lands which had come into the hands of Christians were temporarily regarded as tribute lands,[55] and lands in fee-simple (tithe and tribute lands) might be devoted by their owners as religious endowments (_vakf_).[56] Original small fiefs might be made into one large one; or a number of persons might come to hold a fief without division of it, provided they jointly furnished the required military service.[57] Many endowments (_vakf_) were made by private individuals for various public purposes; in time, through the attachment of pension provisions and by other devices, a system was built up which had many of the features of the employment of uses under English law.[58] No small amount of land of every sort went out of cultivation, and after a certain time had elapsed, if the owner was unknown, became state land. If this or any other unoccupied land was brought again under the plow, it might be granted to the new cultivator.[59] This rapid survey is sufficient to reveal the tangled nature of the Ottoman land system in both its farther and its nearer aspects, and to show why the administration had to become markedly and increasingly bureaucratic. Such a multiplication of relations acted powerfully toward decentralization, since the regulation of countless details could be attended to better from points near at hand; and the immense amount of adjustment to which officials and clerks must devote their time afforded infinite opportunities for corruption and extortion. Suleiman, in his legislation, made a series of efforts to simplify and systematize the situation, and with some success; but he could not remove the causes of the complications, or arrange matters so that they would not eventually become worse than before. THE PEOPLES