Page 102 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

ottoman empire 1403

rial system for all of Ottoman history but actually, per- and dominated the fiscal system in the later part of that
sonally, ruled only for portions of the fifteenth, sixteenth, century. Despite these changes, Ottoman military forces
and nineteenth centuries. It seems important to stress lost out in the arms race by the end of the seventeenth
that the principle of sultanic rule by the Ottoman family century because tax revenues from agricultural pursuits
was hardly ever challenged through the long centuries of could not match European revenues derived from a
the empire’s existence. Unlike in the Chinese case, there combination of colonialism, mounting world trade and
was no mandate of heaven that could move to a new the burgeoning domestic economy. During the eigh-
family and justify the overthrow of a dynasty. teenth century the makeup of Ottoman military forces
Over the centuries, political power nearly always re- continued to change: The Janissary infantry and the
sided in the imperial center and, depending on the par- timar cavalry continued to exist in name but gave way
ticular period, extended into the provinces either through in importance to the troops of provincial notables and
direct military and political instruments or indirectly the forces of the Crimean khanate, a vassal state. The
through fiscal means.The central regime exerted its mil- changes during the nineteenth century were more radi-
itary, fiscal, and political authority through mechanisms cal: Universal manhood conscription controlled by the
that evolved continuously. Thus, there was not a single central state slowly developed. Lifetime tax farms were
Ottoman system or method of rule, except one of flexi- abandoned, but tax farming nonetheless continued, a
bility, adaptability, and change. measure of the continued cooperation between the cen-
During the early centuries, the timar system was the tral elites and local notables.
financial basis of the cavalrymen, who fought with bows Until the later nineteenth century, perhaps surpris-
and arrows. Under this system, the state granted to ingly, most Ottoman subjects were Christian. But, thanks
each cavalryman (and others who served the state) the to territorial losses in the mainly Christian Balkan pro-
revenues from a piece of land but not the land itself, in vinces, Muslims became the majority element in the em-
a quantity sufficient to maintain the cavalryman and his pire by the third quarter of the century. But regardless of
horse. He did not actually control the land, but only the whether they were Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, all sub-
taxes deriving from it. Peasants worked the land and jects fell under the jurisdiction of both religious and sec-
paid taxes that supported the timar cavalryman both on ular law. In the eyes of the state, Muslims enjoyed a legal
campaign and at home.This timar system was at the cen- position superior to Christians and Jews—however, these
ter of Ottoman fiscal and military affairs only for the ear- latter groups possessed guaranteed legal rights and status.
lier portion of Ottoman history, perhaps only during the For these rights and legal protections, non-Muslims paid
fourteenth, fifteenth, and part of the sixteenth centuries. a special tax. Otherwise, all the communities were sub-
Hardly had the state developed the timar system when jects to the same taxes.The Ottoman state determined who
the regime began to discard the cavalrymen and, along administered the laws governing a community, whether
with them, their timar financial underpinnings. The that of the Muslim, Christian, or Jewish community or of
timar system nominally endured until the nineteenth the imperial state.The sultan and his agents determined
century. Infantrymen bearing firearms became increas- the judges in the respective communities either directly or
ingly important. As they did, the famed Janissary Corps by appointing those who in turned named the judges.
ceased to be a gun-wielding praetorian elite and devel- Theoretically, the religious law of the respective group
oped into a firearm-bearing infantry of massive size. prevailed in the particular Muslim, Jewish, or Christian
Support of these full-time soldiers required vast amounts community. But, practically speaking, the Muslim courts
of cash.Therefore, tax farming, which provided cash rev- very often were used by subjects of all religions. There
enues,steadily replaced the timar system, which received were several reasons for this, including the quality of the
taxes mainly in kind, as the major fiscal instrument. By justice that the judge administered and the fact that it
1700, lifetime tax farms began to become commonplace was understood that rulings from such courts might well