Rav akçesi was a "

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

tax" paid by Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire. The origins of ''rav akçesi'' are unclear; it has been suggested that it was one of two taxes imposed specifically on Jews, and that it may have developed in parallel with the authority of a senior rabbi in Istanbul, who was at nominally a representative and judge for Jewish communities in the Ottoman empire, although their authority may not have extended far beyond Istanbul. It has been suggested that Mehmet II imposed the tax in return for separate representation of Jews after 1455, as part of a broader effort to rebuild and revive Istanbul; this may also have served to undermine the Greek patriarchy. Under the Ottoman empire there was, at time, friction between "Greeks" and "Jews"; the authorities may at times have favoured one over the other. Although ''rav akçesi'' was a cash tax, rather than a tax in kind, it could be hypothecated to provide specific goods; tax records for 1655 show that the ''rav akçesi'' in Monastir (Bitola) was a significant source of funding of drapery for

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

; the tax official responsible for purchases would be the same person responsible for collecting the tax. Non-Muslims were usually taxed at a higher rate, overall, in the Ottoman empire, thanks to taxes such as ''rav akçesi'' and ''

ispence İspençe was a land tax levied on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. İspençe was a land-tax on non-Muslims in parts of the Ottoman Empire; its counterpart, for Muslim taxpayers, was the resm-i çift - which was set at slightly lower rate. The ...

''. Jews in particular may have been singled out to pay higher rates of ''ispence.'' The

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

was well aware of this - and even aware that this would tempt non-Muslims to convert;

Bayezit II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Ba ...

ruled that courts should treat non-Muslims more leniently (including such measures as lower fines), "so that the poll-tax payers shall not vanish". As with other taxes in the Ottoman empire, ''rav akçesi'' could be affected by a complex patchwork of local rules and exemptions, including ''

muafiyet Muafiyet was a tax exemption mechanism for Ottoman towns or villages; an individual decree of tax exemption was called a muafname. After a muafname was issued to a town, the urban population would be exempted from some of the taxes on ''raya'', s ...

''; the Jews of Selanik ( Thessaloniki) were among those exempted from taxes by a ''muafname'' after the city was conquered by Murad II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rav akcesi Disabilities (Jewish) History of taxation Jews and Judaism in the Ottoman Empire Taxation in the Ottoman Empire Turkish words and phrases

See also

References