ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

(A) General Considerations

(B) The Russian Alphabet

INDEX

(C) Illustrations of Cancella tions

(D) Russian Offices Abroad a nd the Stamps they used

(E) F ield Post Offices

(F) Standard T ypes of Cance llations

(G) Conventions u sed

(H) Pricing

CHAPTER I : CONSTANTINOPLE

CHAPTER 11: THE DANUBIAN PRlNCIPALITIES

CHAPTER Ill: BULGARIA AND ROUMELIA

MAPS

MAP 1 : THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE IN 1770

MAP 2: THE OVERLAND MAIL ROUTE (1781)

MAP 3: THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES (182\J)

MAP <1: THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES (185(j)

MAP 5: GREATER BULGARIA (1878)

MAP 6 : PRINCIPALITY OF BULGARIA AND EASTERN

PAGE

6

7

\1

!l

10

11

11

12 12 H)

H)

55

74

21

21

54

73

R OUMELIA (1878) ,"'" 73

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF RUSSIAN POST OFFICES ABROAD (The section of this work where each Office will be found is indica ted in Roma n numerals. For Offices in th is P art I, the page number, in figures.

follows the Roman numera l I ).

Abagatui Acre Aleppo Alexandretta Alexandria Anda Antigone Ardebil Ashikhe Astara Astera bad

A

Athens (see Volos) B

Badakhet ze Barim Batum Beirut Belgarene Belgrade Bizerta Bolgrad Braila Bucharest Bukhai Bukhara Bukhedu Burgas Buy uk-Dere Byela Gom a Byelotsarsk

Cahul Candia Catta ro Cavalla

c

Cha la inor (see D jala inor) Cha la ngtung Cha rj u y-Sta tion Charj uy-T own Charomte Cha,tald ja Chefoo Cheng-Ga uz Chesme Chios Chirpa n Chuguchak Constantinople: -

Galata Gala ta -Voi voda Pera (Cons. Post) Pera (Ref. P ost) Sta mbo ul

Da imagow Dalny

o

V II II II II V I 53

III V

III III

V V II II I 81 Il II I 67 I 61 I 60

V III V I 94 I 51 I 81

IV

I 68 II II Il

V III HI

V I 52

IV V Il Il I 92

III

I 39 I 51 I 38 I 51 I 4H

V IV

3

Darda nelles Da rgan-Ata D jalainor Drenovo Drovyanoi Duitsingshang

Ekho Enzeli Erdakhetze Ertse ndyangtze

Farab Focsani

E

F

II III

V I 83

V V

V III

V V

III I 64

Foreign Cancellations: ­Austrian Il

Il II II Il

British Chine3e Egyptia n French J apa nese P ersia n

F ulya-Erdi

Gabrovo Gala t z Gallipoli Gaolingtze Gengis-Kha n Girin (see I<irin) Giurgiu Goma Stude na Gumbad-i-Kahu z Guzar

Haida r-Pasha Ha ifa Ha ila r H a ilasu Hailing H a m i Handaokhetze H ankow

G

H

Ha rbin (see Kharbin) Haskovo Hinga n Hissar Hodja -Dovlet

Ilinski Imyangpo Ineboli Irekte I sma il

I

IV, V III

V

I 84 64, 72 II V V

I 61 I 81

III In

I 52 II V V V

In V

I V

I 91 V

III III

V V II V T 68

J affa J assy J erusalem

Kaga n K alga n K arakul Karnobat

J

K

K a rpineni (Frontier). Ka rshi Kashgar K atta-Kurgan Kavakli K a za nlik K elif K erassunde K erki K ermine Khake Khalki Kha ngin sk Kharbin :-

Ca mp Old Kharbin Pier Pier-St a tion Sta tion T own (Main p.a.)

Khatkhyl Khiva Khoi Khorgo Khorkhnnte Khulmikhe Khunkhuzski Khurkhura Kilia Kirin Kizil Kizi l-Tepe K obdo K ochina Kotel Kuchengt ze Kuldja Kustendj e Kuy u-Ma zar Kwa ngchentze-Station K wangchentze-Town K yakhta (Frontier)

La madyangtze Lattakia Lemnos Leova Lidakhet z·e Lom-Palanka Lovech Lya o-Yang

L

II I 62

II

III IV III

I 93 I 67

III III III

I 91 I 90

III Il

III III

V I 53

IV

V V V V V V

IV III III

V V V V V I 68

V IV III IV

I 82 I 93

III III

I 69 III

V V

IV

V 11 11 I 68

V I 86 I 85

V

4

Maka ron ia Maku Ma lik Ma nchuli-Sta tion Manchuli-Town Ma ngow Mao-Ershang Ma t syaokhe Meishatze Mersina Meshhed-i-Sar Metaizi MOdaoshi

M

Mondy (Frontier) MUda ngtsyang Mukden Mulin Murga n Myangdukhe Mytilene

Nagorny New Bukha ra New Urgen ch Nikopol Novo Selo Novy N yangtz-eshang

N

o Odessa (Frontier) Old Bukha ra Old Kharbin Ordu Orkhanie

P eking P elintzkhe P etlya Pia tfarm 123 v . Plovdiv

p

P lyeven P ogranichnaya-Front. Pogranichnaya-Ma nch. Pordim P ort Arthur Port-Lagos Port-Said Prinkipo Proti

R ailways :-R

Chinese Eastern do. Line 261 do. Line 262 d o , Line 263 do. Line 264 d o . LillJe 265 do . Line 266

II III III

V V V V V V Il

III V V

IV V V V

III V Il

V III III

I 86 I 85

V V

II III

V Il

I 87

IV V V V I 89 I 84

V V I 82

IV II II I 52 I 51

V V V V V V V

Eastern RoumeJia n I 93 't Kagan-BlIkhara R. In Tab riz III Orient Express I 114 Taipinling V Tra nscaspian R . III Taolaichao V

do. Line 205 III Tarsus Il do. Line 206 III Tatar-Bounar (Frontier) I 69

R eni I 69 Tatar-Pazardjik I 91 R ethymno Il T eh eran III Rhodes Il Termez III Rizeh Il Therapia I 51 RlI stchllk I 87 Tiehling V

Tientsin IV S Tireboli Il

Salonica Il Trebizond Il SamokhvaJovo V Tripoli Il Samsun Il Trnovo I 82 Sanchakhe V Trnovo-Seimen I 92 Sandavody V Tsagan V San-Stefano I 50 Tsain-Shabi IV Sarai III T saitsyagow V Sarakhetze V Tsarevetz-Pa vlov I 81 Sartu V T sau-Tsau IV Scuta ri I 51 T setsen-Khan IV Setovo I 85 Tsitsikar V Sevlievo I 83 Tulcea I 70 Shahr-i-Sabz III Turan IV Shanghai IV Turchikha V Shanghaikwang V Tuzla Il Shanshi V Sharasume IV U Shipping Companies:- Ugunor V

Amu-Darya River III Ulyasutai IV Black Sea & Da nube I 71 Unur V Caucasus & )\Ilercury III Urga IV Chinese Eastern R. V Urmia III Druzhina III Urumchi III G. G. Keyserling IV Utzimi V Koso-Gal Lake IV Utzimikhe V Kouro-Caspia n III Utzya V R.O .P.LT. Il Russo-Caucasia n III V R.V.A .P . IV Vangun V Volunteer Fleet IV, V Va rna I 90

