Ibn-i Farra's Diplomatic Techniques

One of the aims of politics is the prevention of violence and establishment of peace. In the twentieth century, political thinkers and scholars in diplomacy and international law have devised various techniques to achieve this aim. However, such an attempt has not been limited to the modern era, and classic thinkers both in the East and the West have also thought about such techniques. Ibn-i Farra’s Rosol ol-Molook is one of most important texts written in 5th century Hijri, in this regard. The author was a faqih and a judge serving the Abbasids, in the golden age of Islam or the mediaeval Islamic period. Drawing upon Islamic, Persian and Greek sources, he worte one of the earliest treaties on the Islamic diplomatic practice. Using the phenomenological method, in this article diplomatic technique recommended by Ibd-i Farra, and his views on the characteristics of ambassadors, their training and their manner in a mission as well as formal protocols are discussed.