View source for Iltizam

{{Short description|Ottoman tax farming system}}
{{Taxation in the Ottoman Empire sidebar}}
An '''iltizam''' ({{langx|ar|التزام|iltizām}}) was a form of [[tax farm]] that appeared in the 15th century in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The system began under [[Mehmed the Conqueror]] and was abolished during the [[Tanzimat]] reforms in 1856.

Iltizams were sold off by the government to wealthy notables, who would then reap up to five times the amount they had paid by taxing the peasants and extracting agricultural production.  It was a system that was very profitable and was of great benefit to the Egyptian aristocracy under the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluks]], and helped create a large and powerful elite. In Egypt, it was abolished by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]] as part of his centralization efforts in the early nineteenth century. After confiscating the iltizam lands of the ulema, Muhammad Ali imposed a tax on their significant (and previously tax-exempt) waqf revenues.

The holder of an iltizam was a ''mültezim'' ({{langx|ota|ملتزم}})

An iltizam was typically an annual agreement. The [[malikâne]] ({{langx|ota|مالكانه}}), developed as a replacement for iltizam, was for life.<ref>{{cite book|title=An Introduction to Religious Foundations in the Ottoman Empire|year=1987|publisher=Barnes|isbn=9789004086524}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Abd Al-Rahim / Y. Nagata: ''The Iltizam System in Egypt and Turkey - A Comparative Study''. JaAAS, 14 (1977), 169-194.

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[[Category:Ottoman Egypt]]
[[Category:Arabic words and phrases]]
[[Category:Land management in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Taxation in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Tax farming]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:19th-century disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire]]


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