Shiraba d III Veishakhe V Shitowkhet ze V Vidin I 87 Shumen I 81l Volos Il Shwanchenpu V Silingkhe V Y Silistria I 88 Yablonya V Sinope Il Yakatut III Skulyany (Frontier) I 66 Yakeshi V Sliven I 90 Yalu V Smyrna Il YamboJ I 92 Sofia I 86 Yangtungtung V Stanimaka I 91 Yaomy ng V Stara-Zagora I 92 Yingkow V Sulina I 70 Sun V Z Svishtov I 80 Zeitun-Burnu I 50 Syaokhetze V Ziadin IH Syaolin V Zimnitza I 71 Syaosuifen V Zirahulak IU

Ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The c redit fo r this book must go in the first place to the British Society of Russian Phila tely, whose Committee and Members have been carry in g for more than t wenty years the n ecessary pioneer research work in this field , and who ha ve given us their whole- hearted support in this venture. J'he information contained in this work n ever could have been as embled without their enthusiastic help , and without the active co-op era tion of a number of other prominent collect ors in ma ny countries, who had been sp ecia lising in this field a nd studying for ma ny years the cancella tions used in Russian P ost Offices abroad .

We wish in pa rticular to express o ur gra titude and thanks to the following philat elist s, ma ny of whom have devot ed a very considerable am ount of time and effort in helping us bring t ogether the information g iven in these pages, and a ll of wh om have very generously given us the benefit of their knowledge , and placed a t our disposal, either d irectly or indirectly, the result of their studies and the documenta tion in the ir possession :

Mr. K. Adler , New York . Mr. P. T. Ashford , Brist ol. Mr . I. L. G . Ba illie, Brist ol. Mr. J . Barry, S utton . Mr. ] . B uchanan, London . Mr. Eduardo Cohen , Lisbon . Dr. L . N . Cristea, London . Mr. ]. O. Critchlow , Sydney. Mr. A. Cronin, T oro nto. Sir P ercival a nd L ady David,

London. Mr . B . St . G. Drennan, London. Mr. R . E hrma n, Pittsburg. Mr. W . Frauenlob, B ern . Gr. Capt. C. F. Gordon , Londo n Mr. W . H. H . Huddy, L iskeard . Mr. W . E. K ethro, B rist ol. Mr. Karl K olb, Sutz b / Nidau . Mr. E. Mehnert-Frey, Zurich .

Mr . D . Morrison , Cambu sla ng . Mr. J . Negus, L on don . Mr. R . F . A . Riesco, London . Sir David R oseway, London . Mr. G . S. Russell , A uckla nd. Dr. G. B . Salisbury, Philadelphia. Mr. T. Seager , Bristol. !VIr. F ra nz See, Vienna. Dr. R. Seichter , Soltau . Mr. H. Shenitz, Astoria, N .Y . Mr. R . Sklarevski, Ba ltimore. Dr. L. S. Snegireff , B oston . Mr. J . V. Stuart, The H ague. Dr. Edward M. T olman, N ew York . Mr. G. H. T orrey, W ashington . Mr. P . Traks, B eirut. S ir J ohn Wilson , London . Mr. J . V . Woolla m , Li verpool. Dr. A . H . Wortma n , London.

I n addition t o the v ry valuable help they have given us in many ways, D r. L. S . Snegireff a nd Dr. A . H . Wortma n have kindly volunteered t o read the ma nuscript of thi work, a nd compa re its contents with the knowledge acquired during their long years o f study of this bra nch .

6

S. D . T CHILINGHIRIAN. W . S . E. STEPHEN.

FOREWORD

Very little has appeared in philatelic literature on the subject of the extra-territorial Russian P ost Offices. In fact, until a few members of the British Society of Russian Philately turned their attention in this direction, it had never been seriously studied .

The great collections of the past contained an occasional item showing use in the Levant, and some eminent contemporary collectors have a few .of these, but even specialised collections of the foreign post offices of Turkey or China never have in the Russian section more than a small fraction of what they should contain if they a re to be considered as truly representative . From them alone the student could not possibly know how vast is the field . This work reveals that Russia had, at one time or another, more than two hundred and fifty of these post offices .

There are, of course, two very good reasons why Russian Postal History in general has been neglected . F irstly, there is the difficulty of obtaining authentic information . Although we may assume that the Russian Post Office Department has records containing the kind of information which philatelists would like to have, no-one has yet succeeded in obtaining any satisfactory reply to enquiries. For postal regulations, routes and agreements, the student has to rely mainly on a few meagre excerpts from documents to be found occasionally in philatelic articles of long ago.

Secondly, lack of material is a serious handicap . Philatelists complain of this in many fields of study to-day, but in none is this complaint more justified than in the Russian. No doubt much valuable materia l was destroyed during the Revolution and some more in the last World War. Material does, however, come on to the market from time to time. Only recently one or two outstanding items have come to light, possibly due to an awareness on the part of some dealers, of the interest now being shown in this section.

In 'order to recognise this material when it does come along one should at least be able to transliterate Russian postmarks. The authors have therefore provided in this work not only the Kyrillic alphabet in both its printed and script forms, but a helpful explanation of its use, thus making it a comparatively simple matter to decipher postmarks and even hand-written endorsements such as " On active service" . Armed with this knowledge and the ability to remember a few important dates in Russian history, it is still possible to find here and there in old collections and accumulations, and in the stock of a friendly and forbearing dealer , some of these " used abroad" items. Because of the small size of the early Russian stamps, blocks or at least pairs, are needed in order to have the whole postmark , although covers are of course, more desirable. Posta l stationery is very useful too, especially postcards with printed stamps, which may show very clear and complete cancellations, without the interruption often made by the extra thickness of adhesive stamps.

7

Some members of the British Society of Russian Philately, during the twenty-one years of its existence, have managed to form quite respectable collections, gathering knowledge as they progressed, and giving the results of their researches in the Society's journal, the British J ournal of Russian Phila tely.

Prominent among the contributors are William Stephen and Simon D. Tchilinghirian, the authors of this work, two industrious students who have a sound knowledge of the historical and geographical background, and a flair for reading obscure postmarks due to long practice. A tremendous amount of correspondence seeking information from every possible source and requesting photographs and tracings from their fellow collectors, brought to light much that was new. This information has been sifted, checked and collated, and with the help of their own consideraQle collections , has enabled them to produce this very comprehensive work.

The reader will find it fascinating reading. May it help him to enjoy happy hunting of the stamps and covers he is seeking.

ALFRED H. WORTMAN, F.R.P .S.L. President, B.S.R .P.

London, N.13 . April. H)57.

8

INTRODUCTION

(A) GENERAL CONSIDE RATIONS. For more tha n fifty years, st amps "Used Abroad" have a ttracted an

ever-growing number of collect ors, a nd have established themselves as one of the most popular lines in phila tely. The markings of the Offices kept by Great Brita in in foreign co untries have been the subject of many studies and books; those appearing on British sta mps a re listed in the Gibbons catalogue; those found on stamps of India, Hong-Kong a nd other colonies are catalogued in R obson Lowe's Encyclopaedia or in other specia lised works . French stamps "Used Abroad" have been listed in Yvert's Specialised Cata logue; German ones in various Germa n catalogues or books. The markings of simila r Austria n , Italia n , J apanese , Greek and Egyptian Offices have a lso received adequat e consideration, a nd been the subject of comprehensive studies in philatelic publications.

