Ottoman 1871 Auction Notice - Collection of the Aşar (Tithe) Tax Ağarı Kütahya Iltizam

Auction Notice for the Collection of the Aşar (Tithe) Tax – Ağarı Village, Kütahya Sanjak (1871)

Description:

This Ottoman Turkish document is an official auction notice (müzayede pusulası) dated 16 Ağustos 1287 (28 August 1871), relating to the public auction of the aşar (tithe) tax revenues for the year 1287 from Ağarı Village, situated in Virancık Nahiyesi of Kütahya Sanjak within the Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti. Today, Ağarı is a village in the Çavdarhisar district of Kütahya Province. The document provides a valuable record of the Ottoman Empire's iltizam (tax farming) system during the Tanzimat period.

The document records the competitive bidding process through which the right to collect the agricultural tithe was awarded. The successful bidder was Hacı Güneli Sâbit Ağa, whose winning offer amounted to 2,150 kuruş. As was customary in the Ottoman tax farming system, the successful bidder became the mültezim, obtaining the right to collect the agricultural taxes from the village in return for the payment he undertook to make to the state.

Under the Ottoman iltizam system, the government auctioned the tax revenues of provinces, districts, and villages to private individuals known as mültezims. Interested bidders participated in public auctions by submitting competing offers. The successful bidder guaranteed payment of the agreed amount to the state, thereby providing the treasury with immediate revenue. In return, the mültezim received the right to collect taxes from the local population for a specified period, generally between one and three years. Any profit or loss resulting from the actual tax collection remained the responsibility of the mültezim, making tax farming both a commercial enterprise and an important component of Ottoman provincial finance.

The document also preserves the names and personal seals of several competing bidders, providing valuable genealogical and local historical information. Among those participating in the auction were Ağarılızade Hacı Hasan Efendi, Ağarılızade Ahmed Ağa, İlyasoğlu Ahmed Efendi, Hacı Abdullah Efendizade Şerif Efendi, Ağarılızade İbrahim, and Ketebeden Mehmed Ali Efendi. Such records offer a rare glimpse into the leading families and prominent figures of a provincial Ottoman community during the nineteenth century.

Bearing the original seals of the bidders, this document is an excellent example of Ottoman fiscal administration and the practical operation of the tax farming system. Beyond its financial purpose, it provides important evidence of provincial governance, agricultural taxation, and local economic life in western Anatolia during the Tanzimat era.

For collectors and researchers, this is an exceptional historical document illustrating Ottoman taxation, provincial administration, and the operation of the iltizam system. It is particularly valuable for the study of Kütahya history, Ottoman finance, and nineteenth-century rural administration.

Key Features:

• Type: Ottoman tax auction notice (Müzayede Pusulası)

• Date: 16 Ağustos 1287 (28 August 1871)

• Location: Ağarı Village, Virancık Nahiyesi, Kütahya Sanjak, Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti (present-day Çavdarhisar, Kütahya)

• Subject: Public auction of the 1287 agricultural aşar (tithe) tax revenues

• Winning Bidder (Mültezim): Hacı Güneli Sâbit Ağa

• Winning Bid: 2,150 kuruş

• Historical Context: Documents the Ottoman iltizam (tax farming) system, whereby tax collection rights were auctioned to private individuals in exchange for guaranteed payments to the state

• Named Bidders: Ağarılızade Hacı Hasan Efendi, Ağarılızade Ahmed Ağa, İlyasoğlu Ahmed Efendi, Hacı Abdullah Efendizade Şerif Efendi, Ağarılızade İbrahim, and Ketebeden Mehmed Ali Efendi

• Physical Features: Original bidder seals

• Collectible Significance: Valuable for collectors of Ottoman fiscal documents, Tanzimat-era administration, Kütahya history, agricultural taxation, and Ottoman provincial records