Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth da Kamal Abdulfattah (1977) sun rubuta wani muhimmin aiki kan Tarihin Ƙasa (Historical Geography) na Falasdinu, Transjordan da Kudancin Siriya a ƙarshen karni na 16, wanda suka dogara da wani cikakken rajistan Ottoman (mufassal defter). A cikin aikin, sun bayyana waɗannan yankuna a matsayin "yankunan iyaka" (frontier zones) a ƙarƙashin mulkin Ottoman. A karni na 18, pashalik na Safad (lardin Safad) da dukan Galili sun kasance misalin "lardin iyaka" (frontier province), kuma sun zama tushen ƙarfi ga wata hukumar cikin gida ta Falasɗinawa da ke tasowa, a ƙarƙashin mulkin Ottoman na suna kawai.

Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah’s (1977) seminal work on the Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century, based on a detailed Ottoman register (mufassal defter), describes these regions as ‘frontier zones’ under Ottoman rule. In 18th century Palestine, the pashalik of Safad (province of Safad) and Galilee as a whole were a case of ‘frontier province’ and a power base for a rising Palestinian local power under nominal Ottoman rule.

Wanda aka fara ganinsa a zamanin Mamluk, tsarin harajin Iltizam an mayar da shi tsari na hukuma a karni na 15 ta hannun Daular Usmaniyya, kuma ana aiwatar da shi ta hanyar bai wa wasu mutane damar tara kudaden harajin gwamnati. Gwamnatin Usmaniyya tana ba da aikin tara haraji ga wanda ya fi bayar da kudi mafi yawa cikin gwanjo, wanda aka fi sani da multazim, shi kuma yana samun riba, sau da yawa ta hanyar almubazzaranci, daga tara haraji a yankinsa, yana biyan gwamnati kudin da aka kayyade a cikin kashi-kashi, yayin da yake rike da ribar da ya samu. Wannan tsarin ba da aikin tara haraji ya hada da karbar harajin filaye da na birane, da harajin kayayyaki kamar giya da gishiri, har ma da samar da wasu ayyukan jama'a. Ba da aikin harajin filaye ga wasu a karkashin Usmaniyya, wanda ya yi kama da tsarin iqta'a na Fatimiyya, ya haifar da masu fada-a-ji masu arziki na yankuna da kuma shugabannin yankuna masu karfi a Falasdinu da sauran yankunan yankin. An soke wannan tsari a hukumance a cikin gyare-gyaren Tanzimat na shekarar 1856, amma a zahiri ya ci gaba har zuwa karshen mulkin Usmaniyya a Falasdinu (Yazbak 1998: 72‒73). Tsarin Iltizam ya kasance mai matukar riba da cin zarafi, kuma shekaru aru-aru ya kasance abin amfani mai girma ga manyan masu fada-a-ji na yankuna a zamanin Mamluk da Usmaniyya (Abdul Rahmam da Nagata 1977).

Appearing first under the Mamluks, the Iltizam taxation system was institutionalised by the Ottomans in the 15th century and was carried out by the farming of public tax revenues. The Ottoman state would outsource tax collection by auctioning taxation rights to the highest bidder (multazim), who would then profit, often profligately, from collecting the taxes locally, make payments to the state in fixed instalments, while keeping the profit. This outsourcing of the Iltizam tax system included the farming of land taxes and urban taxes, the production of certain goods such as wine and salt, and even the provision of certain public services. The outsourcing of the land Iltizam tax under the Ottomans, which resembled the iqta’a system under the Fatimids, gave rise to rich local elites and powerful local chieftains in Palestine and throughout the region. Formally abolished in the course of the reforms (Tanzimat) of 1856, but, in reality, continuing until the end of Ottoman rule in Palestine (Yazbak 1998: 72‒73), the ltizam system was very profitable and highly exploitative and was for many centuries of great benefit to powerful local elites under the Mamluks and Ottomans (Abdul Rahmam and Nagata 1977).

