TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Finance and economy
Also known as: ahidname, capitulations
Documents by which Ottoman sultans granted commercial and legal privileges to foreign states and their merchants.
From the 14th century the Ottomans renewed the privileges previously granted to Genoa and Venice; from the 16th century they granted ahdnames to many states, above all France (1536), England (1580), the Netherlands (1612) and Austria (1616). In European languages these are known as capitulations. Originally a favour granted by the sultan, in the 19th century these privileges became a burden working against the state, and they were abolished completely by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “AHİDNÂME” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.