Why were Genghis Khan's messengers called arrow riders?

Answer 1

Here is what I understant it to be:

Arrows were the fastest things in those days. His messengers would ride almost non-stop up to 2000 kilometers village to village, changing horses which were the fastest horses; they were always ready should an arrow messenger come riding into the village. The empire was huge, and urgent messages to the commanding generals or had to go that far, and fast! If an arrow messenger was killed on the way or by the recipient of the message, the killers and anybody associated with them would eventually pay with their lives and with the lives of eveybody within 100 kilometers. The arrow messengers would be taped up, making Genghis Khan the apparent inventor of sports compression apparel. His messengers were high up on the importance list as were government ministers, so when they rode into the village, they got what they needed, and shot off to deliver their message like an arrow! Dr. David Cosman in Hong Kong