Bronze‑Age diplomacy mirrors modern practice

A trove of Amarna clay letters shows rulers in the 14th century BCE engaged in the same repertory of diplomatic moves we see today: complaint letters over insults, gift economies (requests for gold), and lobbying for military help. The medium (cuneiform used outside Mesopotamia) and the content reveal diplomacy as a cross‑regional practice with stable social mechanics. — Treating diplomacy as a longstanding social technology shifts debates about foreign policy from novelty and exceptionalism toward institutional continuity and the limits of rhetoric‑only approaches.