Origins of Modern Diplomacy: Aksum, Syria and Bizantium Between the West and the East
Origins of Modern Diplomacy: Aksum, Syria and Bizantium Between the West and the East

Summary/Abstract: Purpose of the article. This article conceptualizes diplomacy in diachronic as a political practice of negotiating peace, trade, and war through standardized communications with other foreign policy actors. It is assumed that although the forms and conditions for the implementation of diplomacy changed over time, the foundations of such interaction were developed in ancient times in numerous and diverse networks of contacts and exchanges not only of large and small proto-states of the world, but also between fractions, parties, aristocratic unions, trading companies. Methodology. Historical-logical and systematic methods of analysis are used to clarify the origins of the phenomenon of diplomacy as a mechanism of "international relations", "external relations", trade of the elite of Axum. The scientific novelty consists in positioning the diplomacy of the Aksumite kingdom as a mechanism for resonating the social dimensions of human existence (spirituality, culture, economic and political interests) of ancient Rome, Byzantium in the synergistic effect of the further development of communications of the East and the West. Conclusions. During its heyday, the kingdom of Aksum was the most prominent and important example of the African proto-power. During this period Aksum kingdom made the greatest contribution to the history of mankind. Facts from the eventful history of Axum, his political and commercial influence, active participation in world politics of that time allow us to speak of the outstanding role of Aksum in world history. Aksum kingdoms' elite had strong ties with the peoples of Tropical Africa, the high civilizations of the Mediterranean, the population of the Nile Valley, South Arabia, the Persian Kingdom (including Mesopotamia), India, Ceylon and other distant countries. The multi-vector policy of the Aksumite elite was a product of a long historical development in conditions that are significantly different from the conditions in which civilizations of Europe and Asia developed.

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