In the lo ng list of works dealing with this fascinating subj ect . the collector can notice a conspicuous gap, this being the Russian " Us\,!d Abroad" group. In books or a rticles covering the whole sub ject, Russian ma rk ings will usua lly be found summa ri ly treat ed in a few words; in the few contributions devoted exclusively t o Russian Offices Abroad, the information given will be found either t o be incomplete, or t o be limited to a few Offices a nd even then t o be t enta tive or fragmenta ry . . It cannot be argued that this neglect is due to the fact tha t the Russian group is unimportant or limited to a few Offices: on the contra ry, a nd as shown hereunder , the Russia n Empire com petes with Great Brita in tor the largest number of Offices Abroad , and is well ahead of all other Powers in this co unt . There can only be one reason for the absence of comprehensive information on this la rgest group of such a popular section of philat elic activity, this being that the cancella tions used by the Russian P ost Offices are inscribed in a la nguage unfamiliar t o most vVest ern collectors. This barrier has pro ved so effective so fa r, that the study of the Russia n "Used Abroa d " gro up is still in its infa ncy, and largely concentrat ed a m ong the members of a few specia lised circles concentrating on the posta l affairs of the Russian Empire . The la nguage difficulty is easi ly overcome-all that is needed is a work ing knowledge of the Russian a lphabet-a nd the student then faces a wide fi eld of immense in terest and great variet y, greater tha n provided by other co untries, as t he ma rk ings he will meet will not b e limited to town Offices, o r to ships, b ut will include ra ilways, river steamer , and oth er si mi la r side-lines not to be found in other "Used Abroad" groups.

This book will a ttempt t o remove the barrier, and fill the gap.

( B ) THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET. The Russia n a lphabet, at the time of the Empire, consisted of 35 letters,

which are shown in their capita l a nd lower case fo rms, both print a nd script, on page 10. Against each letter, the r,eader will find its appella tion in Russian , followed by i ts value in the English la nguage and, in a third column , the English equivalent used in the text of this book to indicate it .

The so und of 21 out of these 35 letters is basically the sa me as for corresponding letters of the E nglish a lpha bet , a nd presen ts no difficulty to the Western reader , other than memorizing the Russia n form of the letters concerned. Of the r emaining 14 letters, \) represent sounds rendered in English by two or more consona nts grouped together, a nd thus again have their eq uivalent in the English la nguage; 3 consist of vowels representing varia tions of pronunciation of E nglish vowels; while the r emaining two letters, called respectively " ha rd sign" and " soft sign", a re silent, but affect the way of pronouncing the consonants preceding them.

Unlike English , the value of each consona nt or vowel is invariable in Russian, with few exceptions, the most important of which are given hereunder:

(a ) the letter "ye" is pronounced "ye" a t the beginning of a word or after a "soft sign" ; "yo" when situated in the a ccentuat ed syllable (example: " P ot em' kin" is pronounced "Patyom'kin" ); " e" in all other positions.

9

RUSSIAN ALPHABET PRINT SCRIPT Called: Pcouounced : l 'ranslated

Capitol Lower Capital Lower in this ca se case bo"k as :

A a .A a. a a (as in " bard" ) A

li 0 :» g be b B

B .B :J3 -& ve v V

r r ::I t, ghe g (as in "give") G

A A i'5 'f), ~ de d D

E e ~ ~ ye e (as in "best") E )}( }f( :JfC ~ zhe zh ZH 3 l :3 ;} ze z Z

H }If u a. i (as in " mill" ) I

H « i kratkoe i (short) I

I i ,- i yota i (as in " mill" ) I

K K JC "" ka k K Jl JJ /l ...(. ell L

M M .At .Ai. emm m M

H H j( Il enn n N

0 0 0 0' 0 o (as in " top") 0

n n 7{ 1L pe p P

P p P ft err r (as in "rift" ) R

C c e c ess s S

T T 7J{ ~ t e t T

Y -y Y J/ u 00 (as in " room " ) U

<I- q. ~ ", eH f F

X X X .:e kha ch (as in "loch") KH

U II ~ ~ t se ts TS

If \{ 'l{. It che ch (as in "chin") CH ill ill ut ~ sha sh SH llI. W. ~ ~~ shcha shch SHCH 'h :h t. t verdy znak silent (hard sign)

hI hJ -6£, yery u (as in " hurt" ) Y .h b 1, myagky znak silen t (soft sign)

1i 15 % It yat ye y e YE 3 .3 f} ;a e e (as in "term" ) E

/£0 10 1'0 1<T y u y u (as in "yule") YU

JI J( Jl ~ ya ya YA

8 e f!) f¥ £Ita PH

10

(b) the letter "0" is pronounced " a " when placed before the accentuated syllable;

(c) the letter "ghe" is pronounced "v" in the ending of the genitive f.orm "AGO" or "OGO". Example: "Khivinskago" is pronounced "Khivinskavo" .

As regards the two silent signs, the " hard sign" h as no other effect than confirming tha t the consonant preceding it m ust be pronounced normally (this sign has sin(;e been deleted from the Soviet a lphabet). :rhe "soft sign" indicates that the consona nt preceding it must be softened : its presence is therefore important in some Chinese names, particularly those ending by an "enn" . Where the "enn" is tollowed by a "soft sign ", it should be read as "NG"; where it is followed by a " hard sign", it should be pronounced as a n brmal "N".

The 35 ~etters of the Russian alphabet a re easily learned: once this is done, the collector should have no .trouble in reading the inscriptions on Russia n cancellations; at most, he may h ave to refer a t times to page 10 in order to ch eck some doubtful case. (After the R evolution , the Soviet Government simplified the a lphabet by suppressing the four following letters: "yota", "hard sign" , "yatye" a nd "fita".)

(C) ILLUSTRATIONS OF CANCELLATIONS. While a working knowledge of the Russia n a lphabet should a llow every

collector t o identify Russian cancella tions, it has been felt that the problem of overcoming t he language difficulty would be met more decisively by giving an illustra tion of practically every cancella tion described in this work. The large quantity o f illustrations necessary for this purpose (many of which closely resemble each other) is naturally bo und to a ffect the cost of this book, but i t is thought that readers will , in their majority, take the v iew that the additional cost is amply justified by the advantage of having an actual reprod uction of the cancellation at their disposal, ra ther tha n having to r ely exclusively on what descriptions could be g iven in the t ext .

The inclusion of these illustra tions makes it unnecessary t o reproduce the inscriptions in Russian ch aract ers in the descriptive text: these inscriptions, where mentioned in the t ext, are therefore given in their English equivalent.

As a further help t o the reader, all words o ther than na mes of towns will be found tra nsla t ed in English either on the page dealing with the cancellation concerned, or (in the case of some general inscriptions common to many t ypes), in caption (F) of this Introd uction .

