The greater ancient Near East (including Egypt) offers some of the oldest evidence of the existence of international relations, since it was there that states first developed (the city-states and empires of Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt) around the 4th millennium B.C.E. Almost 3000 years of the evolution of diplomatic relations are thus visible in sources from the ancient Near East. However, because only certain periods are well documented within that timespan, there remain many gaps in the modern study of diplomacy in this era.
Evolution of diplomatic relations
The diplomatic relations of the ancient Near East are known only in a fragmented fashion. A limited number of texts allow us to understand relatively well the contemporary diplomatic practices of certain decades, spread out across more than two millennia and large geographical distances. Long periods with little or no documentation are broken up by brief periods of abundant documentation. However, this does not prevent us from understanding the broad threads and general trends in the evolution of international relations, for it follows the evolution of politics itself, which is known in general terms.
Ancient states period
Diplomatic relations have existed for as long as human communities have been organized into political units, which precedes the period of this study. The first Near Eastern states formed during the 4th millennium B.C.E., but international relations during this era are unknown due to a lack of documentation.
The first surviving documents on the subject of international relations appear towards the end of the Early Dynastic period of ancient Mesopotamia (2600-2340 B.C.E.). They relate to the Sumerian city-state of Lagash. Among them is the oldest known treaty, concluded between the king of Lagash (En-metena) and the king of Uruk. However, the richest of the records concern the series of conflicts between Lagash and its neighbor Umma between 2600 and 2350 B.C.E. The documents about these wars are primarily about the military aspects of the war, with little about the diplomatic side. They display the constant rivalries between the cities of southern Mesopotamia. These also appear in the epic stories of the kings of Uruk (Lugalbanda, Enmerkar, and Gilgamesh), which may describe real events. They show the antagonisms pushing Lagash against its rivals, Kish and Aratta. The city of Kish seemed to assert a hegemonic position at certain points— its king, Mesalim, intervened around 2600 to arbitrate in the conflict between Lagash and Umma, and the title of "King of Kish" was also assumed by kings of other cities as a sign of superiority.
The site which offers the most important diplomatic archives from this period are those from Ebla, in Syria. The kings of Ebla had contacts with neighboring kings, notably the powerful sovereigns of Mari and Nagar, but also with the kings of more distant regions, like Kish in Mesopotamia and Hamazi in western Iran. Excavations at Ebla have uncovered the oldest example of a written peace treaty, the treaty between Ebla and Abarsal, as well as proof of matrimonial alliances between the local kings and certain of their allies.
The first empires
Gradually, certain states in southern Mesopotamia were able to exercise hegemony over their neighbors for longer and longer, like Uruk under Enshakushana and above all Umma under Lugal-zagesi. This evolution was completed by Sargon of Akkad, who founded the first empire in 2340, comprising all of the Mesopotamian city-states, up to those of eastern Syria. The diplomatic relations of this period are not well known. There is a tablet which is inscribed with a peace treaty concluded between Naram-Sin of Akkad (Sargon's grandson) and the king of Awan, in southwest Iran, who was his vassal. This complete hegemony endured until the second half of the 22nd century B.C.E., when the Akkadian Empire collapsed. This vacuum was filled several decades later by the kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur, who founded in their turn the Neo-Sumerian Empire. These sovereigns were in communication with their neighboring kingdoms, and they regularly received embassies, and sent their own messengers. Their diplomatic service was controlled by a dignitary named SUKKAL.MAH. They combined their military expeditions onto the Iranian plateau with matrimonial politics, marrying their daughters to the kings of the regions (Anshan, Zabshali) in order to win their loyalty and solidify their own legitimacy. However, their empire ended in disintegration, and began a long period without a hegemonic empire, under the Amorite dynasties.
