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Surprisingly, the answer is roughly the same regardless of whether Jews lived in Islamic countries or Christian countries. In the medieval period the Jews lived in a distinct part of the city (usually called ghetto since that was the name of the area in Venice where the Jews lived). These ghettos were ruled by the Kahal or Board of Trustees. The Kahal was entitled, by the Gentile Authorities, to maintain Law and Order within the ghetto. Among the Kahal's duties was to collect taxes both on their own behalf (to maintain local police, feed the rabbi, etc.) and on behalf of the Gentile sovereign. The Kahal would then present a representative of the Gentile Sovereign, like a tax collector, the fees for the entire Jewish community.

As to be expected, Jews were taxed at rates higher than non-Jews.

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12y ago

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