This book offers an original approach to the status significance of such donations. GH 30 late Roman and early Byzantine diplo- Ambassadors, who embodied high-level macy as a system. Assessing both official diplomacy, delivered gifts, led talks, and Ekaterina Nechaeva and clandestine perspectives, Ekaterina mediated international dialogue. Who Nechaeva examines the working mech- were these envoys? How dangerous and anisms of this diplomatic machine and adventurous were their missions? What reveals the ‘block’ organization of em- were these expeditions like? How did Embassies – Negotiations – Gifts bassies as a basic feature of international they travel and how far? Nechaeva scru- communication. Negotiations were split tinizes these and further questions by Systems of East Roman Diplomacy in Late Antiquity into several phases and accompanied by investigating the practices of ambassa- elaborate protocol and rich ceremony. dorial business. Throughout the book the Gift exchange and the distribution of in- analysis of secret negotiations, the intelli- signia comprised a vital part of the diplo- gence system and spy activities of envoys, matic process. What were the semantics plots and political murders reveals the of these symbolic acts? The study accents shadowy side of diplomacy. Embassies – Negotiations – GiftsEmbassies – Negotiations www.steiner-verlag.de VSWG Alte Geschichte Geographica Historica 30 Franz Steiner Verlag Franz Steiner Verlag ISBN 978-3-515-10632-0 Ekaterina Nechaeva 9 7 8 3 5 1 5 1 0 6 3 2 0 Ekaterina Nechaeva Embassies – Negotiations – Gifts geographica historica Begründet von Ernst Kirsten, herausgegeben von Eckart Olshausen und Vera Sauer Band 30 Ekaterina Nechaeva Embassies – Negotiations – Gifts Systems of East Roman Diplomacy in Late Antiquity Franz Steiner Verlag Satz: Vera Sauer Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar. Dieses Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist unzulässig und strafbar. © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2014 Druck: Laupp & Göbel, Nehren Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. Printed in Germany. ISBN 978-3-515-10632-0 (Print) ISBN 978-3-515-10801-0 (E-Book) Vorwort der Herausgeber Ekaterina Nechaeva hat sich in ihrer an der Universität Siena entstandenen Dissertation mit den weit gespannten diplomatischen Beziehungen des Kaiserhofs in Konstantinopel in der Zeit des 4. bis 6. Jh. befaßt. Nicht zuletzt aufgrund der Gesandtschaftsreisen, die für den diplomatischen Verkehr von fundamentaler Bedeutung waren, hat das Thema vielfältige und wesentliche historisch-geographische Bezüge. Die Geographica Historica bieten daher den angemessenen Rahmen für diese Arbeit – ganz im Sinne der Konzeption, die seinerzeit Ernst Kirsten zur Gründung dieser Reihe motiviert hat. Eckart Olshausen und Vera Sauer To my parents – Nikita Nechaev and Tatyana Girbasova – to keep the promise. Acknowledgments This book could never have been written had it not been for Barbara Scardigli under whose scientific supervision I was extremely fortunate to write my PhD thesis at the University of Siena, and who became my tutor in all the most sublime senses of the word, always being magnanimous, attentive, cordially ready to advise and to support, and wise in guidance. My affection, respect and gratitude are infinite and most sincere. I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to the reviewers of my thesis – Walter Pohl and Luis A. García Moreno, whose observations have influenced my book as well as my further work. I am very much obliged to Anthony Kaldellis for his most intense reading of the whole draft of this book and his numerous and extremely constructive criticisms, comments, cor- rections and suggestions. I am deeply grateful to Mario Mazza for the privilege of conversing with him, his kind willingness to read my thesis and extremely valuable suggestions for the improvement of the text. I owe many acknowledgments to my instructors at the Saint Petersburg State University Department of the History of Ancient Greece and Rome and especially to Petr Shuvalov, the supervisor of my M.A. thesis, who introduced me to the Late Antique problematic, thus giving me an impulse to study East Roman diplomacy. I express my thanks for his plentiful advice on my PhD thesis, in particular regarding Late Antique bureaucracy and source study, as well as historical geography and the