Tekalif-i orfiye
Encyclopedia
Tekalif-i orfiye was a type of taxation in the Ottoman Empire
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Tekalif-i orfiye was a blanket terms for several different ad-hoc charges which were, initially, extraordinary taxes raised in war-time. They were variously paid in cash or in kind, and rates could vary (to an extent), depending on the community's ability to pay. By the time of the Tanzimat
reforms, tekalif-i orfiye included ninety different excise taxes.
Tekalif dues became high in the 17th century. However, the Ottoman empire's complex web of tax exemptions also touched on tekalif; taxpayers could be exempted for public service (for instance, by running a hostel for pilgrims), and sometimes a district's could be exempted due to exceptional hardship (for instance, if the district had already paid heavily towards other taxes, or been ravaged by warfare). Some Janissaries were exempted from tekalif-i orfiye although Janissary status could be effectively hereditary rather than a real military role.
A muafname
might exempt a community from some or all tekalif-i orfiye.
Some documents may simply refer to "tekalif" without specifying which tax is concerned.
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...
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Tekalif-i orfiye was a blanket terms for several different ad-hoc charges which were, initially, extraordinary taxes raised in war-time. They were variously paid in cash or in kind, and rates could vary (to an extent), depending on the community's ability to pay. By the time of the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
reforms, tekalif-i orfiye included ninety different excise taxes.
Tekalif dues became high in the 17th century. However, the Ottoman empire's complex web of tax exemptions also touched on tekalif; taxpayers could be exempted for public service (for instance, by running a hostel for pilgrims), and sometimes a district's could be exempted due to exceptional hardship (for instance, if the district had already paid heavily towards other taxes, or been ravaged by warfare). Some Janissaries were exempted from tekalif-i orfiye although Janissary status could be effectively hereditary rather than a real military role.
A muafname
Muafiyet
Muafiyet was a tax exemption mechanism for Ottoman towns or villages; an individual decree of tax exemption was called a muafname.After a muafname was issued to a town, the urban population would be exempted from some of the taxes on raya, such as resm-i çift...
might exempt a community from some or all tekalif-i orfiye.
Other uses
Usage of the term "Tekalif" can be confused in places; "Tekalif" is a general term meaning "tax", but there were several different specific applications:- Tekalif-i divaniye: Taxes of the imperial council, also known as "sovereign prerogative" taxes. These taxes varied very wildly, and were also called customary taxes as they often included elements of taxation from territories before Ottoman conquest. AvarizAvarizAvariz 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...
is an example of a customary tax. - Tekalif-i örfiye: Extraordinary taxes (at least initially); their extemporised nature means that they were not always recorded in some tax registers.
- Tekalif-i kefere: The tax obligations of unbelievers, such as ChristiansChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. - Tekalif-i bilavasıta: Direct taxes, after 1861
- Tekalif-i bilvasıta: Indirect tax, after 1861
Some documents may simply refer to "tekalif" without specifying which tax is concerned.