Rav akçesi was a "rabbi tax" paid byJewish communities in theOttoman Empire.[1][2] The origins ofrav 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 inIstanbul, 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.[3][4]
It has been suggested thatMehmet 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.[5]
Althoughrav akçesi was a cash tax, rather than a tax in kind, it could behypothecated to provide specific goods; tax records for 1655 show that therav akçesi inMonastir (Bitola) was a significant source of funding of drapery forJanissaries; the tax official responsible for purchases would be the same person responsible for collecting the tax.[6]
Non-Muslims were usually taxed at a higher rate, overall, in the Ottoman empire, thanks to taxes such asrav akçesi andispence. Jews in particular may have been singled out to pay higher rates ofispence.[7] ThePorte was well aware of this - and even aware that this would tempt non-Muslims to convert;Bayezit II ruled that courts should treat non-Muslims more leniently (including such measures as lower fines), "so that the poll-tax payers shall not vanish".[8]
As with othertaxes in the Ottoman Empire,rav akçesi could be affected by a complex patchwork of local rules and exemptions, includingmuafiyet; the Jews of Selanik (Thessaloniki) were among those exempted from taxes by amuafname after the city was conquered byMurad II.[9]
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