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2006-07-30 05:04:06 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture Community Service

3 answers

One of the earliest references to passports was made in about 450 B.C. Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes of ancient Persia, asked permission to travel to Judah. The King agreed and gave Nehemiah a letter "to the governors of the province beyond the river" requesting safe passage for him as he travelled through their lands

The term 'passport' most probably originates not from sea ports, but from medieval documents required to pass through the gate ('porte') of city walls. In medieval Europe such documents could be issued to any traveller by local authorities and generally contained a list of towns and cities through which the holder was permitted to pass. This system continued in France, for example, until the 1860s. During this time passports were often not required for travel to seaports, which were considered open trading points, but were required to travel from them to inland cities. Early passports often, but not always, contained a physical description of the holder, with photographs being added only in the early decades of the 20th century.

Following the world wars, the League of Nations (International Conference on Passports, Customs Formalities and Through Tickets, 1920), and later the United Nations and the ICAO, issued standardisation guidelines on the layout and features of passports. These guidelines have largely shaped the modern passport.

2006-07-30 05:08:13 · answer #1 · answered by penpallermel 6 · 4 0

Must be about 1600 hundred years ago

2006-07-30 21:43:26 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

thats an interesting question... i gotta watch this one...

2006-07-30 05:08:27 · answer #3 · answered by monie99701 4 · 0 0

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