The royal fifth (Spanish: quinto del rey), (Portuguese: quinto real) is a historical royal tax which reserves to the monarch 20% of all precious metals and other commodities (including slaves) acquired by his subjects as war loot, found as treasure or extracted by mining. The 'royal fifth' was first instituted in medieval Muslim states from interpretations of Qur'an, though the extent to which it applied was debated between schools of Islam.
The royal fifth (Spanish: quinto del rey), (Portuguese: quinto real) is a historical royal tax which reserves to the monarch 20% of all precious metals and other commodities (including slaves) acquired by his subjects as war loot, found as treasure or extracted by mining. The 'royal fifth' was first instituted in medieval Muslim states from interpretations of Qur'an, though the extent to which it applied was debated between schools of Islam.
Source: Wikipedia "Royal fifth" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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