Comparative Workbench
Explore lives, places and careers
Compare places, provinces, jobs, schools, institutions and individual officials side by side, or map the wider collection.
The charts on this page are drawn in your browser, so they need scripts. Without scripts, use the lists: People, Places, Jobs, Schools and Institutions. Each page of a place, province, job, school, institution or official has its own charts.
Type a name in either comparison field below, or start from one of the ready comparisons. Capital letters and Turkish letters do not matter: Üsküp and uskup find the same place. The address of this page keeps your choice, so you can send it to someone. A province (vilayet) is an administrative region that holds many places. A town can carry the name of its province, so the word province always follows the name of a province. Here a place is called the town, so Istanbul (the town) and Istanbul (Dersaadet) province are two different things to compare.
Start from a ready comparison#
Select a curated comparison to load its series immediately into the workbench below.
- Istanbul (the town) against Thessaloniki (the town)Two towns: 1,750 officials on record in the first, 408 officials in the second.Pages: Istanbul (the town) and Thessaloniki (the town)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet) province against Thessaloniki (Selanik) provinceTwo provinces: 2,381 officials on record in the first, 648 officials in the second. A province holds many places.Pages: Istanbul (Dersaadet) province and Thessaloniki (Selanik) province
- Sıbyan Mektebi against Rüşdiye MektebiTwo schools: 746 officials on record in the first, 3,206 officials in the second.Pages: Sıbyan Mektebi and Rüşdiye Mektebi
- Hasan Ali Efendi and Vensan Diraso EfendiTwo officials: Hasan Ali Efendi, 23 annual entries from 1871 to 1895; Vensan Diraso Efendi, 31 annual entries from 1865 to 1896. Their salaries by year and their stages side by side.Pages: Hasan Ali Efendi and Vensan Diraso Efendi
Compare places, provinces, jobs, schools and institutions#
Up to three. Officials on record by year, the median monthly salary by year, and the key numbers.
Needs scripts. Without them, open the lists of places,jobs, schools orinstitutions: each page shows its own charts and numbers.
Compare officials#
Up to four, by name or archive reference. Salary by year for each, and their stages side by side.
Needs scripts. Without them, find an official in the list of people: each page shows the salary by year and the stages of one official.
Salary and career comparisons scope#
The comparisons above use annual salary reference records for 5,211 officials, including linked institutional records. The empirical analysis on the Story page examines 4,274 Post and Telegraph officials. The wider catalogue includes independently documented careers across other services.
The maps below cover the wider personnel collection. Annual salary comparisons use the reference records and their defined salary observations; pension awards, allowances and other monetary entries from biographies are not silently treated as monthly pay.
Where officials lived and served#
Explore where officials were born, first worked and served.
Select birth, first work or service, then choose a year. Each place counts its recorded officials once.
12,101 officials with recorded service places. Counts can overlap across places.
Town points have coordinates for 1,258 of 1,274 service places. Others remain in the directory. Colours identify the administrative kind of place.
Central career years: 1857 to 1911 (AH 1274 to 1329). This window contains the central 98% of dated career presence; all recorded years remain in the table.
Separate vertical scales count distinct officials. The panels share the same year axis; one official may appear in more than one measure.
Places with the most recorded service connections
Counts are distinct officials within each place. One person may be linked to more than one place.
| Place | Officials |
|---|---|
| Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 3,027 |
| Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 581 |
| Beyoğlu | 504 |
| Edirne | 444 |
| Izmir (İzmir) | 444 |
| Sivas | 416 |
| Aleppo (Halep) | 413 |
| Beirut (Beyrut) | 367 |
| Erzurum | 349 |
| Diyarbakır | 331 |
Open the full yearly counts table
Career presence counts officials with at least one dated career record in that AH year. Birthplace and first-work columns count people whose corresponding source-linked place field is dated to that year. Blank years are not inferred.
