Resm-i çift
Encyclopedia
The Resm-i Çift was a tax in the Ottoman Empire
. It was a tax on farmland, assessed at a fixed annual rate per çift, and paid by land-owning Muslims. Some Imam
s and some civil servants were exempted from the resm-i çift.
The tax was collected annually, on the 1st of March, by the holder of the timar
or their tax-farmer. Some exemptions from resm-i çift were granted, but this was less common than exemptions from extraordinary taxes. Some of the sadat
were initially considered exempt from taxes such as the resm-i çift, but this exemption ended in the 17th century; there were various exemptions for those involved in salt-making and mining
.
The Çift is a measure of land area, derived from the word for "pair"; it is an area of farmland which can be ploughed by a pair of oxen - the equivalent of the Byzantine Zeugarion. It has been argued that the basic land tax in Asia Minor and the Balkans was directly copied from earlier Byzantine
tax methods. A nim çift was half of that area (or half a yoke of oxen); a çiftli bennak was an area less than half; these terms match the Byzantine zeugarion, boidaton, and aktemon - and the rates of tax were initially similar.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, most taxpayers in the Ottoman empire
paid resm-i çift at a rate somewhere between 22 and 70 akçe; this could have been collected by a sipahi
, as either a tax in kind or a cash tax. However, later centralised tax reforms led to cash payments of avâriz
and nüzül
replacing resm-i çift; this transition had begun by 1640. A typical defter
record from the village of Eyucek in Antep shows that çiftliks held 10 çift, taxed at 40 akçe per çift, totalling 400 akçe; this, along with most of the village's other taxes (mostly taxes on individual crops), was paid to the fiefholder. Rates might vary for Muslims and nonmuslims; there are even instances of Muslim converts continuing to pay their "old" rate of tax. Landless peasants might pay Resm-i bennâk
instead.
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...
. It was a tax on farmland, assessed at a fixed annual rate per çift, and paid by land-owning Muslims. Some Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s and some civil servants were exempted from the resm-i çift.
The tax was collected annually, on the 1st of March, by the holder of the 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...
or their tax-farmer. Some exemptions from resm-i çift were granted, but this was less common than exemptions from extraordinary taxes. Some of the sadat
Sadat
- See also :* Anwar Sadat, former President of Egypt* Sadat * Saadat* Sadat. Term also used for the descendents of Holy Prophet Muhammad through Imam Ali and Bibi Fatima progeny....
were initially considered exempt from taxes such as the resm-i çift, but this exemption ended in the 17th century; there were various exemptions for those involved in salt-making and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
.
The Çift is a measure of land area, derived from the word for "pair"; it is an area of farmland which can be ploughed by a pair of oxen - the equivalent of the Byzantine Zeugarion. It has been argued that the basic land tax in Asia Minor and the Balkans was directly copied from earlier Byzantine
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
tax methods. A nim çift was half of that area (or half a yoke of oxen); a çiftli bennak was an area less than half; these terms match the Byzantine zeugarion, boidaton, and aktemon - and the rates of tax were initially similar.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, most taxpayers in the Ottoman empire
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...
paid resm-i çift at a rate somewhere between 22 and 70 akçe; this could have been collected by a sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
, as either a tax in kind or a cash tax. However, later centralised tax reforms led to cash payments of avâriz
Avariz
Avariz was a tax in the Ottoman Empire, an annual cash tax paid by households registered in a defter.-History:In early Ottoman history, the state depended on the timar system of feudal dues; but over time - especially due to the need to hire professional soldiers rather than peasants serving a...
and nüzül
Nüzül
-Mechanism:Nüzül was designed as a form of requisitioning from farms, to feed Ottoman armed forces; large quantities of food were needed to support Ottoman armies in the field. Flour was a major constituent in the 16th-17th century. Producers were expected to deliver nüzül to the required...
replacing resm-i çift; this transition had begun by 1640. A typical defter
Defter
A Defter was a type of tax register in the Ottoman Empire. The information collected could vary, but tahrir defterleri typically included details of villages, dwellings, household heads , ethnicity/religion , and land use.The defter-i hakâni was a land registry, also used for tax...
record from the village of Eyucek in Antep shows that çiftliks held 10 çift, taxed at 40 akçe per çift, totalling 400 akçe; this, along with most of the village's other taxes (mostly taxes on individual crops), was paid to the fiefholder. Rates might vary for Muslims and nonmuslims; there are even instances of Muslim converts continuing to pay their "old" rate of tax. Landless peasants might pay Resm-i bennâk
Resm-i bennâk
The resm-i bennâk was a tax on peasants who had little or no land - those who did not pay the resm-i çift - in the Ottoman Empire.The name is probably a loanword of Armenian origin; in the Ottoman empire, "bennâk" came to mean a landless peasant, or a man who had married but not yet established...
instead.