(0) RUSSIAN OFFICES A!BROAD AND THE STAMPS THEY USED. The t otal number of Russian Post Offices identified so far as having

opera ted on foreign t erritory exceeds 250. The great majority of these used exclusively ordina ry Russian stamps througho ut their life, while most of the others used them a lso at one time or another , in some cases prio r to the introduction of the specia l issues for the L EVANT or CHINA, in other cases conc urrently with these latter.

A summarised list of the countries where Russian Post Offices were in op era tion , and of the kind of stamps used in each of these countries, is appended hereunder tor the convenience of readers :

(1) OTTOMAN EMPIRE: Ordina ry Russian stamps in exclusive use up t o 1865 (1868 for Constantinople ), and in casua l use bet ween 1868 and 1914. ROPIT issues in use from 1865 to 1868, a nd R USSI AN LEVANT issues from 1868 to 1914 .

(2) DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES: Stampless covers, with possible Uie of ordinary Russia n stamps from 1862 to 1868 . Stamps of RUSSIAN LEV ANT a t Tulcea. •

(3) BULGARIA AND ROUMELIA: Stampless covers, a lso ordinary Russian stamps from 1877 to 1879 . Stamps of R USSIAN LEVANT a t Black Sea ports.

11

(4) EGYPT: Ordinary Russia n stam ps from 1862 to 1865, ROPIT issues from 1865 t o 1868, a nd R USSI AN LEVANT issues from 1868 to 1875.

(5) PERSIA: Ordinary Russian st a mps only . (6) K H ANATES OF BUKHARA AND KHIVA: Ordinary Russian

stamps only . (7) URYANKHAI: Ordinary Russia n sta mps only . (8) SIN-KIANG: Ordinary Russian st amps only. (9) MONGOLIA: Ordinary Ru ssia n st amps (casua l use of RUSSIAN

CHINA ) . (10) CHINA PROPE R: Ordina ry Russian stamps exclusively up t o

1899, in concurrent use with RUSSIAN CHINA issues bet ween 1899 and 1920.

(11) LYAOTUNG LEASEHOLD: Ordinary Russian stamps (casual use of RUSSIAN CHINA).

(12) MANCHURIA: Ordinary Russia n stamps in exclusive u se until 1920, in concurrent use with RUSSIAN CHINA iss ues during 1920.

(E) FIELD POST OFFICES. The Offices list ed in the preceding caption were civilian est ablishments,

and it is with these tha t the present work is prima rily concerned. Apart from these, h owever, military F ield Post Offices were op erated by the Russia n Armies a t various periods both in countries named in the preceding caption, a nd in other t err itories under Russian military occupation.

These F ield Post Offices fo rm a nother compact subject of their owp, which wo uld probably n ecessitate as many pages as required by the civilian establishments, for adequat e treatment. This subject rema ins outside the scope of this work.

There are a number of cases, however, where civilian a nd military Post Offices a re very closely connected to each other, the same Office having cha nged from one st atus to the other, often using the same cancellation after the change. In a ll such situa tions, particula rly frequent in Bulgaria a nd Manchuria, where civilia n Offices a re inextricably mingled with milita ry ones, F ield P ost Offices have been included to the ext ent necessary for tne completion of the history of the civilian establishments .

(F) STANDARD TYPES OF CANCELLATIONS.

Most of the cancella tions used in Russia n Post Offices Abroad can be classified into a number of Standard T ypes. In order t o avoid unnecessary duplication in the t ext of this work, each of these St anda rd Types is fully described hereunder, a nd is designated in the following Chapters under the reference seria l letter allotted to it in this caption. The description of cancellations belonging to one of these St anda rd Types is therefore limited in the following Chapters t o some distinctive features (name of t own, etc. ). a nd readers should refer t o this caption for the description of other features common t o all cancellations belonging to a same Standard T yp e.

Standard Types used by Offices coming under the Russian P ostal Administration a re the following:

(1) Standard Type "A". A single-circle of varying diamet er , with name of town in seriffed capita ls a t t op, and an ornament (fleuron , post­horns, e tc. ) at bottom. Date in three lines in the centre, with day in figures on first line, month in seriffed capitals (usually abbreviated) on second line, and year in four figures on third line. See illustratio n "A" of KYAKHTA, page 13.

(2) Standard Type "8". A double-oval used exclusively in China. Outer oval measures 35 x 24mm., inner oval 25 x 13t mm. Name of town in baton capitals a t t op, a nd a single posthorn at bottom, with mouthpiece a t left . Date in centre is of the " cross-shaped" t ype, consisting of a small horizontal bar in the middle, with day in figures above, month in R oman numerals below, two first figures of year a t left, and two last figures of same a t right. See illustration "B" of KALGAN, page 13.

l'.!

ST ANDARD TYPES OF CANCELLATIONS

MAP. 1879

~ .:.

A B C

D E F

.. G H J

~\t.'y\Yb 4'~6'

~~ ~[tj~ er 223 17 ~ ~ ?:::>

+ :a ~ .:t:- . .~

x • K L M

13

N

Q

T

R s

COMP1\l~NIE It\ISSE

18t-;' 60

•• . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . ..

S MYJtNE

... '781'·' . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

14

AA

BB cc

DD EE FF

GG JJ

FEV1921

KK LL If>

(3) Standard Type " C". A single-circle of varying diameter , with na me of town at top, and the words " POCHTOVAYA KONTORA" (meaning "POST OFFICE" ), either complet e or variously abbreviated, a t bottom. A serial number at each side. Date in three lines in the centre, with day in figures on first line, month in capitals (usually abbreviated) on second line, and year in four figures on third line. All inscriptions in baton capitals. See illustration "C" of BUKHARA, page 13.

(4) Standard Type " D". A single-circle of vary ing diamet er, with name of town a t t op left , followed by abbreviated name of province at t op right. At bottom, in various abbreviat ed forms, the words " POCHTOVA YA TELEGRAFNAYA KONTORA", meaning "POST AND TELEGRAPH OFFICE". All inscriptions in baton capita ls. Seria l number a t sides , a nd date in centre, both identical to Type "C" above. See illustration "D" of KULDJ A, page 13.

(5) Standard Type " E " . A variant of Type "D" , for use on Ambulant Tra in Post Offi ·es. Same characteristics as Type "D", b ut inscription at top r eads " POCHT. VAGON" (abbreviated for " POCHT OVrr VAGON", meaning , 'P OST AL WAGGON"), and inscriptio n a t bottom consist s of names of t erminal st ations of ra ilway line . See illustra tion "E" of R ailway Line SAMARKAND-CH ARJUY, page 13.

(6) Standard Type " F". A single-circle of varying dia met er, with inscriptions as in Type "C" , but with date in centre in "cross-shaped" form , as described under type "B". See illustra tion "F" of UR GA, page 13 .

(7) Standard Type " G" . A single-circle of varying diamet er, with inscriptions as in Type "D", but with date in "cross-shaped" form , as in T ype "F" . See illustration "G" of CH ARJUY , page 13.

(8 ) Standard Type " H ". A double-circle of varying diameter, but with narrow spacing between the outer a nd inner circles (ca. 4tmm.), with name of t own at t op in baton capitals, sta rs at bott om and bottom left , a nd a serial letter , usua lly in lower case script, at bottom right. Date in one line in the cen t re, consisting of day, month a nd t wo last figures of year , all in unseriffed numerals. Date is enclosed bet ween t wo thin horizonta l bars, ca. 7mm .. apart . See illustra tion " H " of KHARBIN, page 13 .

