With the disintegration of the timar system, the effectiveness of the small peasantry, whose farming was based on subsistence, diminished in the agricultural production system. Large farms and mansions now replaced the small peasants in this phase. The development of large farms has another meaning for Ottoman economic and social life. The ayans or local notables were considerably strengthened in the system. The empowerment of the ayans is also related to the increase in the demand for agricultural products from abroad (Europe) and the relative liberalization of trade. Consequently, the ayans became a highly effective power in the last decades of the 18th century. Therefore, the correct option is A.