Emin (Ottoman official)
Encyclopedia
An emin was an officer in the Ottoman empire
; a "steward", the holder of an eminet, and often responsible for customs duties. Unlike a timar
holder, an emin was a salaried official. Emins could operate outside the normal Ottoman bureaucracy
; they were not necessarily Muslim
.
; they were responsible for managing revenue from certain taxes, and collected duties on goods exported by foreigners. Although formally a tax official, the role of the emin (as with the role of other officials, such as the Kadi
) could vary in practice; they might also be involved in consular, mediation, or even notarial work; and as a representative of the Ottoman state, could be authorised to apprehend Ottoman subjects who had committed crimes on foreign territory. As such, an emin resident in a foreign port that traded with the Ottoman empire could be valuable to both parties. An emin serving in a port could even act as a harbour-master or could prevent the export of restricted goods; in at least one case, Istanbul had to specifically instruct an emin to permit the export of a 27000 kg shipment of lead
to be used by allies, which the emin had stopped in the port.
, then the rules could be enforced as law by a kadi
.
The emin could also take the place of a tax-farmer, collecting a defined package of taxes, and might report back to central authority identifying new ways to increase tax take. The sultan might grant extensive powers to the emin to ensure that taxes were collected. The emin might also be appointed to project-manage major construction work, and would submit a full report on each project - with financial details.
Emins also supervised coin mint
ing, to prevent the theft of silver, or other fraud by mint employees.
Emins might even be appointed as auditors, to investigate irregularities in tax collection performed by other officials; the emins could make recommendations on how to remedy the problem.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
; a "steward", the holder of an eminet, and often responsible for customs duties. Unlike a timar
Timar
Timar is a land granted by the Ottoman sultans between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a tax revenue annual value of less than 20 000 akçes. The revenues produced from land acted as compensation for military service. A Timar holder was known as a Timariot...
holder, an emin was a salaried official. Emins could operate outside the normal Ottoman bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
; they were not necessarily Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
Emins as customs officers
The emin was usually a customs officer - that is to say, a gümrük eminGümrük resmi
The gümrük resmi was a customs charge, or tax, in the Ottoman Empire.Customs duties were typically paid on the value of commodities; in the Ottoman empire, just as in modern commerce, this would fuel disagreements over the "value" of the goods being traded.As with other Ottoman taxes, collection...
; they were responsible for managing revenue from certain taxes, and collected duties on goods exported by foreigners. Although formally a tax official, the role of the emin (as with the role of other officials, such as the Kadi
Kadi
Kadi may refer to:*Kadi, Gujarat, a city and municipality in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India*Kadhi, an Indian dish*Kadı, an official in the Ottoman empire*Qadi or kadi, Islamic judge*Al-Qadi, an Arabic surname*Quadi, an ancient Germanic tribe...
) could vary in practice; they might also be involved in consular, mediation, or even notarial work; and as a representative of the Ottoman state, could be authorised to apprehend Ottoman subjects who had committed crimes on foreign territory. As such, an emin resident in a foreign port that traded with the Ottoman empire could be valuable to both parties. An emin serving in a port could even act as a harbour-master or could prevent the export of restricted goods; in at least one case, Istanbul had to specifically instruct an emin to permit the export of a 27000 kg shipment of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
to be used by allies, which the emin had stopped in the port.
Emins as government agents
An emin could also exercise government control over guilds - although if a guild's own rules were recognised by the sultanSultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, then the rules could be enforced as law by a kadi
Kadi
Kadi may refer to:*Kadi, Gujarat, a city and municipality in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India*Kadhi, an Indian dish*Kadı, an official in the Ottoman empire*Qadi or kadi, Islamic judge*Al-Qadi, an Arabic surname*Quadi, an ancient Germanic tribe...
.
The emin could also take the place of a tax-farmer, collecting a defined package of taxes, and might report back to central authority identifying new ways to increase tax take. The sultan might grant extensive powers to the emin to ensure that taxes were collected. The emin might also be appointed to project-manage major construction work, and would submit a full report on each project - with financial details.
Emins also supervised coin mint
MiNT
MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
ing, to prevent the theft of silver, or other fraud by mint employees.
Emins might even be appointed as auditors, to investigate irregularities in tax collection performed by other officials; the emins could make recommendations on how to remedy the problem.