Property right under the Ottoman legal taxation system

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Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the Ottoman taxation (timar) system which resembles medieval European feudalism. In this article, a chronological approach and contemporary scientific-methodological techniques have been used, as well as analytical and interpretation methods to clarify the Ottoman legal rules that regulate property rights focused in Kosovo. Based on this research, it has been found that the Ottoman government declared that all rural agricultural land belonged to the state, as well as that the peasant who worked on it had the status of an inherited tenant, and as a reward for his work he had the right to use it but as foreign property. This paper concludes that only a part of villagers representatives was integrated into the ranks of the spahis and the leaders of the Ottoman state, and Albanians had and kept such privileges until the end of foreign rule. This article is important to reflect on the influence that the Ottoman timar system had on the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in the countries which were its vassals, even though it has its own weaknesses (Kurmus & Yapucu, 2020).

Keywords: Property, Ottoman, Tax Law, Timar System, Spahis, Kosovo, International, Indications, Influence

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — I.A. and M.L.; Methodology — I.A. and M.L.; Data Curation — I.A.; Writing — Original Draft — I.A. and M.L.; Writing — Review & Editing — I.A. and M.L.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: K00, K11, K34, K33, K38, N00

Received: 04.04.2022
Accepted: 12.01.2023
Published online: 16.01.2023

How to cite this paper: Ahmeti, I., & Lecaj, M. (2023). Property right under the Ottoman legal taxation system. Journal of Governance & Regulation, 12(1), 33–41. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv12i1art3