A study over tax and relationship formed around taxation in the Ottoman Empire (16th-17th century)

Abstract

This thesis inspects the relationship between ruling class and subject class during the early modern period of Ottoman Empire (16th-17th centuries). The study argues that ruling class who was entitled to collect taxes were not simply collectors, they also claimed that the taxes were in lieu of services they brought to people and they were administrators of the activity that was subject to taxation. If a new situation appears regarding the relationship between ruling and subject classes, this divergence from old tradition was also defined and attempted to be solved through taxation. To bolster these arguments, primary sources such as imperial orders and law codes were put in hermeneutic analysis. Secondary sources were consulted to understand the Ottoman state mentality and framework of taxation. It is concluded that we could only have good understanding of Ottoman administration by accurately assessing taxation.