Bidspirit auction | Historical, Most Important Item for

Historical, Most Important Item for the Pedigree of the Residents of Jerusalem! Handwritten Pinkas of Tax Payers to the Ottoman Army - Jerusalem, Early 20th Century - Handwritten list of more than a thousand residents of Jerusalem who are required to pay the bedel-i askeri tax - the tax paid to receive exemption from compulsory enlistment to the Ottoman Army - Jerusalem, 1902-1909.  Bedel-i askeri was a tax imposed on non-Muslims living in the Ottoman Empire. The tax gave its payer an exemption from compulsory enlistment to the Ottoman Arman equal compulsory enlistment was enacted.  ”Jews always find a solution” and the Jews of Jerusalem made a point of not registering their sons with the government, keeping their birth a secret. The tax was collected by the Ottoman government directly from the Jewish community, which would deduct it from the Kollel money that most Jews of Jerusalem received.  This is a lengthy list of more than a thousand names of children who were born during the years 1902-1909. The Ottoman givernment discovered the existence of these children and forced the Jewish community to pay the tax for them: ”הנוגע בעד הנולדים שנודעו להממשלה בחודש שבט שנת תרס”ב 317 למספרם  עד סוף שנה הנ”ל, ונרשם קנס בעד כל נולד, עודף שנה אחת” [Regarding the newborns who were registered with the government in the month of Shevat 1902, numbered 317 (according to the Arabic calendar) until the end of the said year, and a fine was registered for each newborn over one year old].  Another notation following the list of tax payers: נשארו חייבים בעד הנעלמים שנודעו להממשלה... וקנס העודפים על שנה...” [They remained indebted for the unregistered newborns who became known to the government... and the fine for those over one year old...].  The Pinkas indicates that a large part of the tax was paid by the Rothschild family.  The Pinkas contains approx. 200 pages, divided by the Kollelim of Jerusalem. The list contains the names of the members of 17 Kollelim and the names of those who do not belong to a Kollel .  The manuscript reveiws the Kollelim of Reisin, Karlin, Chabad, Horodna, Romania, Minsk, Sovalk, Vilna, Vohlin, Zhitomir, Warsaw, Slonim, Pinsk, Basrabia, Kosov, Bucharest.  A most important item for the history of the Kollelim of Jerusalem, the relationship between the Jews and the Ottoman government and the history of pedigreed Jewish families! It is not impossible that many questions of pedigree will be resolved for the first time by this Pinkas!!! 200 pp.  Good condition.