Amarna Diplomacy: Contributions to the Modern Diplomatic Practice.

INTRODUCTION

Over time, it has been discovered that contrary to the initial notion of the existence of diplomacy beginning from the Ancient Greek City, the act and practice of diplomacy had been in existence in a place known as the Ancient near East. This form of diplomacy is also regarded as the “Amarna Diplomacy” which according to Archaeologists, was carried out even before the Greek’s mode of diplomatic practice. Diplomacy in itself encompasses the large number of processes of formal and informal communication between and among states. In the same vein, diplomacy, just like war according to Cathal J.N (2002), is the continuation of politics by other means only that, its main means are words not weapons, peaceful interactions not violence, and rational argument and concession rather than the effort to impose one’s will on others by force. However, there is an understanding that there is a vast literature on the history of diplomacy. Most of the literature is concerned with delineating and analyzing the major innovations in diplomatic practice from the ancient to the contemporary period. For the most part, the literature is stimulating and coherent. “Diplomacy encompasses the myriad processes of formal and informal communication between and among states. While evidence of protodiplomatic practices exists from the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman worlds (especially through envoys), the antecedents of modern diplomatic practices can more properly be traced to medieval and early modern Europe” (David Atkinson (2011).

Moreover, it is believed that the Amarna diplomatic practice has in some ways contributed to the modern practice of diplomacy in one way or the other though the present diplomatic practice might be a modified version of that of the Amarna diplomacy. To have more insight on this notion, the various ways through which the modern diplomatic practice has been affected by the Amarna diplomatic system will be x-rayed.

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION...