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A Guide To Avpri Materials On Russian Consuls And Commerce In The Near East, Theophilus C. Prousis Jul 2011

A Guide To Avpri Materials On Russian Consuls And Commerce In The Near East, Theophilus C. Prousis

Theophilus C. Prousis

Tsarist expansion against the Ottoman Empire and commercial access to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean broadened the parameters of Russian influence in the Near East in the nineteenth century. For Imperial Russia, the Eastern Question became a complex and multi-faceted issue, encompassing the pursuit of strategic and diplomatic aims in Istanbul, the Straits, and the Balkan peninsula, the protection of Eastern Orthodoxy, and the extension of trade in the Black Sea and the Levant. Commerce and consuls provide windows on Russia’s interaction with the Near East and illuminate the variety of interests which comprised Russia’s Eastern Question. Russia’s relations …


The Many Shades Of Praise: Politics And Panegyrics In Fifteenth-Century Florentine Diplomacy, Brian Jeffrey Maxson Dec 2010

The Many Shades Of Praise: Politics And Panegyrics In Fifteenth-Century Florentine Diplomacy, Brian Jeffrey Maxson

Brian J. Maxson

Fifteenth-century diplomatic protocol required the city of Florence to send diplomats to congratulate both new and militarily victorious rulers.  Diplomats on such missions poured praise on their triumphant allies and new rulers at friendly locations.  However, political realities also meant that these diplomats would sometimes have to praise rulers whose accession or victory opposed Florentine interests.  Moreover, different allies and enemies required different levels of praise.  Jealous rulers compared the gifts, status, and oratory that they received from Florence to the Florentine entourages sent to their neighbors.  Sending diplomats with too little or too much social status and eloquence could …