JIZYA: The jizya was a head or poll tax (a uniform amount levied on each individual) that early Islamic rulers demanded from their non-Muslim subjects.

Islamic law made a distinction between two categories of non-Muslim subjects—pagans and dhimmis (“protected peoples,” or “peoples of the book”; i.e., those peoples who based their religious beliefs on sacred texts, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians). The Muslim rulers tolerated the dhimmis and allowed them to practice their religion. In return for protection and as a mark of their submission, the dhimmis were required to pay a special poll tax known as the jizya. The rate of taxation and methods of collection varied greatly from province to province and were greatly influenced by local pre-Islamic customs. In theory the tax money was to be used for charitable purposes and the payment of salaries and pensions. In practice, however, the revenues derived from the jizya were deposited in the private treasuries of the rulers. The Ottomans usually used the proceeds of the jizya to pay their military expenses.

Although Mughal Emperor Akbar of abolished the jizya during his reign, subsequent Mughal emperors reinstated the policy and promoted Islam as the primary religion over Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Jains, and Buddhists.

MILLET: In medieval Islamic states, the word millet, or Arabic for “nation” was applied to certain non-Muslim minorities, mainly Christians and Jews. In the heterogeneous Ottoman Empire, a millet was an autonomous self-governing religious community, each organized under its own laws and headed by a religious leader, who was responsible to the central government for the fulfillment of millet responsibilities and duties, particularly those of paying taxes and maintaining internal security. In addition, each millet assumed responsibility for social and administrative functions not provided by the state, conducting affairs through a communal council without intervention from outside.