Diplomacy in the Early Islamic World: A Tenth-Century Treatise on Arab-Byzantine Relations [Paperback]

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, Istanbul. She completed her PhD at the University of Oxford.

1. Introduction
The Importance of the Kitab Rusul al-Muluk
The Accounts of 'Abbasid-Byzantine Exchanges
The Period of al-Mansur
The Period of Harun al-Rashid
The Period of al-Mamun
The Period of al-Mu'tasim
2. Description of the Text
Author
Date
The Place of the Composition: Spain
Genre
Arrangement of the Author's Material
Tenth-century Byzantine and Muslim Treatises on Diplomatic Protocol
Contents
3. Manuscripts
4. Notes on the Translation
5. Translation: Messengers of Kings