, between the
New Kingdom of
ancient Egypt and the
Hittite Empire of
Anatolia West Asia Some of the earliest known diplomatic records are the
Amarna letters written between the pharaohs of the
eighteenth dynasty of Egypt and the
Amurru rulers of
Canaan during the 14th century BC. Peace treaties were concluded between the
Mesopotamian city-states of
Lagash and
Umma around approximately 2100 BC. Following the
Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC during the
nineteenth dynasty, the pharaoh of
Egypt and the ruler of the
Hittite Empire created one of the first known international peace treaties, which survives in
stone tablet fragments, now generally called the
Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty. The
ancient Greek city-states on some occasions dispatched envoys to negotiate specific issues, such as war and peace or commercial relations, but did not have diplomatic representatives regularly posted in each other's territory. However, some of the functions given to modern diplomatic representatives were fulfilled by a
proxenos, a citizen of the host city who had friendly relations with another city, often through familial ties. In times of peace, diplomacy was even conducted with non-Hellenistic rivals such as the
Achaemenid Empire of Persia, though it was ultimately conquered by
Alexander the Great of Macedon. Alexander was also adept at diplomacy, realizing that the conquest of foreign cultures would be better achieved by having his
Macedonian and Greek subjects intermingle and intermarry with native populations. For instance, Alexander took as his wife a
Sogdian woman of
Bactria,
Roxana, after the siege of the
Sogdian Rock, in order to placate the rebelling populace. Diplomacy remained a necessary tool of statecraft for the great
Hellenistic states that succeeded Alexander's empire, such as the
Ptolemaic Kingdom and
Seleucid Empire, which fought several wars in the Near East and often negotiated peace treaties through
marriage alliances.
Ottoman Empire dress, painted by Antoine de Favray, 1766,
Pera Museum,
Istanbul Relations with the
Ottoman Empire were particularly important to Italian states, to which the Ottoman government was known as the
Sublime Porte. The
maritime republics of
Genoa and
Venice depended less and less upon their nautical capabilities, and more and more upon the perpetuation of good relations with the Ottomans. From the
Battle of Baideng (200 BC) to the
Battle of Mayi (133 BC), the
Han dynasty was forced to
uphold a marriage alliance and pay an exorbitant amount of tribute (in silk, cloth, grain, and other foodstuffs) to the powerful northern nomadic
Xiongnu that had been consolidated by
Modu Shanyu. After the Xiongnu sent word to
Emperor Wen of Han (r. 180–157) that they controlled areas stretching from
Manchuria to the
Tarim Basin oasis city-states, a treaty was drafted in 162 BC proclaiming that everything north of the
Great Wall belongs to nomads' lands, while everything south of it would be reserved for
Han Chinese. The treaty was renewed no less than nine times but did not restrain some Xiongnu
tuqi from raiding Han borders. That was until the far-flung campaigns of
Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC) which shattered the unity of the Xiongnu and allowed Han to conquer the
Western Regions; under Wu, in 104 BC the Han armies ventured as far
Fergana in Central Asia to battle the
Yuezhi who had conquered
Hellenistic Greek areas. '', a 6th-century Chinese painting portraying various emissaries; ambassadors depicted in the painting ranging from those of
Hephthalites,
Persia to
Langkasuka,
Baekje(part of the modern Korea),
Qiuci, and Wo (Japan) The Koreans and Japanese during the Chinese
Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) looked to the Chinese capital of
Chang'an as the hub of civilization and emulated its central bureaucracy as the model of governance. The Japanese sent frequent embassies to China in this period, although they halted these trips in 894 when the Tang seemed on the brink of collapse. After the devastating
An Shi Rebellion from 755 to 763, the Tang dynasty was in no position to reconquer Central Asia and the
Tarim Basin. After several conflicts with the
Tibetan Empire spanning several different decades, the Tang finally made a truce and signed a peace treaty with them in 841. In the 11th century during the
Song dynasty (960–1279), there were shrewd ambassadors such as
Shen Kuo and
Su Song who achieved diplomatic success with the
Liao dynasty, the often hostile
Khitan neighbor to the north. Both diplomats secured the rightful borders of the Song dynasty through knowledge of
cartography and dredging up old court archives. There was also a triad of warfare and diplomacy between these two states and the
Tangut Western Xia dynasty to the northwest of Song China (centered in modern-day
Shaanxi). After warring with the
Lý dynasty of
Vietnam from 1075 to 1077, Song and Lý
made a peace agreement in 1082 to exchange the respective lands they had captured from each other during the war. Long before the Tang and Song dynasties, the Chinese had sent envoys into Central Asia, India, and
Persia, starting with
Zhang Qian in the 2nd century BC. Another notable event in Chinese diplomacy was the Chinese embassy mission of
Zhou Daguan to the
Khmer Empire of
