TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Provinces and land
Also known as: tımar, dirlik
The system of allotting the tax revenue of state land in return for military and administrative service.
The sipahi who held a timar collected the taxes of the villages assigned to him; in return he joined campaigns as a cavalryman and, depending on his revenue, brought armed retainers called cebelü. Ownership of the land remained with the state. The larger grants were called zeamet and has. The timar system was the foundation of the classical Ottoman army and of provincial order.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “TİMAR” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.