Ziamet
Encyclopedia
Ziamet was a form of land
tenure
in Ottoman Empire
, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for his services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I
who granted land tenure to his troop
s. Later this system was expanded from Murad I
for his Sipahi
.
The Saljuq state, prior to the rise of The Ottoman State in the 14th century, utilized ziamets in an effort to implement provincial governors, who were also made subordinate chiefs in the military regime. In this pre-Ottoman period, timars were used with other tactics, such as building caravansaries, in an effort to sedentarize nomadic groups.[1] The Ottoman state thus took on this timar system when conquering Anatolia
, and it represented just one of several institutions apparent in the Ottoman Empire derived from the Saljuq state.[2]
As the Ottoman Empire came into disarray due to problems asserting central government control during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottomans needed a way to reassert its military might. Ziamets of Ottoman cavalry were enlarged and turned over to a smaller number of owners, with a longer tenure. Thus, authority in provincial areas turned to police authority as local administrations dissolved, and ziamets were converted into tax-farms or iqta. This conversion of ziamets into tax-farms proved to be the first step to growing provincial control in the Ottoman Empire, as economic decline in the empire gave these stronger provincial governor
s the chance to assert power.[3]
The ziamet-holder acted as an agent of the central Ottoman government in supervising the possession, transfer, and rental of lands within his territory and collecting tax revenue, in return for military service. A timar was not necessarily made up of contiguous property, but could consist of property scattered among different villages.
A timar- holder is a zaim
s.
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
in 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...
, consisting in grant of lands or revenues by the Ottoman Sultan to an individual in compensation for his services, especially military services. The ziamet system was introduced by Osman I
Osman I
Osman I or Othman I or El-Gazi Sultan Osman Ghazi, or Osman Bey or I. Osman, Osman Gazi Han), nicknamed "Kara" for his courage, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire...
who granted land tenure to his troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
s. Later this system was expanded from Murad I
Murad I
Murad I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1361 to 1389...
for his Sipahi
Sipahi
Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps...
.
The Saljuq state, prior to the rise of The Ottoman State in the 14th century, utilized ziamets in an effort to implement provincial governors, who were also made subordinate chiefs in the military regime. In this pre-Ottoman period, timars were used with other tactics, such as building caravansaries, in an effort to sedentarize nomadic groups.[1] The Ottoman state thus took on this timar system when conquering Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, and it represented just one of several institutions apparent in the Ottoman Empire derived from the Saljuq state.[2]
As the Ottoman Empire came into disarray due to problems asserting central government control during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottomans needed a way to reassert its military might. Ziamets of Ottoman cavalry were enlarged and turned over to a smaller number of owners, with a longer tenure. Thus, authority in provincial areas turned to police authority as local administrations dissolved, and ziamets were converted into tax-farms or iqta. This conversion of ziamets into tax-farms proved to be the first step to growing provincial control in the Ottoman Empire, as economic decline in the empire gave these stronger provincial governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s the chance to assert power.[3]
The ziamet-holder acted as an agent of the central Ottoman government in supervising the possession, transfer, and rental of lands within his territory and collecting tax revenue, in return for military service. A timar was not necessarily made up of contiguous property, but could consist of property scattered among different villages.
A timar- holder is a zaim
Zaim
The name Zaim may be a representation of the male Muslim given name Za'im , meaning leader, chief. Correspondingly al-Za'im means "the leader"...
s.