Corruption and Bribery in Ottoman Tax Management: An Evaluation of the Period 1876–1909

Abstract

Bribery and corruption are common types of crimes that are observed not only in modern societies but also in past societies. These crimes, which are against society and in favor of those who commit them, were widespread in Ottoman finance, especially in the nineteenth century. When archive documents of that historical period are examined, it is possible to see many examples of these crimes. For example, during the nineteenth century, notices were made by taxpayers and public officials that tax farmers or other actors in charge of the taxation process were involved in corruption and bribery incidents. According to these notices, the collected taxes were not properly transferred to the central treasury by tax farmers, and there were also corruption practices that occurred during the tax bidding process. Efficiency losses occurred in the Ottoman’s tax administration due to these acts of bribery. This study intends to assess and analyze these acts of bribery and corruption in the nineteenth-century Ottoman tax administration.