Cambodia in the 13th century. Chinese diplomacy was a necessity in the distinctive period of
Chinese exploration. Since the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), the Chinese also became heavily invested in sending diplomatic envoys abroad on
maritime missions into the Indian Ocean, to India, Persia,
Arabia, East Africa, and Egypt. Chinese maritime activity increased dramatically during the commercialized period of the Song dynasty, with new nautical technologies, many more private ship owners, and an increasing amount of economic investors in overseas ventures. During the
Mongol Empire (1206–1294), the Mongols created something similar to today's diplomatic passport called
paiza. The paiza was in three different types (golden, silver, and copper) depending on the envoy's level of importance. With the paiza, there came authority that the envoy could ask for food, transport, and a place to stay from any city, village, or clan within the empire with no difficulties. In the 17th century, the
Qing dynasty concluded a series of treaties with
Czarist Russia, beginning with the
Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689. This was followed up by the
Aigun Treaty and the
Convention of Peking in the mid-19th century. As European power spread around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries so too did its diplomatic model, and Asian countries adopted syncretic or European diplomatic systems. For example, as part of diplomatic negotiations with the West over control of land and trade in China in the 19th century after the
First Opium War, the Chinese diplomat
Qiying gifted intimate portraits of himself to representatives from Italy, England, the United States, and France.
Ancient India Ancient India, with its kingdoms and dynasties, had a long tradition of diplomacy. The oldest treatise on statecraft and diplomacy,
Arthashastra, is attributed to
Kautilya (also known as
Chanakya), who was the principal adviser to
Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the
Maurya dynasty who ruled in the 3rd century BC. It incorporates a theory of diplomacy, of how in a situation of mutually contesting kingdoms, the wise king builds alliances and tries to checkmate his adversaries. The envoys sent at the time to the courts of other kingdoms tended to reside for extended periods of time, and
Arthashastra contains advice on the deportment of the envoy, including the trenchant suggestion that "he should sleep alone". The highest morality for the king is that his kingdom should prosper. A new analysis of Arthashastra brings out that hidden inside the 6,000 aphorisms of prose (sutras) are pioneering political and philosophic concepts. It covers the internal and external spheres of statecraft, politics and administration. The normative element is the political unification of the geopolitical and cultural subcontinent of India. This work comprehensively studies state governance; it urges non-injury to living creatures, or malice, as well as compassion, forbearance, truthfulness, and uprightness. It presents a rajmandala (grouping of states), a model that places the home state surrounded by twelve competing entities which can either be potential adversaries or latent allies, depending on how relations with them are managed. This is the essence of realpolitik. It also offers four upaya (policy approaches): conciliation, gifts, rupture or dissent, and force. It counsels that war is the last resort, as its outcome is always uncertain. This is the first expression of the raison d'etat doctrine, as also of humanitarian law; that conquered people must be treated fairly, and assimilated.
Europe Byzantine Empire The key challenge to the Byzantine Empire was to maintain a set of relations between itself and its sundry neighbors, including the
Georgians,
Iberians, the
Germanic peoples, the
Bulgars, the
Slavs, the
Armenians, the
Huns, the
Avars, the
Franks, the
Lombards, and the
Arabs, that embodied and so maintained its imperial status. All these neighbors lacked a key resource that Byzantium had taken over from Rome, namely a formalized legal structure. When they set about forging formal political institutions, they were dependent on the empire. Whereas classical writers are fond of making a sharp distinction between peace and war, for the Byzantines diplomacy was a form of war by other means. With a regular army of 120,000–140,000 men after the losses of the 7th century, the empire's security depended on activist diplomacy. ,
ruler of Bulgaria, sends a delegation to the
Byzantine emperor Michael II (Madrid Skylitzes, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid). Byzantium's "
Bureau of Barbarians" was the first foreign intelligence agency, gathering information on the empire's rivals from every imaginable source. While on the surface a protocol office—its main duty was to ensure foreign envoys were properly cared for and received sufficient state funds for their maintenance, and it kept all the official translators—it clearly had a security function as well.
On Strategy, from the 6th century, offers advice about foreign embassies: "[Envoys] who are sent to us should be received honorably and generously, for everyone holds envoys in high esteem. Their attendants, however, should be kept under surveillance to keep them from obtaining any information by asking questions of our people."