(9) Standard Type " J " . A double-circle of vary ing diamet er , but with wide spacing between the outer a nd inn er circles (over 5mm.). a nd wit'l name of town at t op in larger bat on capitals . Other features identical t o T y pe "H" . See illustration " J" of HANKOW, page 13.

(10) Standard Type "K". As last , but figures of date larger and enclosed between thin bars 11 t o 13mm. apart. See illustra tion " K" of KERKI, page 13.

(11 ) Standard T ype "L". As Type "K", but with na me of town a t top left, followed by a description of the foreign t erritory in which the town con cerned is situa t ed. In most cases, this description is given in abbreviat ed form, as shown on illustration " L " of NEW UR GENCH, pa.ge 13, where the abbreviation " KHIV . VLAD." is for " KHIVINSKIYA VLADYENIYA". The Russian word "VL ADYENIE" (plura l form "VLADYENIYA") conveys a combined mea ning of overlordship, ownership a nd rule, which can he variously trans lated into Engl ish by "DOMINION", "DOMAIN" or "POSSESSION". This last form has been' selected by the a uthors for the purpose of this book, and the inscription "KHIVINSKIYA VLADYENIY A" will therefore be found tra nslated as "KHIVAN POSSESSIONS" , o r , in the cases of equivalent inscriptions on cancella tions used in other co untries , by " CHINESE POSSESSIONS", " PERSIAN P OSSESSIONS", or "BUKHAR AN P OSSESSIONS". Distance bet ween bars enclosing dat e varies from 7 t o 9mm.

(12 ) Standard T ype "M". As T ypes " K " or " L", but with da te enclosed between very thick bars . Usually without serial letter. See illu stration "M" of MAKU, page 13.

(13) Standard Type "N". This t ype (also Types "0" and "P") was used exclusively a t Stations of the Chinese Eastern R ailway in Manchuria. Type " N" is simila r to .Type "J", but with name of Station at top, and

16

abbreviated inscription "ST.KIT.VOST.ZHE.D." at bottom. Stars at sides, the on e a t right replaced a t times by a seria l letter in lower case script. Inscription a t bottom reads in fu ll "STANTSIYA KITAISKOI VOSTOCHNOI ZHELEZNOI DOROGOI", meaning "STATION OF T HE CHINESE EASTERN R AILWAY". See illustra tion "N" of TSITSIKAR, page 14.

(14) Standard Type "0" . As T y pe "N", but date enclosed between two thin bars 11 t o 13mm. apart . See illustration "0" of ASHIKHE, page 14.

(15) Standard T ype " P ". As T ype "0", b ut abbrevia tion "ST." for "STANTSIYA" precedes name of Sta tion a t t op , inst ead of preceding inscription a t bottom . Date in la rge figures. See illustra tion " P " of FULYA-ERDI, page 14.

(16) Standard Type " Q". A double-oval of varying shapes and sizes, used at T ermina ls of R a ilway lines . Name of t erminal a t t op, a nd inscription "VOKZAL" , meaning " TERMINAL STATION", either complet e or in abbreviated form at bottom . Stars a t s ides, the one a t right replaced at times by a seria l letter in lower case script . Dat e in one line in centre, consisting of day, month and [,.:l,st two figures of year , a ll in unseriffed num era ls, between t wo thin horizontal bars, 7 t o 9r;rIID. apart . See illustration "Q" of MANCHURIA (MAN-CHU-LI ) t erminal st ation , page 14.

(17) Standard Type " R ". A single-circle of varying diameter , for use on Post al Waggons of R a ilway lines. Inscription around the circle reads "POCHTOVII VAGON No . - - " (meaning " P OSTAL WAGGON No. --") followed by the number of the R ailway line . At bottom, number of tra in between small ornaments or dots. Cross-shaped date as in Type "F" in the centre . See illustra tion " R " of P OSTAL WAGGON No . 206, page 14 .

(18) Standard T y pe " S" . A double-oval fo r use on Postal ·Waggons. Similar to Type "Q", but with number of R a ilway line a t top , flanked by names of its Terminals a t left and right, a ll in baton characters . A seria l letter , usually in lower case script , indicating the number of the train, is placed at bottom , bet ween t wo small sta rs. See illustration " S" of Line 265, KHARBIN-I{ WANGCHENTZE, page 14.

(19) Standard T ype " T". A double-oval for use on Ru ssia n Ships . Simi la r to T ype "S", but with Termina ls of Ship Line at top (at times in abbreviated form), and the abbreviated word " PAROKH ." for "PAROKHOD" (meaning "STEAMSHIP") at bottom . Star a t bottom left, se ria l letter in lower case script a t bottom right , denoting number of ship . See illustration "T" of VLADIVOSTOK-SHANGHAI Line, page H.

In addition t o the above, the RUSSIAN COMPANY FOR STEAM 'HIPPING AND TRADE, bett er known by its initia ls R .O.P. l.T ., u sed

the following Standard T yp es in P ost Offices in the L evant operated h y its / Agencies. Most of these t ypes include the initia ls of the Company, derived from its Russia n title " R USSK OE OBSHCHESTVO PAROKHODSTVA I TORGOVLI" :

(20) Standard T ype " U " . A do uble-framed rectangle of vary ing sizes, with inscriptions in French la nguage reading "COMPAGNIE R USSE" (meaning "RUSSIAN COMPANY") at top, and name of Office a t bottom , both in ornated capitals . Date in one line in the cen tre, in figures of varying styles, in the following order : first t wo figures of year, followed by day a nd month (both sideways), a nd last t wo figures of year at right. See illustra tion "U" of SMYRNA, page 14.

(21) Standard Type "V" . A Standa rd T ype of the Russian Postal Administratio n , which was iss ued a lso t o some ROPIT Agencies in the Levant. Consisting of a t ria ngle of dots, with corners truncat ed, a nd with serial number of Office in the centre, in seriffed numerals. There a re invariably 4!l dots. See illu stra tion "V" of MERSINA (7 81), page 14.

17

(22) Standard Type "W". A single-circle (dia met er ~6!mm . ) wit!; name of Office, preceded by the word "PORT", a t t op a nd a fleuron a t bottom. Date in three lines in centre, with day in figures on fir st line, month in capitals (abbreviated) on second line, and year in fo ur figures on third line . All inscriptions in serifIed capita ls. See illustra tion " W" of ALEXANDRETTA, page 14.

(23) Standard Type "X" . As T ype "W", but name of Office not preceded by "PORT" , a nd ornament a t bottom consist s of a large foliate pattern with ten elements, instead of a fleuron . See illustra tion "X" of PORT-SAID, page 14,

(24) Standard Type "Y". A single-circle (diameter 30tmm.) with initials of Company a t t op, a nd name of Office accompanied by word "AGENTSTVO" or "AGENCE" (meaning "AGENCY") at bottom. Date in three lines in centre, with day in figures on first line, month in Roman numerals on second line, a nd last two figures of year on third line. All inscriptions in seriffed capita ls, in either Russian o r French language, often abbrevia t ed. See illustration "Y" of SAMSUN Agency , page 14.

