Embezzlement and reimbursement: disciplining officials in ‘Abbāsid Baghdad (8th-10th centuries A.D.)

Extortion of taxpayers, embezzlement of state revenues, and bribery were structural phenomena in the ‘Abbāsid administration of the early 10th century. Despite the frequent recurrences of these phenomena contemporary authors seem to have labeled them as cases of corruption that had to be dealt with by the state authorities. The caliph had at his disposal two more or less formalized institutions through which he could react to official abuse and try to recover illegally required sums: the ma ālim court (a court of petitions) and administrative procedures against dismissed officials. This article explores the functioning and aims of these institutions and will demonstrate their inadequacy in controlling official abuse.