Hitherto, while noting the important contributions, of men and money, to Victor Amadeus' war effort between 1690 and 1713 of his own territories, mobilised by an ever more demanding and effective state structure, we have also been obliged to acknowledge the sometimes crucial additional resources which he received from his allies. This brings us to the importance of diplomacy, not least in helping to redress the inequality between the lesser powers and the so-called ‘Great Powers’ which increasingly dominated international relations in Europe, and to the striking achievements of Savoyard diplomacy in these decades. These included Victor Amadeus– volte-faces of 1690, 1696 (and the separate peace of that year) and 1703 – occasions on which his diplomacy outwitted that of his more powerful allies and neighbours – and the general peace settlement of 1712–13. These diplomatic triumphs secured for the duke territorial and other gains which enlarged and transformed the Savoyard state. They also helped underpin his claims to domestic authority. Indeed, the changing shape, even the existence, of the Savoyard state in these decades was determined by and founded upon international agreements. Not surprisingly given its crucial importance, after 1713, diplomacy too was caught up in the overhaul of the key institutions of the Savoyard state, with the creation (1717) of a specialised secretariat responsible for foreign policy.