Ashar
Taxation in the Ottoman Empire |
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Taxes |
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Implementation |
Ashar (Modern Turkish: Öşür or Aşar) was a tax in the Ottoman Empire, based on the traditional practice of muqasama (which means "sharing"), a traditional tithe in the Fertile Crescent.[1] It was abolished on 17 February 1925 in Turkey the successor of the Ottoman Empire.
Much of the Ottoman empire's
Under Ottoman rule, muqasama became known as Ashar. The name means "a tenth", although the exact proportion might vary - and it was a tithe taken from all agricultural produce. Ashar was an important source of revenue in the early Ottoman empire, as it had been for the
One preserved tax-code document from Mosul in the 1540s specifies öşür shares ranging from one fifth to one sixth to a tenth, depending on the crop - more lucrative crops were subject to a larger tithe.[3] There was very wide variation between different regions, and the tithe was extended to cotton, fish, honey, and silk as well as the usual fruit and vegetables.[4]
Ashar was primarily collected in the Ottoman Empire's Middle Eastern territories; different tax structures were inherited in other parts of the empire, particularly in
References
- ^ .
- ^ ACCOUNTING METHOD USED BY OTTOMANS FOR 500 YEARS: STAIRS (MERDIBAN) METHOD (PDF). Turkish Republic Ministry of Finance Strategy Development Unit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-01.
- ^ TAŞKIN, Ünal (2007). "COMPARATIVE OF AGRICULTURAL INCOMES IN MUSUL, AMED AND ERZURUM SANJAKS ACCORDING TO KANUNNAMES IN THE 1540". Turkish Studies. 2 (2).
- ^ "IS 'REAYA' SO DIFFERENT FROM THE 'SERF'?" (PDF). Retrieved 19 April 2011.[permanent dead link]