“Ambassadors to Other Nations”: Criteria for Selecting Candidates According to Byzantine Written Sources of the Fifth – Thirteenth Centuries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/uhj2021.04.023Keywords:
Byzantine Empire, diplomacy, imperial ambassadors, ambassadorial missions, diplomatic practice, negotiationsAbstract
The purpose of the study is to show up the practice of educational, communicative and administrative training of the Byzantine political elite – the imperial ambassadors according to their historical and literary works and epistolary heritage.
The methodological basis of the study constitutes the principle of historicism, which is based on the research strategy of the life stories from the first person.
Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian historiography the criteria for selecting an imperial ambassador, the procedure for his appointment, the preparation of the ambassador and the other embassy staff for the diplomatic missions, their level of education, personal qualities, protocol requirements for the ambassador’s behaviour, risks and dangers of diplomatic activities are studied.
Conclusions. The main criterion for the appointment of the imperial ambassador in the Byzantine Empire was the trust of the emperor and a narrow circle of his advisers to the person who was entrusted to head the diplomatic mission. The ambassador was a direct representative of the byzantine emperor and had to meet certain social, educational, presentative and managerial criteria. Ambassadors were appointed not simply from the highranking officials, representatives of the Constantinople nobility and military leaders. Of great importance in choosing the candidacy of ambassador was his education level: knowledge of history, philosophy, law, public speaking, the ability to persuade and negotiate, knowledge of protocol rules of diplomatic conduct. The natural intelligence, sedateness, prudence and wisdom were also valued. In addition, the imperial ambassadors had to have an excellent reputation, experience in administrative or military management.
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