| Gregorian and AH year | Officials with career entries | Officials with dated birthplaces | Officials with dated first work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1579/80 (AH 987) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1691/92 (AH 1103) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1758/59 (AH 1172) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1759/60 (AH 1173) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1780/81 (AH 1195) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1781/82 (AH 1196) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1782/83 (AH 1197) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1783/84 (AH 1198) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1785/86 (AH 1200) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1789/90 (AH 1204) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1790/91 (AH 1205) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1791/92 (AH 1206) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1792/93 (AH 1207) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1798/99 (AH 1213) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1803/04 (AH 1218) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1804/05 (AH 1219) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1807/08 (AH 1222) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1808/09 (AH 1223) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1809/10 (AH 1224) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1812/13 (AH 1227) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1813 (AH 1228) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1813/14 (AH 1229) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1814/15 (AH 1230) | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 1815/16 (AH 1231) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1816/17 (AH 1232) | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1817/18 (AH 1233) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1818/19 (AH 1234) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1819/20 (AH 1235) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 1820/21 (AH 1236) | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 1821/22 (AH 1237) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1822/23 (AH 1238) | 2 | 8 | 1 |
| 1823/24 (AH 1239) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1824/25 (AH 1240) | 2 | 22 | 0 |
| 1825/26 (AH 1241) | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 1826/27 (AH 1242) | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| 1827/28 (AH 1243) | 3 | 22 | 0 |
| 1828/29 (AH 1244) | 3 | 15 | 1 |
| 1829/30 (AH 1245) | 5 | 21 | 1 |
| 1830/31 (AH 1246) | 5 | 27 | 1 |
| 1831/32 (AH 1247) | 6 | 27 | 3 |
| 1832/33 (AH 1248) | 7 | 43 | 0 |
| 1833/34 (AH 1249) | 6 | 43 | 0 |
| 1834/35 (AH 1250) | 6 | 60 | 0 |
| 1835/36 (AH 1251) | 8 | 61 | 0 |
| 1836/37 (AH 1252) | 6 | 57 | 0 |
| 1837/38 (AH 1253) | 8 | 67 | 2 |
| 1838/39 (AH 1254) | 6 | 66 | 0 |
| 1839/40 (AH 1255) | 9 | 117 | 5 |
| 1840/41 (AH 1256) | 15 | 61 | 5 |
| 1841/42 (AH 1257) | 14 | 86 | 4 |
| 1842/43 (AH 1258) | 24 | 93 | 5 |
| 1843/44 (AH 1259) | 32 | 98 | 6 |
| 1844/45 (AH 1260) | 31 | 150 | 5 |
| 1845 (AH 1261) | 34 | 99 | 7 |
| 1845/46 (AH 1262) | 41 | 153 | 10 |
| 1846/47 (AH 1263) | 45 | 123 | 11 |
| 1847/48 (AH 1264) | 61 | 124 | 13 |
| 1848/49 (AH 1265) | 72 | 147 | 21 |
| 1849/50 (AH 1266) | 78 | 165 | 15 |
| 1850/51 (AH 1267) | 81 | 138 | 10 |
| 1851/52 (AH 1268) | 98 | 167 | 17 |
| 1852/53 (AH 1269) | 113 | 177 | 16 |
| 1853/54 (AH 1270) | 136 | 219 | 33 |
| 1854/55 (AH 1271) | 161 | 187 | 23 |
| 1855/56 (AH 1272) | 182 | 208 | 32 |
| 1856/57 (AH 1273) | 236 | 205 | 35 |
| 1857/58 (AH 1274) | 253 | 214 | 34 |
| 1858/59 (AH 1275) | 293 | 221 | 58 |
| 1859/60 (AH 1276) | 346 | 206 | 44 |
| 1860/61 (AH 1277) | 392 | 256 | 55 |
| 1861/62 (AH 1278) | 445 | 235 | 42 |
| 1862/63 (AH 1279) | 537 | 236 | 85 |
| 1863/64 (AH 1280) | 611 | 236 | 104 |
| 1864/65 (AH 1281) | 678 | 210 | 74 |
| 1865/66 (AH 1282) | 839 | 204 | 106 |
| 1866/67 (AH 1283) | 938 | 234 | 127 |
| 1867/68 (AH 1284) | 1,077 | 225 | 130 |
| 1868/69 (AH 1285) | 1,249 | 255 | 145 |
| 1869/70 (AH 1286) | 1,453 | 241 | 140 |
