Roman Diplomacy

Abstract

In the main, Roman diplomacy (509 bce–14 ce) consisted of establishing treaties of peace (marking the end of wars), of alliance (in peacetime or during wars), and generals' agreements in the field (during wars); sending and receiving embassies (delegations of high‐ranking citizens) to air complaints and congratulations, establish alliances, declare war, investigate matters affecting Roman security interests, settle disputes, and demand satisfaction for (perceived) injuries; and offering and accepting interstate mediations of disputes and wars. Roman diplomatic vocabulary grew out of likely primitive practices overseen by priests, called fetiales, who oversaw foreign relations between Rome and other Italian states. The practice of deditio, the demand for absolute surrender by another state to Rome's complete discretion, probably had its roots in ancient Italian practice as well. In the historical period, Rome's international partnerships consisted of numerous informal amicitiae, “friendships,” and comparatively few formal treaties of alliance. Rome was often a willing broker of interstate mediations, but a less willing participant.