Ambassadors’ Social and Organization Status and the Criteria for Their Selection in the Islamic Civilization: The Case of Ilkhanate Era

Ambassadorship has always been a significant and influential mission in the course of political and social history of Islam. Due to the importance of this position, ambassadors have always been held to be truthful, trustworthy, vigilant, sharp-minded, smooth-talker and eloquent, tactful and courageous. It was by virtue of these traits that ambassadors would manage to resolve the issues they faced with maximum efficiency and enhance their negotiating style. During the Mongol and Ilkhanate era embassies retained a lofty position and ambassadors enjoyed special prerogatives such as political immunity, customs tax exemption and travel facilities; this made it all the more exigent that ambassadors be selected after heavy vetting and deep background checks, thus it was from among the higher echelon of the society, e.g., princes, statesmen and judges, that ambassadors were selected.