Following the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1517, the region was divided into four districts and attached administratively to the province of Damascus, which was ruled from Istanbul. At the outset, particularly during the reign of Sultan Suleiman, known as "Suleiman the Magnificent", Jerusalem flourished. Walls and gates, which had lain in ruins, were rebuilt. The ancient aqueduct was restored and public drinking fountains were provided. After Suleiman's death, however, cultural and economic stagnation set in and Jerusalem again became a small, unimportant town. The nineteenth century witnessed far-reaching changes, along with the gradual weakening of the Ottoman Empire. Political change in Jerusalem and indeed throughout the country was accelerated as part of a policy of westernization. European institutions in Jerusalem, particularly those of a religious character, enjoyed growing influence. Foreign consulates, merchants and settlers grew in numbers and in power. Britain, France, Russia, Austria and the United States opened consulates in Jerusalem. Steamships began to ply regular routes between Palestine and Europe; postal and telegraphic connections were established and the first road connecting Jerusalem and Jaffa was built. Until 1840 there was no postal service for the citizens of the Empire. There was, however, a courier service between Istanbul and high-ranking officials. Following the inauguration of the first Ottoman Postal Service in 1840, post offices opened throughout the Empire and negative seals came into use. Letters addressed to Jerusalem were processed and routed via Beirut. This was based on a time-table established between 1840 and 1846. As far as this service was concerned, it is known that a post office existed at Beirut in 1845. Jerusalem along with Jaffa, Acre, Sour and Saida were probably postal agencies in the sense that they served as relay stations. With the introduction of the first postage stamps of the Ottoman Empire on January 1, 1863, more post offices opened in the Empire, and by 1870 at least eight post offices existed in Palestine, namely at Jerusalem, Jaffa, Acre, Bethlehem, Gaza, Hebron, Nablus and Tiberias. European powers began to open their own post offices from 1852 onwards in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa, and letters sent abroad from the Holy Land were carried via these offices. After the formation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874, which the Ottoman Empire joined on July 1, 1875, the Foreign Post Offices were maintained mainly for political reasons. The Ottoman Post Office lost a major part of its income due to the post being carried mostly through the foreign postal services. As early as 1867, the Ottoman Government asked the foreign powers to close their post offices but they remained open until the outbreak of World War I in September 30, 1914. The 400-year rule of the Ottoman Empire in Palestine ended on September 20, 1918 when Nazareth was captured, and the armistice was signed in October 1918. Prior to this, Jerusalem had fallen on December 9, 1917.