A raiyah or reaya (from raʿāyā, a plural of رعيّة raʿiya "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled raiya, raja, raiah, re'aya; Ottoman Turkish رعايا ; Modern Turkish râiya or reaya; related to the Arabic word rā'ī راعي which means "shepherd, herdsman, patron" ) was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society, in contrast to the askeri and kul. The raiyah made up over 90% of the general population in the millet communities. In the Muslim world, raiyah is literally subject of a government or sovereign. The raiyah (literally 'members of the flock') included Christians, Muslims, and Jews who were 'shorn' (i.e. taxed) to support the state and the associated 'professional Ottoman' class. However, both in contemporaneous and in modern usage, it refers to non-Muslim subjects in particular, also called zimmi. In the early Ottoman Empire, raiyah were not eligible for military service, but from the late 16th century, Muslim raiyah became eligible to the distress of some of the ruling class.

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