Muslim rulers delegated internal governance and tax collection to Christian bishops.

Evidence

Churchmen like these chroniclers, in Spain as elsewhere in the Muslim world, became pivotal players in the political and cultural exchange between Muslim ruling elite and Christian majority. In the wake of the conquests, Muslim rulers left dhimmi communities largely intact, free to organize not only their cult but also justice and finances, including collection of the jizya (poll tax). The leaders of these communities (usually bishops, for Christians) would mediate between their Christian flock and their Muslim overlords. Close cooperation was essential to all concerned: the Christians preserved their rights and freedoms; the Muslim rulers received the poll tax and maintained their rule peacefully; and the bishops saw their importance and authority confirmed from both below and above. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 489

Categorization

• XREF: Grounds the existing Anidjar/Aziz claims about dhimmi classification in concrete institutional arrangements — bishops as tax-farming intermediaries rather than mere tolerated believers.
• DEFINE: Concretely defines what dhimmi status meant institutionally: communal autonomy over cult, justice, and finances in exchange for the jizya.