Wasu bangarori na tasirin tsarin karɓar haraji na Daular Usmaniyya (tax farming), tare da bunƙasar cin gashin kai na yankuna da tashin shugabanni masu ƙarfi a Falasdiɗu, musamman a cikin yanayin ‘lardunan iyaka’, ana iya ganin su ma a farkon tashin sarakunan Larabawa na Gassan masu biyayya ga Rum (manyan phylarchs).

Certain aspects of the impact of the Ottoman tax farming system, with the growth of local autonomy and rise of powerful chiefs in Palestine especially within the context of ‘frontier provinces’, can also be seen in the previous rise of the Ghassanid Arab federate kings (supreme phylarchs)

na ‘yankunan kan iyaka’ na Palaestina Secunda da Palaestina Tertia a ƙarni na shida da farkon ƙarni na bakwai, da kuma tashin shugabannin Jarrah na kabilun Bedouin na Banu Tayy a ƙarƙashin Fatimiyyawa, har zuwa lokacin da Anushtakin al-Dizbari, Gwamnan Soja na Falasdiɗu, ya ci su a yaƙi a shekara ta 1029 AD.

of the ‘frontier provinces’ of Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia in the 6th and early 7th centuries and in the rise of the Jarrah leaders of the Bedouin tribes of Banu Tayy under the Fatimids, until their military defeat by Anushtakin al-Dizbari, the Military Governor of Palestine, in 1029 AD.

Hawan Dhaher al-ʿUmar cikin sauri a Galilee a karni na 18 wani misali ne a wannan batu. Ikonsa na tara haraji yadda ya kamata, ya tara sojoji tare da jagorantar su yadda ya kamata, ya kulla kawance cikin nasara, da kuma tabbatar da doka da oda, a cikin yanayin "lardin kan iyaka" na Galilee, duk sun kasance cikin abubuwan da suka bayyana yadda ya hau mulki a Falasdinu a karni na 18.

The spectacular rise of Dhaher al-ʿUmar in Galilee in the 18th century is also a case in point. His ability to collect taxes efficiently, raise and command an army effectively, forge alliances successfully and enforce law and order, within the context of the ‘frontier province’ of the Galilee, were all part of the mix which explains his rise to power in 18th century Palestine.

Mafi kusa da Falasdinu ta kai ga samun cikakken 'yancin kai a farkon zamani shi ne sakamakon hade-haden tattalin arzikin Falasdinu da kuma jagorancin shahararren shugabanta Dhaher al-ʿUmar, tare da ci gaba da sakaci daga bangaren Ottomawa. Dangin Zaydani (hamulah) na Dhaher al-ʿUmar sun fito ne daga karkarar Falasdinu da kuma yankunan gefe na kasar, daga pashalik na Safad, wani lardi na "iyaka" a karkashin Mamluks da Ottomawa, ba daga manyan biranen gargajiya na kasar ba ko kuma daga manyan masu fada aji na birane, wadanda galibi masu goyon bayan Ottomawa ne. An haife shi a kauyen ‘Arrabah da ke tsakiyar Galili, al-ʿUmar bai fito daga masu mallakar filaye na birane na gargajiya na Falasdinu ba, kuma, ba kamar sarakunan yankin ba (‘ayan), halaccinsa bai samo asali ne daga hukumomin Ottoman na tsakiya ba. Iyalan al-ʿUmar sun yi aiki a matsayin multazims (masu karbar haraji) na yankin a garuruwan lardi na Tiberias da Safad a pashalik na Safad, shi kansa kuma ya fara sana'arsa a matsayin dan kasuwa kuma mai karbar haraji karkashin tsarin Iltizam na Ottoman (Krämer 2011:

The closest Palestine got to early modern independent statehood was a result of both commercial dynamism of Palestine and its legendary leader Dhaher al-ʿUmar and the continued neglect of the Ottomans. The Zaydani clan (hamulah) of Dhaher al-ʿUmar emerged from the Palestinian countryside and periphery of the country, from the pashalik of Safad, a ‘frontier province’ under both the Mamluks and Ottomans, not from the traditional major urban centres of the country or the generally pro-Ottoman urban social elites of Palestine. Born in the village of ‘Arrabah in central Galilee, al-ʿUmar did not come from the traditional urban landowning aristocracy of Palestine and, unlike the local notables (‘ayan), he did not owe his legitimacy to the central Ottoman authorities. Al-ʿUmar’s family members had served as local multazims (tax collectors) in the provincial towns of Tiberias and Safad in the pashalik of Safad and he himself had begun his career as a trader and tax farmer under the Ottoman Iltizam system (Krämer 2011:

