Ayan (class): Difference between revisions

The term or title is from the [[Arabic]] meaning "a person holding a high office" or "prominent person", "eminent, noted, personage", representing as a "notable, dignitary, notability" which refer to the modern term for "[[Very important person|VIP]]".

 

 

Though not all a'yan were tax farmers, the a'yan rose particularly in conjunction with the Iltizam tax structure (Ottoman tax farming). Prior to that system, only those close to the Sultan had any political capacity. Under the Timar System, provincial military governors appointed by the Sultan collected taxes and ruled over territories. However, the governors abused their relatively unchecked power to amass personal wealth and influence.<ref name=Piterberg1990>{{cite journal |last1=Piterberg |first1=Gabriel |title=The Formation of an Ottoman Egyptian Elite in the 18th Century |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |date=1990 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=275–289 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800034073 |jstor=164128 |s2cid=162161606 }}</ref> Scholar [[Halil İnalcık|Halil Inalcik]] describes that in the 17th and 18th centuries, "…the struggle between the provincial governors and the central administration emerge[d] as the most significant phenomenon of that period."<ref name=Piterberg1990/> In response, the central government granted more power and autonomy to local, wealthy individuals to challenge the governors.