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Jizya tax system

Type Object Region South Asia Time 1206–1526

Jizya is a poll tax levied by Islamic states on non-Muslim adult males, often linked to military exemption and protection of religious minorities;…

Timeline

  1. 1206–1296Delhi Sultanate territories · IndiaEarly sultans levied jizya on non-Muslim adult males—Hindus, Jains, Christians, and others—under Islamic law, which together with the land tax (kharaj) formed a major revenue source, with rates varying by class and region.
  2. 1311–1320Delhi · DelhiAlauddin Khalji raised the land tax and maintained jizya collection to fill the treasury; after 1316 his successors continued the system until the dynastic change in 1320.
  3. 1320–1526Territories of Islamic polities on the Indian subcontinent · IndiaSuccessor sultans such as the Tughluqs continued to levy jizya, with rates and exemption policies fluctuating with each ruler's religious tolerance, making it an important institutional arrangement for sultanate finances and communal relations.

Sources