Nasrollah Salehi
Abstract
Prior to the establishment of resident ambassadors in capitals, governments selected individuals as envoys and dispatched them to other countries for specific diplomatic missions. These ...
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Prior to the establishment of resident ambassadors in capitals, governments selected individuals as envoys and dispatched them to other countries for specific diplomatic missions. These envoys were required to report the details of their "travels" and "diplomatic mission" in writing to the court. The writings of these dispatched envoys generally comprised two sections: a description of the travel/expedition and a report on how the mission/diplomacy was conducted and its outcomes. The writings of these dispatched envoys typically consisted a blend of travel accounts and the book of the embassy (Sefāratnāme). Alongside their diplomatic duties, the ambassadors also engaged in travel. Thus, the primary purpose was diplomacy, not tourism. The main expectation from the envoys was to fulfill their mission and provide a written report. Often, the responsibility of documenting the protocols, letters, and reports fell to skilled secretaries and scribes. The collective writings of the dispatched envoys served as the book of the embassy. The embassy and the book of the embassy in Iran and the Ottoman Empire are important issues in the field of political history and diplomacy.This essay aims to address the aforementioned topic with a descriptive report and to clearly illuminate its unknown aspects. According to the findings of the research, despite the long history writing of the book of embassy in Iran, "the book of embassies" has been incorrectly defined as "travelogues." The study of "embassy and the book of embassy" has also been overlooked, and consequently, research related to the "history of diplomacy" has remained weak. For two reasons: the lack of publication of original documents related to the history of foreign relations, especially the book of embassies of ambassadors and envoys dispatched to other countries, and the other misinterpretation of "travelogues" as "the book of embassies".
