| Taxation in the Ottoman Empire |
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| Taxes |
| Adet-i Ağnam · Adet-i deştbani · Ashar · Avarız · Bac-i pazar · Bedl-i askeri · Cizye · Cürm-ü cinayet · Damga resmi · Gümrük resmi · Haraç · Ihtisab · İspençe · Istira · Maktu · Mururiye resmi · Muskirat resmi · Nüzül · Otlak resmi · Rav akçesi · Resm-i arusane · Resm-i bennâk · Resm-i bostan · Resm-i çift · Resm-i dönüm · Resm-i ganem · Resm-i hınzır · Resm-i mücerred · Resm-i sicill · Rusum-e-eflak · Selamet isni · Tapu resmi · Tekalif-i orfiye · Temettu · Tuz resmi · Zakāt |
| Implementation |
| Ahidnâme · Defter · Düyun-ı Umumiye · Emin · Hazine-i Hassa · Hane · Iltizam · Istira · Kadı · Kanun-i Raya · Kanunname · Malikane · Millet · Muafiyet · Muhassil · Muqata'ah · Ottoman Public Debt Administration · Regie Company · Sursat · Tahrir · Waqf |
Avariz was a tax in the Ottoman Empire, an annual cash tax paid by households registered in a defter.[1]
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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 feudal military obligation - more emphasis was placed on cash taxes, and avariz took over from the timar system.[2] Avariz began in the late fifteenth century.[3]
Initially, nüzül was seen as an alternative to avariz; nuzul was (in principle) a payment of food, in kind. In times of war, villages might be required to supply food to army supply points, or they might be required to supply cash; but never both. Over time, this relationship changed, and both might be demanded[4] (whilst nüzül also became a cash tax).
Detailed Ottoman tax registers survive which show the levels and details of taxation in different provinces. Although the tax burden was very variable, nüzül and avariz were very important taxes in the 17th century - for instance, they represented 58% of all tax revenue in Manastir in 1621-1622 - but by the 18th century their importance had declined, and more money was collected through other taxes.[5]
An avarizhane was a household defined for tax purposes. Initially, this was equivalent to one gercekhane (i.e. a real household), but over time, taxpayers were aggregated into larger groups; by the seventeenth century, an avarizhane might include several households, or gercekhanes.[3]
Avariz might be collected through an Iltizam, or tax farm.
The name "Avariz" was also used as a blanked term for cash taxes levied by central government, or avariz-i divaniye. The term later came to be used for one specific tax.[3]
Occasionally the tax burden could be heavy, provoking rebellion.[2] Some waqfs were founded to help communities pay their nüzül and avariz obligations each year.[6]
The Ottoman Empire had a complex system of tax exemptions, and avariz was no exception. Various groups were exempted from avariz on the basis of lineage, public service by favoured professions, and sometimes a district's an exceptional inability to pay (for instance, if the district had already paid heavily towards other taxes, or been ravaged by warfare). The most common exemption was for villages which had been assigned guard duties.[2]