Diplomacy in the Early Islamic World

Arab messengers played a vital role in the medieval Islamic world and its diplomatic relations with foreign powers. An innovative treatise from the 10th Century (Rusul al-Muluk, Messengers of Kings) is perhaps the most important account of the diplomacy of the period, and it is here translated into English for the first time. Rusul al-Muluk draws on examples from the Qur'an and other sources which extend from the period of al-jahiliyya to the time of the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim (218-227/833-842). In the only medieval Arabic work which exists on the conduct of messengers and their qualifications, the author Ibn al-Farr rejects jihadist policies in favor of quiet diplomacy and a pragmatic outlook of constructive realpolitik. Rusul al-Muluk is an extraordinarily important and original contribution to our understanding of the early Islamic world and the field of International Relations and Diplomatic History.
Maria Vaiou is Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Byzantine History at Sabanc University, Turkey.
'Dr Vaiou succinctly characterizes the text's nature and purpose...although her approach is primarily that of a historian, Vaiou provides full coverage of the treatise's rich cultural background... The text will be of very great interest to historians of Islam, both cultural and political historians, and also to Byzantinists and medievalists in general.'--Dr Jonathan Shepard, formerly Lecturer in History, University of Cambridge.