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Arab messengers played a vital role in the medieval Islamic world and its diplomatic relations with foreign powers. This title presents an account of the diplomacy of the period. It provides an understanding of the early Islamic world and the field of International Relations and Diplomatic History.

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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.

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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

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Vaiou, Maria
Maria Vaiou is Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Byzantine History at Sabanc University, Turkey.

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