With the dissolution of the Roman Empire in the fifth and sixth centuries AD, most of the diplomatic traditions of the Romans disappeared from northern and western Europe. They were reestablished and reforged in the early Middle Ages by the kingdoms that emerged from Rome's ashes. An exception to this situation was, of course, the Byzantine Empire, which offered a continuation of the Roman Empire.
Byzantium's network
In Constantinople, the long Roman traditions of far-reaching diplomacy remained intact. Envoys and messengers could be sent to and from courts and potentates far and wide – such men would be especially
