Key of Orient Journal No 2 1997 东方奥密通报 (original) (raw)

Дипломатичні архіви Давнього світу The Diplomatic Archives of the Ancient East

Спеціальні історичні дисципліни: питання теорії та методики. Збірка наукових праць. Число 28. Дипломатичні архіви: поняття, інституційна історія, інформаційний потенціал. К.: НАН України, Інститут історії України, 2017. С. 184–205., 2017

In the Ancient East, diplomatic records were deposited to state archives, which were kept in royal palaces. This is why it is impossible to confirm the existence of specialized diplomatic archives in the Ancient World. It was the archaeologists that discovered the archives of the Ancient East. The first essential work on the history of the Ancient World archives was written by an eminent American historian-archivist E. M. Posner (1972). Presently, the scientists have discovered and described a significant number of the archives of the Ancient East. The oldest state archives (about 2500 BCE) was discovered by archaeologists in the city-state Ebla (modern Syria). More than 17,000 clay «tablets» have survived till the present day. The archives of Ebla include the first known international trade agreement in the history of mankind. The agreement was negotiated between the cities of Ebla and Abarsal. One of the most important tasks in terms of the study of the history of diplomacy and diplomatic archives is examining the epistolary records from Tell-el-Amarna (Egypt) created during the reigns of Amenhotep III, Amenhotep IV, and Tutankhamun (second half of the II millennium BCE). The documents convey the image of international power distribution among the members of the «Great Powers’ Club» (Egypt, Mitanni, Babylonia, the Hittite empire, Assyria), as well as the origins of the diplomatic service, ceremonies, and etiquette. It has been proven that the ancient people were well versed in the methods used to ensure the safety of media. Archives widely adopted various appraisal and systematization techniques. A reference system was created to provide proper intellectual access. Special attention was paid to the training of skilled clerks, 70% of whom held administrative positions, including those related to the archives. The Ancient East has laid the scientific foundation of the organization of archives, which is similar to modern concepts. This is why the diplomatic records stored in the archives of the ancient East survived till modern times.