(25) Standard Type "Z". A single-circle (dia n1eter 30mm ) with nam e of Office, usua lly abbreviated , a t t op , and the word "AGENTSTVO" (meaning "AGENCY") a t bottom . Sma ll sta rs a t sides. Dat e in three lines in centre, with day in figures on first line, month in capita ls (abbreviated) on second line, a nd year in four figures on third line. All inscriptions in seriffed capitals . See illustra tion " Z" of ALEXANDRIA Agency, page 14.

(26) Standard Type "AA". A single-circle (diameter 29mm. ) with name of Office in la rge and very thick seriffed capita ls a t t op . Date usuall y limited to t wo lines, with day in figures on first line, a nd month in thick capitals (abbreviated ) on second line. See illustra tion "AA" of LATTAKIA, page 14 .

(27 ) Standard Type " BB". A double-oval of medium size (o uter oval 36 x 24tmm., inner oval 25 x 13mm.). Initia ls of Company a t top in seriffed capita ls, name of Office at bottom in baton capitals . Date in one line in centre, consisting of day in f' gures, first three letters of month , and last two figures of the year. See illustration " BB" of KERASSUNDE, page 15.

(28) Standard Type "CC". A large double-oval of vary ing size, wit h ini tials of Compa ny a t t op in serifIed capitals, a nd na me of Office preceded by "AGENTSTVO" (meaning "AGENCY"), variously abbrevia ted, at bott om in baton capita ls. F leurons a t sides . Date in on e line in centre, consisting of day in figures , first three letters of month, a nd year in four figures . . See illustration " CC" of J AFFA Agency, page 15.

(29) Standard Type "DD". A small single-circle (dia meter 25mm.) with initials of Company at t op , name of Office a t bottom, a ll in baton capitals. St a rs at sides . Da t e in one line in centre, as Type " BB". See illustration " DD" of BEIRUT, page 15.

(30) Standard Type "EE". A double-circle of varying diameter, with initia ls of Company a t t op, name of Office at bottom , both in baton capitals. Fleurons a t sides . Dat e identical t o T ype " DD". See illustra tion "EE" of INEBOLI, page 15.

(31) Standard Type "FF". As Type "EE", b ut da t e in three lines in centre, with day on first line, month (abbreviated) on second line, a nd year in four fIgures on third line . See illustra tion "FF" of MOUNT-ATHOS , page 15.

(32) Standard Type "GG" . As Ty pe "FF", but "cross- haped" date, as in T ype "F" .. See illustration "GG" of H AIFA, page 15.

(33) Standard Type "HH". As T ype "1'1''', but da te in on e line .(day in figures, month in R oman numerals , and year in four figures) between h orizonta l bars 9mm. apart . See illustra tion "HH" of ] AFFA , page 15.

(34) Standard Type " J1". A double-circle of varying dia meter, with inner circle broken by la rge horizontal date belt in centre. Init ials of Company at t op, name oi Office a t bottom, both in baton capitals. Date

18

in one line (day in figures , month in R oman num erals, and last two fig ures of year) inside the central belt. Space between belt and inner circle is fi lled with sh ort vertica l bars. See illustration "n" of JERUSALEM, page 15.

The following types were used by General Wrangel's REFUGEE POST: (35) Standard Type "KK". A large s ingle-circle (dia met er 41mm . )

with " RUSSKAYA POCHTA" ( meaning " RUSSI AN POST" ) in tall seriffed capita ls at top , and na me of Office in various st yles a t bottom . Date in one line inside a la rge belt in the centre (day in figures, first three let ters of month in French, year in four figures ) . See illustra tion "KK" of CONSTANTINOPLE, page 15.

(36) Standard T ype "LL". A large double-framed circle (diameter 44mm.) with same inscriptions as last, but in shorter a nd wider ornated capita ls at top. Other features simila r t o T ype "J(K" . Sec illustra tion "LV' of BUYUK-DERE, page 15.

(G) CONVENTIONS USED.

The following conventions have been used in t his work, for the description of cancellations, a nd for various other references in the t ext:

(1) Inscriptions on Cancellations: All m ust be understood to be in Russian characters , unless specifIed as being in a nother language.

(2) Measurements of Cancellations: These a re given in' millimeters, as fo llows:

(a) a single figure indicating the d iamet er , for single-circles; (b) two figures separated by a h yphen (s uch as 27-16) indicating the

diameters of the outer a nd inner circles r espectively, fo r double­circles;

(c ) t wo figures separated by an "x" (such as 27 x 16) indicating the length and height respectively for recta ngles, ovals a nd other n<;>u­circular shapes.

(3 ) Colour of Cancellations: All cancellations must be understood to he printed in Black, unless otherwise stated .

(4) Abbreviations of Reference Works: R eference works a re listed a t the beginning of each Chapter. The foll owing abbreviations have been used in the text for some often recurring publications with very long names :

(a) B. J .R.P. for "British J ourna l of Russia n Philately". (b) Rossica {or" J ournal of the Rossica Society of Russian Phila t ely" . (c) A.C.Y .B. for "American Congress Yea r B ook, 1948". (d ) C.C.P. for "Collectors Club Phila t elist". (e) P.M. for "Die Postmarke, Wien". (f) M.P .Z. ;for "Mitteldeutsche Philatelist en Zeitung". (g) S.B .Z. for "Sch weizer Briefmarken Zeitung". (h) P .B. for " L e Phila telist e B eige" . (i) G .S . .JVI. fo r "Gibbons Stamp Monthly". (j) B .P. fo r "The Baltimo re Philatelist " .

(H ) PRICING.

It is the opinion of the a uthors that no philatelic ha ndbook can be considered complet e unless it includes a Check-List giving the approximate value of the items described. In the case of this work, the problem of establishing a reasonably accurate indication of value is complicated by a number of factors, such as the extrem e ra rity of some cancellations, the disparity between prices ruling in Europe a nd in the U .S.A ., and the general consideration that the value of many of these cancellations has not yet been stabilised by a steady dema n d, tra nsactions being largely limited t o small groups of keen buyers, with resultant fluid prices .

Furthermore, the cancellations described in this work a re found on two different cat egories of postage stamps, each of which requires a distinct treatment:

19

(1) Cancellations on Special Issues for Russian Offices Abroad: The st amps issued by the ROPIT between 1865 a nd 1868, a nd the specia l issues o f t he Russia n Government fo r use in the LEVANT or CHINA between 1868 a nd 1920 , a re list ed a nd priced in a ll standard catalogues, and their va lue varies from year to year according to the law of supply and dema nd. R eaders a re therefo re r eferred to standard catalogues for pr ices of these specia l issues . Although ma ny of the cancellations described in this work a re ha rd to get on these stamps, the only ones having a regular market a t higher prices a t this writ ing a re those of Offices in Bulga ria, Egypt , Palestine a nd Rouma nia, which a re k eenly sought by a growing number of sp ecia list s . In a ll such cases where cancellations deserve a p remium over the normal catalogue price, th is premiu m will be found indicat ed in the Check-List s o f this work.

