THE TIMAR SYSTEM IN THE SERBIAN LANDS FROM 1450 TO 1550: WITH A SPECIAL SURVEY ON THE TIMAR SYSTEM IN THE SANJAK OF SMEDEREVO (1450’DEN 1550’YE KADAR SIRP TOPRAKLARINDA TIMAR SİSTEMİ)

Relying on the Ottoman census books for various Ottoman provinces, which had been part of the medieval Serbian states, this paper presents a survey of timar organization in the Serbian lands during the first century of Ottoman rule and argues that while Christian sipahis were an integral part of the sipahi organization during the early period of Ottoman rule, their numbers gradually declined. The article pays special attention to the issue of the Christian sipahis. Since a range of census books had been preserved for the sanjak of Smederevo, this province was chosen as the case study to explain the most important issues regarding the functioning of the timar system.