| 1870/71 (AH 1287) | 1,573 | 253 | 99 |
| 1871/72 (AH 1288) | 1,711 | 269 | 106 |
| 1872/73 (AH 1289) | 1,864 | 300 | 127 |
| 1873/74 (AH 1290) | 1,977 | 382 | 131 |
| 1874/75 (AH 1291) | 2,146 | 302 | 144 |
| 1875/76 (AH 1292) | 2,335 | 317 | 170 |
| 1876/77 (AH 1293) | 2,597 | 333 | 187 |
| 1877/78 (AH 1294) | 2,773 | 258 | 164 |
| 1878 (AH 1295) | 2,880 | 239 | 127 |
| 1878/79 (AH 1296) | 3,082 | 250 | 148 |
| 1879/80 (AH 1297) | 3,330 | 260 | 161 |
| 1880/81 (AH 1298) | 3,314 | 246 | 164 |
| 1881/82 (AH 1299) | 3,430 | 239 | 160 |
| 1882/83 (AH 1300) | 3,671 | 199 | 222 |
| 1883/84 (AH 1301) | 3,778 | 156 | 177 |
| 1884/85 (AH 1302) | 3,834 | 178 | 156 |
| 1885/86 (AH 1303) | 3,961 | 163 | 176 |
| 1886/87 (AH 1304) | 3,939 | 158 | 186 |
| 1887/88 (AH 1305) | 4,100 | 147 | 228 |
| 1888/89 (AH 1306) | 4,210 | 123 | 246 |
| 1889/90 (AH 1307) | 4,386 | 81 | 242 |
| 1890/91 (AH 1308) | 4,432 | 73 | 218 |
| 1891/92 (AH 1309) | 4,598 | 39 | 225 |
| 1892/93 (AH 1310) | 4,743 | 24 | 253 |
| 1893/94 (AH 1311) | 4,792 | 6 | 227 |
| 1894/95 (AH 1312) | 4,998 | 1 | 247 |
| 1895/96 (AH 1313) | 5,045 | 1 | 220 |
| 1896/97 (AH 1314) | 5,191 | 2 | 216 |
| 1897/98 (AH 1315) | 4,857 | 1 | 159 |
| 1898/99 (AH 1316) | 4,829 | 0 | 146 |
| 1899/1900 (AH 1317) | 4,786 | 0 | 145 |
| 1900/01 (AH 1318) | 4,727 | 0 | 142 |
| 1901/02 (AH 1319) | 4,633 | 1 | 137 |
| 1902/03 (AH 1320) | 4,588 | 0 | 208 |
| 1903/04 (AH 1321) | 4,468 | 1 | 208 |
| 1904/05 (AH 1322) | 4,084 | 0 | 151 |
| 1905/06 (AH 1323) | 3,695 | 0 | 163 |
| 1906/07 (AH 1324) | 3,142 | 0 | 181 |
| 1907/08 (AH 1325) | 2,338 | 0 | 111 |
| 1908/09 (AH 1326) | 2,021 | 0 | 115 |
| 1909/10 (AH 1327) | 1,719 | 0 | 98 |
| 1910/11 (AH 1328) | 1,084 | 0 | 48 |
| 1911 (AH 1329) | 629 | 0 | 23 |
| 1911/12 (AH 1330) | 360 | 0 | 10 |
| 1912/13 (AH 1331) | 234 | 0 | 5 |
| 1913/14 (AH 1332) | 106 | 0 | 4 |
| 1914/15 (AH 1333) | 53 | 0 | 4 |
| 1915/16 (AH 1334) | 45 | 0 | 3 |
| 1916/17 (AH 1335) | 29 | 0 | 1 |
| 1917/18 (AH 1336) | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918/19 (AH 1337) | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919/20 (AH 1338) | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 1920/21 (AH 1339) | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921/22 (AH 1340) | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1922/23 (AH 1341) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923/24 (AH 1342) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924/25 (AH 1343) | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1925/26 (AH 1344) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926/27 (AH 1345) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927/28 (AH 1346) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928/29 (AH 1347) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929/30 (AH 1348) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930/31 (AH 1349) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931/32 (AH 1350) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1932/33 (AH 1351) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933/34 (AH 1352) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1934/35 (AH 1353) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1935/36 (AH 1354) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936/37 (AH 1355) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937/38 (AH 1356) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938/39 (AH 1357) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939/40 (AH 1358) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940/41 (AH 1359) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941/42 (AH 1360) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942/43 (AH 1361) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 (AH 1362) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951/52 (AH 1371) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952/53 (AH 1372) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Subjects
- Ottoman history (Osmanlı tarihi)
- Ottoman bureaucracy (Osmanlı bürokrasisi)
- Ottoman officials (Osmanlı'da memurlar)
- Ottoman personnel registers (Sicill-i Ahvâl defterleri)
- Ottoman registers (Osmanlı defterleri)