In ancient times and more recently, peaceful alliances between different nations were codified through royal marriages. Two examples, Hermodike I c.800BC[6] and Hermodike II c.600BC[7] were Greek princesses from the house of Agamemnon who married kings from what is now Central Turkey. The union of Phrygia / Lydia with Aeolian Greeks resulted in regional peace, which facilitated the transfer of ground-breaking technological skills into Ancient Greece; respectively, the phonetic written script and the minting of coinage (to use a token currency, where the value is guaranteed by the state).[8] Both inventions were rapidly adopted by surrounding nations through further trade and cooperation and have been of fundamental benefit to the progress of civilization. Throughout history, victors have sometimes used ruthless measures to impose peace upon the vanquished. In his book Agricola, the Roman historian Tacitus includes eloquent and vicious polemics against the rapacity and greed of Rome. One, that Tacitus says is by the Caledonian chieftain Calgacus, ends with: Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. (To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. — Oxford Revised Translation). Discussion of peace is therefore at the same time a discussion on its form.. Is it simply the absence of mass organized killing (war), or does peace require a particular morality and justice? (just peace).[9] A peace must be seen at least in two forms: A simple silence of arms, absence of war. Absence of war accompanied by particular requirements for the mutual settlement of relations, which are characterized by terms such as justice, mutual respect, respect for law and good will. More recently, advocates for radical reform in justice systems have called for a public policy adoption of non-punitive, non-violent Restorative Justice methods. Many of those studying the success of these methods, including a United Nations working group on Restorative Justice Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, have attempted to re-define justice in terms related to peace. From the late 2000s on, a Theory of Active Peace has been proposed[10] which conceptually integrates justice into a larger peace theory. Another internationally important approach to peace is the international, national and local protection of cultural assets in the event of conflicts. United Nations, UNESCO and Blue Shield International deal with the protection of cultural heritage. This also applies to the integration of United Nations peacekeeping. UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova stated: "The protection of culture and heritage is a humanitarian and security policy imperative that also paves the way for resilience, reconciliation and peace." The protection of the cultural heritage should preserve the particularly sensitive cultural memory, the growing cultural diversity and the economic basis of a state, a municipality or a region. In many conflicts there is a deliberate attempt to destroy the opponent's cultural heritage. Whereby there is also a connection between cultural user disruption or cultural heritage and the cause of flight. However, protection can only be implemented in a sustainable manner through the fundamental cooperation and training of military units and civilian personnel, together with the locals. The president of Blue Shield International Karl von Habsburg summed it up with the words: “Without the local community and without the local participants, that would be completely impossible” United Nations consideration of the culture of peace began in 1992 with the adoption by UNESCO of a Culture of Peace Programme. As the programme developed during the following decade, the United Nations General Assembly began requesting information from UNESCO about its progress. The General Assembly then declared the Year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and requested UNESCO to submit a draft Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, which the General Assembly adopted on September 13, 1999. The General Assembly also declared the Decade 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. Since his retirement from UNESCO where he had promoted the Culture of Peace in his capacity as Director-General, Federico Mayor has coordinated the Fundacion Cultura de Paz. Since his retirement from UNESCO where he chaired the task force for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, David Adams has coordinated the Culture of Peace News Network which was established for the International Year for the Culture of Peace.

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The Anglo-French term Pes itself comes from the Latin pax, meaning "peace, compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony." The English word came into use in various personal greetings from c.1300 as a translation of the Hebrew word shalom, which, according to Jewish theology, comes from a Hebrew verb meaning 'to be complete, whole'.[4] Although 'peace' is the usual translation, however, it is an incomplete one, because 'shalom,' which is also cognate with the Arabic salaam, has multiple other meanings in addition to peace, including justice, good health, safety, well-being, prosperity, equity, security, good fortune, and friendliness, as well as simply the greetings, "hello" and "goodbye".[citation needed] On a personal level, peaceful behaviors are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others' beliefs and behaviors – tending to manifest goodwill. The term-'peace' originates most recently from the Anglo-French pes, and the Old French pais, meaning "peace, reconciliation, silence, agreement" (11th century).[5] This latter understanding of peace can also pertain to an individual's introspective sense or concept of her/himself, as in being "at peace" in one's own mind, as found in European references from c.1200. The early English term is also used in the sense of "quiet", reflecting calm, serene, and meditative approaches to family or group relationships that avoid quarreling and seek tranquility — an absence of disturbance or agitation. In many languages, the word for peace is also used as a greeting or a farewell, for example the Hawaiian word aloha, as well as the Arabic word salaam. In English the word peace is occasionally used as a farewell, especially for the dead, as in the phrase rest in peace. Wolfgang Dietrich, in his research project which led to the book The Palgrave International Handbook of Peace Studies (2011), maps the different meanings of peace in different languages and regions across the world. Later, in his Interpretations of Peace in History and Culture (2012), he groups the different meanings of peace into five peace families: Energetic/Harmony, Moral/Justice, Modern/Security, Postmodern/Truth, and Transrational, a synthesis of the positive sides of the four previous families and the society.