voyages of envoys. I am also grateful to Alexey Egorov for his remarks regarding my thesis. I feel deep gratitude to Mark Schchukin, a sentiment mixed with my deep sorrow for his recent death. He was a wise don, from whom it was a real pleasure to learn. My warm thanks also go to Oleg Sharov and to all my friends and colleagues in the Slavonic-Sarma- tian archaeological expedition and to the participants of Mark Schchukin’s home seminar. To the late Dmitry Machinsky I am immensely indebted for my formation both as a scholar and a person. Most heartfelt thanks are addressed to Tamara Zheglova and Nadezhda Jijina for their inspiring professional influence. I must record my gratitude to the State Hermitage Museum and its Educational Depart- ment, namely to Ludmila Ershova and Sofia Kudryavtseva for making my work on this book possible, and to Marina Kozlovskaya for her support, countenance and friendship. 8 Acknowledgments This study has benefited from a fellowship of the State Hermitage Museum and the Foun- dation Hermitage Italia in 2008. My investigation of the problem of diplomatic gifts was supported by a Diderot postdoc- toral fellowship (MSH, EHESS, Paris) in 2009, which allowed me to research in the libraries of Paris. I am also grateful to Paolo Odorico for his stimulating seminars. My sincere thanks go to René Rebuffat for his interest in my work, his bonhomie and help. I am deeply indebted to Leandro Polverini for the chance to present and discuss my work. It is due to Elena Krichevskaya that I dared to write a book and due to Ludmila Voevodi- na that I dared to do it in English. If this book is comprehensible, this is because of Karen Whittle’s immense effort in turning my ponderous English phrases laden with long Russian periods (just like in this one) into a readable and clear text (where I so allowed it). It was a privilege and a pleasure to work with Karen, and I am most grateful for her thoroughness and professionalism. I was fortunate to prepare a considerable part of this work in one of the most inspiring places on Earth – at the American Academy in Rome – and I am very thankful to the staff of the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Library, now my colleagues and friends. I am especially grateful to Kristine Iara for her precious help. I am also thankful to Foteini Spingou for her aid. My special thanks go to Eckart Olshausen for accepting my book in the Geographica His- torica series and to Vera Sauer for her help in the work on the manuscript. The backing and encouragement from all my family and friends were amazing and of immense importance. Contents Introduction . 15 Chapter I: Mechanisms of diplomacy . 23 1. State structures . 23 1.1 Emperor . .23 1.2 Senate . 25 1.3 Consistorium . 25 1.4 Sacrum cubiculum . 26 1.5 The magister officiorum and his personnel . 26 1.6 Other administrative structures . 29 1.7 Decision-making . 33 2. Reception of embassies . 34 2.1 Ceremonial of reception . 34 2.2 Non- or partial reception of an embassy . 42 2.3 The release of envoys . 44 3. Diplomatic interchanges . 44 3.1 Open interchanges . 44 3.1.1 Embassies and negotiations . 44 3.1.2 Letters and speeches . 44 3.1.3 Rules respected and not . 49 3.1.4 Subsidies, gifts and titles . 51 3.1.5 Persons . 54 3.2 Secret interchanges . 56 3.2.1 Secret negotiations . 56 3.2.2 Plots . 57 4. Diplomatic inviolability and the problem of the safety of diplomatic delegations . 62 5. Conclusions . 66 10 Contents Chapter II: Diplomatic negotiation . 69 1. The negotiating parties and agents . 69 1.1 Rulers . 71 1.1.1 Relatively equal basis . 72 1.1.2 Paradigm of the empire’s dominancy . 75 1.1.3 Direct communication . 76 1.1.4 Summary . 77 1.2 Ruler and representative . 79 1.2.1 ›Blocks‹ of embassies: initiative and response . 80 1.2.1.1 Relations with Persia . 81 1.2.1.2 Relations with the Goths . 83 1.2.1.3 Relations with the Huns . 83 1.2.1.4 Others . 84 1.2.1.5 ›Block‹ system of embassies. A summary . 85 1.2.2 Single embassies . 87 1.2.3 Classification of embassies . 88 1.2.3.1 Minor embassy . 88 1.2.3.2 Major embassies . 89 1.2.3.3 Conventionally distinguished group of ›medium‹ embassies . 92 1.2.3.4 Summary . 93 1.3 Negotiations between representatives of rulers . 93 1.3.1 Plenipotentiary and ›autocratic‹ embassies . 93 1.3.1.1 Authorized embassies. A summary . 96 1.3.2 Local negotiations . 97 1.3.2.1 Magistri militum . 97 1.3.2.2 Clergymen . ..