Tekalif-i orfiye

Taxation in the Ottoman Empire
Taxes
Implementation

Tekalif-i örfiye was a type of taxation in the Ottoman Empire.[1][2]

Tekalif-i orfiye was a blanket terms for several different ad hoc charges which were, initially, extraordinary taxes raised in war-time. They were variously paid in cash or in kind, and rates could vary (to an extent), depending on the community's ability to pay.[3] By the time of the Tanzimat reforms, tekalif-i orfiye included ninety different excise taxes.[4]

Tekalif dues became high in the 17th century.[5] However, the Ottoman Empire's complex web of tax exemptions also touched on tekalif; taxpayers could be exempted for public service (for instance, by running a hostel for pilgrims), and sometimes a district's could be exempted due to exceptional hardship (for instance, if the district had already paid heavily towards other taxes, or been ravaged by warfare).[5] Some Janissaries were exempted from tekalif-i orfiye[6] although Janissary status could be effectively hereditary rather than a real military role.

A muafname might exempt a community from some or all tekalif-i orfiye.

  1. ^ Kara, Adem (2006). "A Profile from the History of the Town of Antakya". Akademik Arastirmalar Dergisi.
  2. ^ Shaw, Stanford J.; Shaw, Ezel Kural (27 May 1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-521-29166-8.
  3. ^ Demirci, Suleyman (2003). "Avariz and nüzul levies in the Ottoman Empire: An assessment of tax burden on the tax-paying subjects. A case study of the Province of Karaman, 1628–1700". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Shaw, Stanford (1975). "The Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Tax Reforms and Revenue System". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 6 (4): 421–459. doi:10.1017/S0020743800025368. JSTOR 162752.
  5. ^ a b Acun, Fatma (2002). "The Other Side of the Coin: Tax Exemptions within the Context of Ottoman Taxation History". Bulgarian Historical Review.
  6. ^ Gradeva, Rossitsa. "Between Hinterland and Frontier: Ottoman Vidin, Fifteenth to Eighteenth Centuries". Proceedings of the British Academy. 156: 340.