(2 ) Cancellations on Ordinary Russian Stamps: In the case of this group, which is by far the la rgest , " Used Abroad" cancellations a re worth much more than the prices given in sta ndard cata logues for metropolita n ones , a nd an effort has been ma de t o indicat e a p rice, or a t least a " ra rity rating", for every item recorded as existing. Prices a re given for a ll the comm oner items, while those recorded so far in very few. copies are ra t ed "R", "RR" or "RRR", according to their respective degree of rarity . St amps list ed without either of the foregoing ind ications are t hose which a re certain t o exist , b u t of which no examples have been recorded so t a r.

The prices indi cat ed are in B ritish Sterling currency , a nd represent an average between the lower levels ruling in Great B rita in and some European co untries tor th is class of ma terial, a nd the h igher levels practiced in the U .S . a nd in some other European coun tries . In order to account for this difference, U .S. collect ors should con vert the prices shown in th is work a t the rate of 5/ - per Dollar ( inst ead of the usua l rate of 7/ 1) for a bett er indication of the price levels apply ing in t heir co untry .

All prices apply to fine, clearly . legible, impress ions of the cancellations, as complete as possible, t a k ing int o account the size of the stamps on which t hey a re fo und . In the case of the low denom inations of t he Arms type stamps, where cancellations cannot show in fu ll , the prices apply t o impressions covering the whole surface of the sta mp, or containing at leas t the name of the Office in fu ll. Incomplet e imp ressions a re wor th less according t o qua lity.

i-THE

I

I -(RIPo L.I TA N lA I

O . R .

EMPIRE IN 1770.

O . R~ • .... • , •• •• ~ # . '. !,. .

"~ PERSIA

... \ !'I:AQ •••••••

o .R .

"" .

.. ' ..

\OR . ~UNDE.R OriOMANRUlE. ;v.S.: VASSAL S1A1ES. i D . " ALLE"GIAKCE IN DISPUTE.

2-THE OVERLAND MAIL ROUTE

Rlf's's)AN EJV\.P)R~

_: FRONT I ERS FRO!,,\ 1771\.10 1783. ======: OVERLI·,f'liO M {~ IL R<JLi TE .

21

CHAPTER I

CONSTANTINOPLE (A) BIBLIOGRAPHY.

D . B. Armstrong: Stamp of the Levant Post Offices (London, 1913) . E. von Bochman: Die Postmarke des Russischen Kaiserreichs (Leipzig.

1895) . H. R. Harmer: Auction Catalogue of the A. Faberge Sale (London,

1939) . H. D. S . H averbeck: The P ost of the Wrangel Arm y in T urkey (CCP,

7/ 1948). W. E. Kethro a nd P . T . Ashford: The Stamps of the Russian R efugee

Post (Brist ol, 51). Dr. Knopf-Goldberg : Schiffstempel des Mittelmeeres (MPZ, 1899). G. Noradoungian: R ecueil d' Actes Internationaux de l' Emp. Ottoman

(Paris, 1897) . S . V . Prigara : Russian Posts in the Empire, Turkey, China a nd Pola nd

(New York, 40). G. B. Salisbury : Roma novs in the Levant (BJR P, 10). F ranz See : Die Russische Post in Bu lgarien und Ostrumelien (Sofia,

1939) . R . Sklarevski a nd J . E. McCann: Russian P.O.'s in Bulgaria (BP,

1943) . A. H. Wortman: The num eral L evant Postmarks (BJRP 1) .

(8) GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. In the period covered by this book, CONST ANTINOPLE was the

capital of the Ottoman Empire, with a population of just over 1 ,000,000 inhabitants in 1914. T he officia l T urkish des ignations of the city were DAR-SAADET ("The Magnificent Town ") or DAR -ALIYE ("The Noble Town"). It cons ist ed of t he a ncient cap ita l of the Eastern R oman Empire, called by the Turks ISTANBUL (distorted by the foreign pop ula tio n to STAMBOUL) , a nd of the more recent E uropean trading a nd residentia l quart ers of GALATA and PERA , on the northern side of the Golden Horn.

After 1922, Kemal ist Turkey prohibited the use of the n ame CONSTANTINOPLE, and t he who~e city is since called ISTANBUL.

The OTTOMAN EMPIRE, which had reached its greatest expansion in the XVIIth century, had lost since Hunga ry a nd Tra nssylvania, b ut remained n evertheless one of the g reat est powers in the world, a nd its rule extended over vast t erritories in E urope, Asia a nd Africa, some of these under di rect subjection to the Ottoman Sultan, others a llowed varying degrees of autonomy under Ottoman suzerainty. These t erritories comprised :

(1) In Europe: (a) The who le of the Balka n peninsula up to the lower Danu be, including Greece, Albania, Macedon ia, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Dobrudja, Thrace and Bosnia-Herzegovina, a ll directly administered by the Ottoman Government;

(b) T he former a utonomous Prin cipalit ies of Moldavia a nd Wallachia, tributary to the Porte, whose a utonomy had been suppressed in 1716 a nd was not t o be restored until 1774. Wallachia had been enlarged in ] 73!l by the addition of the Bana t of Craiova reconquered from the Austrians, and had assumed i ts historical fo rm (between the ~ower Danube an d the Alps of Transsylvania);

(c) On the northern sh ores of the Black Sea, the provinces of Bessarabia (between the Pruth a nd the Dniester) and of Yedisan (between the Dniester and the lower Dnieper), directly administ ered by Constantinople, as military marches defending the northern borders of the Empire;

(d) On the n orth-eastern shores of the Blar:k Sea , the provinces of Greater and Lesser Kabard ia, extending from the Straits of Kerch to the Caucasus mountain range;

22

(e) The Mongolia n Kha nat e of Crimea, compnsm g the peninsula of same na me a nd its hinterla n d bet ween the D nieper and Kuban rivers, which had become tributary t o the Sulta n sin ce 1475, a nd was ru led by its own dyna t y under supervision by a Turkish Pasha statio ned a t K afia (now Feodosia) . Turkish garrisons were maintained a t four strategic o utpost s in the Khanate, the fortresses of Ta na (Azov) a t t he mouth of the Don, Kerch-Yenikale , a t the entra nce t o the Sea of Azov, Kinbourn , g ua rd ing the " Iima n" of the Dnieper , a nd Kafia , seat of the Turkish en voy ;

(f ) In the Caucasus m ountains facing the east ern sh ores of the Black Sea, the Georgia n Principalities of Abkhazethia , Svanethia, Mingrelia, Irnerethia a nd Ossethia, a ll under close vasselage t o the Sultan but ruled by Local Princes nomina ted by him;

(g ) Near the shores of the Adria tic, the tiny mountain-Principality of Montenegro , a utonomous under its B ishop-Princes, but vassal to the Sultan ;

(h ) All t he islands in the Aegean and eastern Med it erra nean, includ ing Rhodes, Cret e a nd Cyprus, under d irect Ot toman administration.