Medieval and early modern Europe In Europe, early modern diplomacy's origins are often traced to the states of
Northern Italy in the early
Renaissance, with the first embassies being established in the 13th century. The
Republic of Venice,
Milan, and
Tuscany were flourishing centers of diplomacy from the 14th century onward. It was in the
Italian Peninsula that many of the traditions of modern diplomacy began, such as the presentation of an ambassador's credentials to the
head of state.
Modernity is considered one of the most skilled diplomats of all time. From Italy, the practice was spread across Europe. Milan was the first to send a representative to the court of France in 1455. However, Milan refused to host French representatives, fearing they would conduct espionage and intervene in its internal affairs. As foreign powers such as Spain and France became increasingly involved in Italian politics the need to accept emissaries was recognized. Soon the major European powers were exchanging representatives. Spain was the first to send a permanent representative; it appointed an ambassador to the
Court of St. James's (i.e. England) in 1487. By the late 16th century, permanent missions became customary. The
Holy Roman Emperor, however, did not regularly send permanent legates, as they could not represent the interests of all the German princes (who were in theory all subordinate to the Emperor, but in practice each independent). Between 1500 and 1700, the rules of modern diplomacy were further developed. French replaced Latin from about 1715. The top rank of representatives was an ambassador. At that time an ambassador was a nobleman, the rank of the noble assigned varying with the prestige of the country he was delegated to. Strict standards were developed for ambassadors, requiring them to have large residences, host lavish parties, and play an important role in the court life of their host nation. In Rome, the most prized posting for a Catholic ambassador, the French and Spanish representatives would have a retinue of up to a hundred. Even in smaller posts, ambassadors were very expensive. Smaller states would send and receive
envoys, who were a rung below the ambassador. Somewhere between the two was the position of
minister plenipotentiary. Diplomacy was a complex affair, even more so than now. The ambassadors from each state were ranked by complex levels of precedence that were much disputed. States were normally ranked by the title of the sovereign; for Catholic nations the emissary from the
Vatican was paramount, then those from the
kingdoms, then those from
duchies and
principalities. Representatives from republics were ranked the lowest (which often angered the leaders of the numerous German, Scandinavian, and Italian republics). Determining precedence between two kingdoms depended on a number of factors that often fluctuated, leading to near-constant squabbling. (1864).
Geneva (
Switzerland) is the city that hosts the highest number of
international organizations in the world. Ambassadors were often nobles with little foreign experience and no expectation of a career in diplomacy. They were supported by their embassy staff. These professionals would be sent on longer assignments and would be far more knowledgeable than the higher-ranking officials about the host country. Embassy staff would include a wide range of employees, including some dedicated to espionage. The need for skilled individuals to staff embassies was met by the graduates of universities, and this led to a great increase in the study of
international law, French, and history at universities throughout Europe. At the same time, permanent foreign ministries began to be established in almost all European states to coordinate embassies and their staffs. These ministries were still far from their modern form, and many of them had extraneous internal responsibilities. Britain had two departments with frequently overlapping powers until 1782. They were also far smaller than they are currently. France, which boasted the largest foreign affairs department, had only some 70 full-time employees in the 1780s. The elements of modern diplomacy slowly spread to Eastern Europe and Russia, arriving by the early 18th century. The entire edifice would be greatly disrupted by the
French Revolution and the subsequent years of warfare. The revolution would see commoners take over the diplomacy of the French state, and of those conquered by revolutionary armies. Ranks of precedence were abolished.
Napoleon also refused to acknowledge diplomatic immunity, imprisoning several British diplomats accused of scheming against France. After the fall of Napoleon, the
Congress of Vienna of 1815 established an international system of
diplomatic rank. Disputes on precedence among nations (and therefore the appropriate diplomatic ranks used) were first addressed at the
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, but persisted for over a century until after
World War II, when the rank of ambassador became the norm. In between that time, figures such as the German Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck were renowned for international diplomacy. Diplomats and historians often refer to a foreign ministry by its address: the
Ballhausplatz (Vienna), the
Quai d'Orsay (Paris), the
Wilhelmstrasse (Berlin),
Itamaraty (Brasília), and
Foggy Bottom (Washington, D.C.). For the Russian foreign ministry, it was the
Choristers' Bridge (Saint Petersburg) until 1917, while "Consulta" referred to the Italian foreign ministry, based in the
Palazzo della Consulta (Rome) from 1874 to 1922. ==Immunity==