Although the twentieth century saw an intelligence revolution in technical and organizational terms, the need for intelligence hardly first occurred at this time. States in history have always relied on intelligence to divine the intentions of other states and to provide national security. General overviews of the history of intelligence provide narratives stretching from biblical times to the present. For any state struggling in an undecided or changing international environment, reliable intelligence is of paramount importance. Even though the methods, means, organizations and practices of intelligence have changed considerably over time, its purpose and ultimate goals remain the same. For this reason, intelligence practitioners who seek parallels to present-day problems may not necessarily find them in the familiar recent past of the Cold War but rather in more-distant examples. Premodern international relations may sometimes carry relevant semblances to recent developments and provide a basis for useful exercises in applied history. To better understand the nature of strategic intelligence, how this activity has been organized and changed through history is worth considering.