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A timariot was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army. In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, which were usually recently conquered plots of agricultural land in the countryside. Far less commonly, the sultan would grant a civil servant or member of the imperial family a timar.

The timariots provided the backbone of the Ottoman cavalry force and the army as a whole. They were obligated to fight as cavalrymen in the Ottoman military when called upon. Timariots were expected to bring cebelus or men-at-arms as well as their own equipment on campaign, the number of cebelus being determined by revenue. The number of the sultan in the timariot army fluctuated between 50,000 and 90,000 men. Timariots were themselves organized by sanjak beys who ruled over groups of timars. The sanjaks were subordinate to the beylerbeyi and then the sultan himself. This semi-feudal arrangement allowed for the Ottomans to organize large armies at once, thus making an imperial army from what was still essentially a medieval economy. This system of using agricultural revenue to pay troops was influenced by a similar Byzantine practice and other near-Eastern states prior to the Ottoman Empire.

During peace, timariots were expected to manage the lands they were given. Each timariot did not own the land that had been granted. All agricultural lands in the Empire that were considered state property (or miri) could be granted as timars. Timariots could be removed and transferred when the sultan deemed it necessary. However, timariots were expected to collect taxes and manage the peasantry. The kanunname of each sanjak listed the specific amount of taxes and services that the timariot could collect. The central government enforced these laws rigorously, and a sipahi could lose his timar for violating regulations. The timar-holders took precautions to keep peasants on their land and were also owed certain labor from peasants, such as building a barn. The maximum amount of income from one timar was 9,999 akce per year, but most timariots did not make anywhere close to that. In the 1530s, 40 percent of timariots received less than 3,000 akce in revenue. Higher ranking officers could receive a ziamet (up to 100,000 akces) or a has (over 100,000 akce), depending on importance.

When the Ottomans conquered new territory, it was common practice to grant timars to the local aristocracy of conquered lands. The Ottomans co-opted the local nobility and eased the burden of conquest. The first group of timars in the Balkans had a strong Christian majority (60 percent in Serbia and 82 percent in Bosnia in 1467-69), but the Christian sipahis gradually disappeared due to dispossession or conversion to Islam.

Timar-status could be inherited, but the pieces of land were not inheritable to avoid the creation of any stable landed nobility. Timars were not hereditary until a decree was passed in 1585. Those who vied for timar status were fiercely competitive and the barrier to entry was high. The sipahis were also in constant competition for control of the Ottoman military with the janissary class.

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