TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Finance and economy
Also known as: cizye, haraç
The poll tax levied in the Islamic state on non-Muslim men in return for exemption from military service.
Women, children, the elderly, clergy and the poor did not pay the jizya. It was one of the main revenues of the Ottoman state and was collected at different rates according to income. The jizya was abolished by the Reform Edict of 1856, which introduced the principle of equality among subjects.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “CİZYE” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.