Nasihatnameler, Icmal Defterleri, And The Timar-Holding Ottoman Elite In The Late Sixteenth Century

Abstract

If there is any aspect of Ottoman history that is considered to be well understood, it is the timar system, the system through which the revenues of the empire and the oversight of peasant agriculture were awarded to cavalrymen (sipahis) in lieu of salary.In the mid-twentieth century the timar was seen as the core issue in Ottoman history, the characteristic institution of the empire’s classical era; the device that united the military system, the political system, the economic system and the social system; that made the empire successful, organized its resources, brought its people together, insured its prosperity, and created its identity.Advice writers’ complaints, however, paint a picture of the timar system as riddled with corruption and filled with incapable recipients.