(2) In Asia : ( i) The whole of the Asia Minor peninsula, with west ern Armenia a nd K urd istan, under direct Ottoman adm inistration ;

(j ) South of the Caucasus, the P ashali k of Akha ltsikhe, r uled by t he Georgia n d ynast y of Dj akeli , convert ed t o I slam, b ut administered in fact as a regula r Turkish province , with the Djakelis acting as Turkish P ashas;

(k ) On the confines of P ersia, a number of K ha nates (E rivan , Ganj a, Shemakha, etc . ) disputed a t various times between the t wo co untries, a nd who swerved their a llegia nce from one neighbour t o the other, accord ing t o the varying fortunes of war ;

( I) All the sedentary part of cont inental and peninsula r Arabia, incl uding Syria, P a lestine, Ira q , J o rdan , Ass ir (west ern coast of the Arabia n peninsula, with Medina a nd Mecca). A few districts in this a rea (such as the Sherifa te of Mecca and the Principalities of Lebano n ) still had some mea ure of a utonomy under their local Princes, but under close vasselage t o the Sulta n ;

(m ) T he Sheikhdoms of Yemen and Kuwait, ruled by t heir own dynasties, but paying tribute t o Constantinople.

(3) In Africa: (n ) E gypt, under di rect Ottoma n Administra tion until 1811 , lat er a Vi ce-Royalty tributary to Const antinople un t il 1914 ;

(0) Tripolita nia, comprising the whole of present-day Li bya, under direct Ottoman Administration;

(p ) The Beyliks of Tunis a nd Algiers , ruled by Turk ish Beys who had practically f reed themselves f rom Ottoma n tutelage, but were n omina lly recogni ing the high~r a uthority of the Sulta n .

E ver s ince its creation , the structure of the Ottoman E mpire ha d been mainly military, and its administra ti ve services had been primari ly concerned wit h the collection of taxes, usually carried out in a very a rbit ra ry and ru thless manner. The econom ic life of t he Stat e had been la rgely left t o the initia t ive of the conq uered p eople, a galaxy of nat ions of va rious races a nd unequa l degrees of culture. As a resul t, la rge portions of the Empire were still in a very primitive or un developed sta t e, while others were teemin g with commercia l a nd artisa na l activity . T he g reatest volume of this traffic was concentra ted on the coasta l district s of the Mediterra nean , Aegean and Black Sea, in a number of very active por ts and in some inla nd cities in the vicini ty, where civilised communities had been settled for many centuries, a nd wh ere the local inhabita nts, Greeks, Phoenicia ns, Syria ns, J ews , Armenia ns, et c., ha d held a practical commercial , financial and cultura l monopoly, of which na tionals of W est ern countries, Venetia ns, Genoese, Maltese, and, more recently, F rench , Brit ish , Austria ns a nd Germa ns were now getting a n ever-increasing share.

The great est centre for a ll these activit ies was, of course, Constantinople, meeting point of E urope a nd Asia, channel of access from the So uth t o the North, a nd, fo r one thousand years, the most prestigious city of the

23

civilised world . Next to the capita l, a number of ports of varying importance were sha ring in t his prosperity, a nd gra dually came t o be designated by a generic Italia n term coined by the Venetians, "SCALE DEL LEVANTE" ("Ports of call of the Levant"), while their inhabita nts, who were speaking all possible languages except the officia l Turkish language of the Empire, were collectively call ed " Levantin es". These ports were t oo numerous to be a ll mentioned here, but the most important among them were the fo llowing: PIRAEUS, VOLOS, SALONICA, CAVALLA, LAGOS, DEDEAGACH, GALLIPOLI , BURGAS in Europe, TREBIZOND, KER ASSU DE, ORDU, SAMSUN, SINOPE, D ARDANELLES, SMYRNA , MER SINA, ALEXANDR ETTA, LATTAKIA, TRIPOLI, BEIRUT, ACRE, HAIFA, J AFFA in Asia, ALEXANDRIA and (la ter) PORT-SAID in Africa, MITYLENE, Cl-H OS, RHODES, CANEA, CANDIA, FAMAGUSTA in the I slands . To these can be added a few important inla nd towns: ATHENS, ADRIANOPLE, BELGRADE, BUCHAREST, GAL ATZ and J ASSY in E urope, BRUSA, PERGAMUS, SIVAS, ADANA, ALEPPO , DAMASCUS, J E R USALEM a nd BAGHDAD in Asia, CAIRO in Africa.

(Cl HISTORICAL NOTES.

As this story begins, the authors must request their readers t o forget the shape of present maps, and the frame of mind of o ur XXth century world, an d t o transport themselves into the realm of by-gone times, t o the England of K ing George III and L ord North , and to tha t very early chapter of dawning American history w hen the colonist s of New England had thrown overboard the cargo of the tea ships a t Boston , a nd when t he Independence War of the U nited Stat es was about to begin (1774).

At that remot e period, the map of the Near East was very different from what it is to-day, a nd even from wha t the p resent genera tions had found it to be in their childhood years . The western shores of t he B lack Sea did not belong to in dependent Balkan Stat es; the northern and ea tern shores were not a Russia n coast . R eaders should therefrom stra in their imagination , and envision a Black Sea t ha t was a Turkish lake, a nd a map of its northern shores on which such fam ilia r na mes as Odessa, N ikolayev, Kherson, Sebast opol, Yekat erin oslav, Berdyansk, Maryupol , Yekaterinodar a nd Novorossiisk wou ld not exist , not even as insignificant hamlet s. The vast expanse of la nd from the B ug t o the Kuban rivers, including t he whole of the Crimea, was still a desola t e steppe, where Mongolia n nomad shepherds would t ake their herds t o graze. In the mild climate of a badly-neglected Crimea, there was a " Pa lace in the Gardens" ("BAKHCHE-SARAI") where, in the a ntiquated pomp of the barbarian steppe, a n Asia tic potentate, Dovlet -Girei IH, d irec t descendant of Gengis­Khan , reigned over this la t E uropean remnant of the immense Mongolian Empire of the Middle Ages. O n both east a nd west, this Kbanate of Crimea, as it was called, was encompassed by the crushing might of the Ottoman Empire. The S ultan's t erritories covered the shores of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Dnieper, through the Balkans, Asia Minor a nd Caucasus , to the mouth of the Kuban. The Khanate itself had been compelled to accept Ottoman suzera inty, a nd a Turkish Pasha was seatin g in the form er Genoese strongh old of Kaffa (not yet rena med Feodosia), wherefrom he directed the Turkish garrisons encamped at the strategic p osts of Kinbourt1, Kerch-Yenikale a nd Tana (Azov). on the territory of the Khanate. B essarabia, R ouma nia, Y ugoslavia, Bulga ria, Greece, the Kuban a nd the Caucasus in E urope, Egypt and Li bya in Africa, Asia Minor a nd a ll the Arab countries in Asia, were still under the rule of the Sul tans of Constantinople who, less than a century before, had been besieging Vienna.

As the curta in ri ses, however , the dominion of the Crescent was in fast decline. Not very long ago, a new giant , the Russian Empire, had emerged under the iron will of Peter the Great , a nd now his worthy successor, the "Semiram is of the North" , had resumed the t ask he had left unfinished. The armies of Catherine II of Russia were bringing to a successful ending a difficult war begun six years before. The soldiers of the Czarina had conquered the t erritory between the Bug and the Danube, occupied Moldavia a nd Wallachia, a nd crossed the river, in their a dvance towa rds Con tantinople . H er fleet , under Admiral Orlov-Chesmensky, had cQme all

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