It was one of the dominant powers until the end of 17th century and carried out its diplomatic relations on the basis of superior-inferior dichotomy. They carried out their diplomatic relations on the basis of unilateralism and there was no room in the Ottoman diplomacy for relations on the basis of equality and mutuality. Therefore, they did not adapt the rules of modern diplomacy until early 1790s because they did not want to make concessions to “inferior” states. However, as opposed to the general view that the Ottomans did not take part in diplomatic relations due to the sense of superiority up until the 18th century, they attached great importance to their diplomatic relations from the beginning. The basic tools of Ottoman diplomacy were Âmans (mercies) and capitulations which reflected the unilateral nature of Ottoman diplomacy and started to be granted to Venetians as early as the reign of Mehmed II (Fatih) in the 15th century. In the heydays of the Ottoman rule, Suleyman I (Kanuni) granted capitulations to France. Initially, capitulations were economic, political and legal privileges granted to foreign states and subjects. However, as time passed and the empire began to decline, they turned into burdens on the Ottoman Empire hard to carry.