Rayah
Encyclopedia
A rayah or reaya was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman
society, in contrast to the askeri
and kul. In Muslim
world, Rayyah literally subject of a government or sovereign.
The rayah (literally 'members of the flock') included Christians, Muslims, and Jews who were 'shorn' (i.e. taxed) to support the state and the associated 'professional Ottoman' class.
But both in contemporaneous and in modern usage, it refers to non-Muslim subjects in particular, also called zimmi
. The word is sometimes mistranslated as 'cattle' rather than 'flock' or 'subjects' to emphasize the inferior status of the rayah.
In the early Ottoman Empire, rayah were not eligible for military service, but starting in the late 16th century, Muslim rayah became eligible, to the distress of some of the ruling class.
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...
society, in contrast to the askeri
Askeri
Askeri is an Ottoman Turkish term that refers to a class of imperial administrators in the Ottoman Empire.This elite class consisted of four main groups: the military, the court officials, the nobility, and the religious clergy. Though term itself literally means "of the military", it more...
and kul. In Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
world, Rayyah literally subject of a government or sovereign.
The rayah (literally 'members of the flock') included Christians, Muslims, and Jews who were 'shorn' (i.e. taxed) to support the state and the associated 'professional Ottoman' class.
But both in contemporaneous and in modern usage, it refers to non-Muslim subjects in particular, also called zimmi
Dhimmi
A , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
. The word is sometimes mistranslated as 'cattle' rather than 'flock' or 'subjects' to emphasize the inferior status of the rayah.
In the early Ottoman Empire, rayah were not eligible for military service, but starting in the late 16th century, Muslim rayah became eligible, to the distress of some of the ruling class.
See also
- DhimmiDhimmiA , is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance with sharia law. Linguistically, the word means "one whose responsibility has been taken". This has to be understood in the context of the definition of state in Islam...
- GiaourGiaourGiaour, Gawur or Ghiaour written gâvur in modern Turkish, is an offensive ethnic slur used by Muslims in Turkey and the Balkans to describe all who are non Muslim, with particular reference to Christians like Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians, Serbs and Assyrians...
- Ottoman Millet systemMillet (Ottoman Empire)Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
- Second-class citizenSecond-class citizenSecond-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there...