Araiyahorreaya (from Arabic: رعايا raʿāyā, a plural of رعيّة raʿiya "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing,[1] subjects,[1] nationals,[2] flock", also spelled raiya, raja, raiah, re'aya; Ottoman Turkish رعايا IPA: [ɾeˈʔaːjeː]; Modern Turkish râiya [ɾaːˈja]orreaya; related to the Arabic word rā'ī راعي which means "shepherd, herdsman, patron"[3]) 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.[4]
However, both in contemporaneous and in modern usage, it refers to non-Muslim subjects in particular, also called zimmi.[5][6][7]
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.[8]
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