It is widely accepted, as Hamilton mentions,that the beginnings of diplomacy occurred when a human being decided for the first time that hearing a message is better than eating the messenger.

The first system of city-states occurred in Mesopotamia between the 4th and the first
millennium. The system was mainly based on that of the Sumerians in the south, Babylonian and Akadian in the center and Assyrians in the north. Within this system, which shows some general patterns of early international relations, Mesopotamia was
characterized by steady interaction basing on both trade and security issues.

Diplomacy was used by Sumerians with a motivation to end conflicts through the
conventional method of sending messengers with the messages written on clay tablets in cuneiform. Sumerian was used as the lingua franca of diplomacy until the Akhadian hegemony was established in the region.

The first known diplomatic letter was a message sent by the King of Ebla (in northern Syria) to the kingdom of Hamazi (north of Iran today), which shows a similar style of language and contend of modern diplomacy.

Some examples of diplomatic conduct in the ancient near east:
- touching the throat meant the agreement was accepted
- seizing the hem of the garment meant an alliance was concluded
- letting the hem of the garment meant the breach of an allience or a treaty

Another set of documents which are directly concerned with diplomacy includes the Amarna letters, dating back to the second half of the second millennium (15th to 13th centuries BCE). These letters were first found in Egypt (El-Amarna), Syria (Ugarit), Babylonia and Hittite Anatolia first in 1887. The known tablets are currently 382 in
number. These letters, written on clay tablets and exchanged between Egyptian pharaohs and their Babylonian, Assyrian and Anatolian counterparts, give valuable information about diplomatic relations of this period.

The Great Power Club was composed of five major kingdoms: the kingdom of Hatti, the
kingdom of Mittanni, the kingdom of Assyria, the kingdom of Kassite of Babylon and the kingdom of Egypt.

we find the Amarna letters which contain information about:
• Strategic-military cooperation,
• Treaty negotiations,
• Dynastic marriages,
• Trade regulations
• Strengthening friendly relations
• Negotiating alliances

Hittite diplomacy is best known for the first peace treaty signed in 1270 BCE between Egyptian King Ramses II and Hittite King Hattusili III after the battle of Kadesh in Syria. The Kadesh treaty was signed to end the long war between the Hittites and the Egyptians, which lasted for nearly two centuries for the domination over Syrian region.

The most interesting point regarding Assyrian diplomacy involved the intelligence
gathering activities. Assyrians made a full use of all kinds of sources and adopted a variety of channels to collect intelligence. They used these channels both overtly through official envoys and covertly through spies.

Ancient China can be categorized under two different periods regarding the political structure of the time. The first is the Warring States Era between 656-221 BCE, characterized by the emergence of sovereign states.It was a period of a balance of a power system, so international relations was based on great power rivalry and ephemeral alliances 

The core of the strategy for Sun Tzu is not to defeat the enemy in battle, but to repress him without fighting. Sun Tzu therefore focuses on the pre-war period as the realm for strategy and hence pays particular attention to diplomacy at this stage.

The general pattern of diplomacy in ancient India can best be inferred from the work of
the famous ancient philosopher and statesman Kautilya. While Kautilya’s book Arthshastra is a systematic account of the significance, types and patterns of diplomacy on one hand, it is a great treatise of realism on the other. Kautilya is
widely accepted as the first great political realist in history; and in conjunction with his approach to international relations, his account on diplomacy represents the same political realist tone.

• Peace: entering into a treaty; when the state is weaker than the enemy, it should make peace.
• War: attacking and doing injury; when the state is stronger than the enemy, it should
make war.
• Non alignment: staying quiet; when the state is equal with the enemy and neither
is capable of harming the other, the state should stay quiet.
• Seeking shelter: When threatened by a stronger enemy the state should seek protection from another stronger state, somewhat forming an alliance.

• Shows of force: When the state is increasing in capabilities, it should augment and
mobilize resources to prepare for war.

• Double-dealing: When a state seeks help for attacking another state, it resorts to peace and war at the same time with different states.

• Declaration of war and peace
• Forging alliances
• Gathering intelligence overtly, and also spying.

The Amphycthonyc League (league of neighbors), formed in 6th century BCE, was mainly an religious association and it was composed of tribes not city-states. The amphictyonic league maintained interstate assemblies with permanent secretariats. Sparta formed alliances in the mid-6th century BCE, and by 500 BCE it had created the
Peloponnesian League. The Peloponnesian League was formed for decisions on questions of war, peace, or alliance; and each member had one vote. In the 5th century BCE, Athens led the Delian League during the Greco-Persian Wars. The league
was formed to liberate eastern Greek cities from Persian rule and as a defense to possible attacks from Persia. The Delian League consisted of more than 200 members.

The main source for ancient Greek diplomacy has been the writings of Thucydides. It is widely accepted that the first account of diplomacy at this period was a diplomatic conference held in 432 BCE.

The main source for ancient Greek diplomacy has been the writings of Thucydides. It is widely accepted that the first account of diplomacy at this period was a diplomatic conference held in 432 BCE.

There were three kinds of representatives:
• angelos: a messenger used for brief and specific missions
• keryx: a herald
• proxenos: a resident consul but the proxenos were citizens of the city in which they
resided, not of the city-state that employed them. If a resident representative was
needed in another state, then a resident was given the title of proxenos by the state which he represented. In other words, the proxenos looked after the interests of a foreign state while residing in the state of which he was a citizen.

Divide and Rule –Divide et Imperia. It was an important strategy for the Roman imperial system. Romans divided the newly conquered peoples into their component units such as tribes; or city-states made separate alliances and treaties with
each to control and make them contribute to the defense of the empire in common.
The Byzantine Empire adopted this method in its external affairs with divide its enemies and embroil them to each other.