| A system of taxation followed by Umayyads and
Abbasides. It referred to a procedure for unlimited collective
tax payment which was payable by a few persons and constituted
income for the state and the caliph. It was used in a number of
ways: (a) a fixed yearly sum of money payable according to
agreement and without regard to the prosperity of the cultivator
or the population; (b) an annual due paid for a fief; (c) a tax
paid by allied nations and provinces as a tribute on condition
of retaining a certain autonomy; (d) dues paid by the one who
undertakes the tax management of an entire province or a major
area. In the Ottoman empire the system was classified into three
categories: Timar, Emanet and Iltizam. The first form was
similar to the fief system of European feudalism, whereby the
feudal lord kept the income and in return was obliged to perform
certain services for the state. The second form constituted
income from properties administered on a trustee basis, which
was handed over to the state in return for a reward. The third
form was tax tenure whereby the tax tenant (am in) was allowed
to keep a part of the taxes for himself and had to give the rest
to the state. |
