Tatars were incorporated into Postane-i Amire.

With the establishment of the Postal Ministry, regular postal routes were created between Istanbul–Edirne, Istanbul (Üsküdar)–Kartal, and Istanbul (Üsküdar)–İznik. These routes were later expanded to carry mail from Istanbul to Tokat, Diyarbakır, Mosul, and Baghdad, and the previously established Istanbul–Edirne route was extended to Serbia.

Meanwhile, postal routes within the country were extended to İzmir, Aydın, Isparta, and Kütahya; and through bilateral agreements, to Austria, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, England, Greece, Romania, and Egypt. Regular sea mail routes were established to İzmir, Thessaloniki, İzmit, Gemlik, and Trabzon.

In the initial system, fees were written in red pencil on the letter. However, in 1863, upon the proposal of Postal Director Agâh Efendi and through an imperial decree, postage stamps began to be used. That year, the first postage stamp , featuring the crescent, Sultan Abdülaziz’s tughra, and the inscription Devleti Aliyye-i Osmaniyye, was printed using the lithographic technique.

The developments beginning in 1840 extended to telegraphy, and the first telegraph system was established by the Ottomans. By order of Sultan Abdülmecid, construction began on the Istanbul–Edirne telegraph line, which was later extended to Varna, Shumen, Ruse, and Bucharest. Upon completion of the Istanbul–Edirne telegraph line in 1855, the first Telegraph Directorate was established in Istanbul.

In 1871, the Postal and Telegraph administrations were merged and named the Postal and Telegraph Ministry, and in the same year, it was attached to the Ministry of the Interior.

Until 1909, the organization was known as the Postal and Telegraph Ministry. From that year onward, despite the absence of a telephone service in the country, it was renamed the Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone Ministry. By decree issued on 14 April 1919, it was transformed into the Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone General Administration.

The Postal–Telegraph organization, established as a Ministry in 1840, was converted into a General Directorate in 1909 and attached to the Ministry of Finance, then reverted to a Ministry again in 1911. In 1912, it was attached as a General Directorate to the Ministry of the Interior, and in 1936 to the Ministry of Public Works. In 1943, it became the General Directorate of the Turkish Republic Postal, Telegraph, and Telephone Administration (PTT) under the Ministry of Transport.

After the PTT General Directorate was divided into two by Law No. 4000, the Turkish Republic Postal Administration General Directorate continues to operate as a state economic enterprise under the Ministry of Transport.

(Note: The dates in the last two paragraphs do not fully align with each other. I am not sure which version is correct.)

During the Ottoman Empire, foreign powers also operated their own postal systems within Ottoman territory. Austria, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Greece opened more than 100 post offices in Ottoman lands. Although these post offices were closed in 1914, many reopened in 1918. After the Turkish War of Independence, they were abolished along with capitulations under Article 28 of the Lausanne Treaty signed on 24 July 1923.

The Postal Administration, with a history of approximately 160 years, has over time spun off many institutions due to the diversity of its services, offering them to the Turkish public. Turkish Radio, the General Directorate of Wireless Communications, Teletaş, and most recently Türk Telekom A.Ş. are institutions that originated within PTT and later became independent.