60). Amma tsarin harajin ƙasa na Iltizam na Daular Usmaniyya a Filasdìn ya kasance mai matuƙar cutarwa da zalunci ga manoma, kuma kamar yadda za mu gani a ƙasa, sabon tsarin haraji na al-ʿUmar da tsarin mulkinsa mai wayewar kai ga al'umma a fili sun sami karɓuwa a tsakanin manoman Filasdìn. Ya rage ƙarfin manyan birane da kuma ‘ajin masu cin riba’ waɗanda suka yi ta cin gajiyar rukunin jama'a masu rauni, musamman manoma. Al-ʿUmar ya samu wani ilimi na yau da kullum, amma da alama ya koyi yawancin abubuwa da kansa, kuma farkon aikinsa, ƙwarewarsa ta kuɗi da kuma gogewarsa a matsayin mai karɓar haraji mai inganci sun kasance da muhimmanci sosai. Amma ƙwarewarsa ta siyasa, soja, tattalin arziki, diflomasiyya da haraji ce ta sa ya zama, watakila, shugaba mafi ƙarfi a tarihin Filasdìn na zamani. Hawansa mulki ya fara ne a karkarar Galili, kuma hedikwatarsa ta farko ita ce Tiberiya a Gabashin Galili, ba manyan biranen gargajiya na ƙasar ba: Nablus, Ƙudus da Gaza. Bayan ya yi tawaye cikin nasara ga daular Usmaniyya kuma ya ƙarfafa mulkinsa, al-ʿUmar ya zama mai mulki na gaskiya a yawancin sassan Filasdìn. Bayan nasararsa ta soja a Marj ibn ‘Amer a shekara ta 1735, dubban mutanen yankin, ciki har da mazauna Nazareth da yawa, suka shiga rundunarsa. Da alama daga cikin magoya bayansa a Galili akwai Kiristoci da yawa na yankin, ciki har da mata Kiristoci daga Nazareth waɗanda suka samar wa sojojinsa abinci da ruwa (Joudah 1987: 28‒31). ‘Cikin shekaru talatin masu zuwa, darajar Zahir al-Umar ta kai matsayin da ya sami damar kulla ƙawance na ɗan lokaci da gwamnatin Rasha da kuma yin haɗin gwiwa da Mamluks a Masar’ (Doumani 1995: 42).

60). But the Ottoman Iltizam land tax system in Palestine had been highly exploitative and oppressive towards the peasantry and, as we shall see below, al-ʿUmar’s new taxation system and his socially enlightened regime were evidently popular among the Palestinian peasantry. He substantially reduced the power of the urban notables and ‘predatory classes’ that had fed upon vulnerable social groups, especially the peasants. Al-ʿUmar had received some formal education but he appears to have been largely selftaught and his early career, financial competence and practical experience as an efficient tax farmer were of critical value. But it was his political, military, economic, diplomatic and taxation skills which made him perhaps the most powerful leader in modern Palestinian history. His rise to power began in the Galilee countryside and his first headquarters was Tiberias in Eastern Galilee, not the traditional urban centres of the country: Nablus, Jerusalem and Gaza. After rebelling successfully against the Ottoman state and consolidating his regime, al-ʿUmar became effectively the sovereign ruler of much of Palestine. Following his military victory at Marj ibn ‘Amer in 1735, thousands of local people, including many residents of Nazareth, joined his forces. Apparently among his Galilee supporters were many local Christians, including Christian women from Nazareth who provided his troops with food and water (Joudah 1987: 28‒31). ‘Over the next three decades Zahir al-Umar’s stature became such that he found it possible to forge temporary alliances with the Russian government and to cooperate with the Mamluks in Egypt’ (Doumani 1995: 42).