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Ottoman BureaucracyPeople, places and careers in Ottoman public service

Job title

2. Posta Muduru

Group of job titles: Postal service and dispatch

7 officials held the job title 2. Posta Muduru. Its 21 annual entries run from 1860 to 1906 (AH 1277 to 1323). The median of the 21 recorded monthly salaries is 900 kuruş, against 550 kuruş for the whole collection in the same years. The median entry paid 1.7 times the collection median of its year. On average an official was paid more than 73 per cent of the other officials with a salary in the same year. Half of the officials have an entry in it in no more than 2 different years, and a quarter in 3 or more. It was the first title on record for 0 per cent of the officials and the last for 29 per cent. The entries name 9 places. The place with the largest number of officials is Edirne, with 2.

Officials
7
Years on recordAH 1277 to 1323, 17 years with an entry
1860 to 1906
Median monthly salary1.67× the collection median of the same years (550 kuruş)
900 kuruş
Places with officials
9
First job title on recordfor 0 of the 7 officials
0%

Profile of the group: Postal service and dispatch

No source read describes 2. Posta Muduru by itself, so this is the profile of its group of job titles.

The public post of the Ottoman state, founded with the Ministry of Post in 1840 and joined with the telegraph in 1871. Post offices took in, carried and delivered letters, printed matter, registered letters and valuables.

Tools and technology

  • the old overland roads, steamers of the state and of foreign companies, and later the railways
  • postage stamps from 1862

History

Before 1840 official messages were carried by couriers between relay stations (menzil) kept by local contracted postmasters (menzilci); the relay system ended when the post was organised in 1839 and 1840. The empire joined the Universal Postal Union in 1874. The postal guides list 1,033 post and telegraph offices in 1884 and 1,288 in 1892.

Sources

  1. Halaçoğlu, Yusuf (2004). Menzil (Osmanlı). TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 29, 159-161. Online copy (read 14 October 2026).Pages or part: 159-161. Used for: history.
  2. Koh, Choon Hwee (2021). The Ottoman postmaster: contractors, communication and early modern state formation. Past and Present 251, 113-152. Online copy.Pages or part: 113, 118-120. Used for: history.
  3. Okan, Ayşegül (2003). The Ottoman postal and telegraph services in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. MA thesis, Boğaziçi University, Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History.Pages or part: iii, 20-25, 66, 77. Used for: summary, tools and technology, history.
  4. The school and the office: training, entry and pay in the Ottoman Post and Telegraph service, 1870-1905. Working paper, 2026 (the paper behind this collection; its Section II reports Akyıldız 2024, Ata 2022 and Ayhan and Maviş 1994).Pages or part: Section II. Used for: summary.
All years

Monthly salary each year

The median of the 21 recorded monthly salaries is 900 kuruş, the mean 924 kuruş.
02004006008001,0001,2001863/64AH 12801868/69AH 12851873/74AH 12901878AH 12951882/83AH 13001887/88AH 13051892/93AH 13101897/98AH 13151902/03AH 1320900 kuruş in 1905/062. Posta Muduru, fewer than 5 salaries in every year

The same numbers as a table
Monthly salary each year in kuruş, 2. Posta Muduru
YearRecorded salariesMedianMeanLower quartileUpper quartileMedian of the whole collection
1860/611750750750750500
1861/621750750750750600
1862/631750750750750500
1865/6611,0001,0001,0001,000650
1866/6711,0001,0001,0001,000600
1867/6811,0001,0001,0001,000600
1868/692900900850950600
1869/702900900850950600
1870/712900900850950600
1871/7211,1851,1851,1851,185550
1872/7311,1851,1851,1851,185550
1873/7411,1851,1851,1851,185500
1899/19001800800800800500
1902/031800800800800500
1903/042900900850950475
1904/051900900900900450
1905/061900900900900475

Salaries are nominal monthly amounts in kuruş, as assigned. The thick line is the median of each year and the thin line the mean. A year with fewer than 5 recorded salaries is drawn as an open mark and is not joined to the line.

Pay against the whole collection

Officials by their median monthly salary in this job
Officials of this jobWhole collection
71%29%01002003004005007501,0001,5002,500

7 officials with a salary, each counted once in the band of the median of the official's salaries in this job. A bar runs from its number to the next; the last is 2,500 kuruş and more. Most officials (71%) are in the band 750 to 1,000 kuruş.

The same numbers as a table
Officials of 2. Posta Muduru by median monthly salary
Median monthly salary, kuruşOfficialsShareWhole collection
0 to 10000%3%
100 to 20000%10%
200 to 30000%17%
300 to 40000%18%
400 to 50000%17%
500 to 75000%23%
750 to 1,000571%5%
1,000 to 1,500229%4%
1,500 to 2,50000%2%
2,500 and more00%1%

The median of the 21 recorded monthly salaries of this job is 900 kuruş. In the same years the whole collection paid a median of 550 kuruş. The median entry paid 1.67× the collection median of its year, and the middle half of the entries between 1.5× and 1.89×. On average an official of this job was paid more than 73% of the other paid officials of the same year.

Times the collection median1.67×0.25×0.5×1×2×4×Share of paid officials earning less73%0%25%50%75%100%

The dot is the median, the box the middle half of the entries. Dashed lines: the collection median of the same years (1×) and the middle of the paid officials (50%).

Where the job was held

All years
9 places with officials on record, 9 of them with a position on the map. A larger dot means more officials.
Seat of a province (vilayet) Seat of a sancak District (kaza)
EdirneAmasyaBaghdad (Bağdat)BarBeirut (Beyrut)Bitola (Manastır)ErzurumIoannina (Yanya)2 officials1 official

Career paths: the titles just before and after

The number is the officials who made the move. Under it, the median change of the monthly salary: the first salary of the later title less the last salary of the earlier one, where at least 5 moves have both.

Held just before

The title of the entries just before a run of 2. Posta Muduru. Pay: the change on moving from that title to 2. Posta Muduru. The 4 titles with most officials, of 7 moves in all.

  1. 3. Posta Muduru3
  2. 2. Müdürdirector of the second grade2
  3. Başmüdür Kitabeticlerkship of the chief director's office1
  4. Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Başmemuruchief official for foreign communications1

Held just after

The title of the entries just after a run of 2. Posta Muduru. Pay: the change on moving from 2. Posta Muduru to that title. The 5 titles with most officials, of 5 moves in all.

  1. 1. Posta Muduru1
  2. 2. Müdürdirector of the second grade1
  3. 3. Müdürdirector of the third grade1
  4. Emanet Basmemuru1
  5. Muhabere Memurucommunications official (telegraph operator)1

Of the 12 moves shown, 2 cross at least one year without an annual entry; nothing is known about those years. Two posts held in the same years are not counted as a move.

Time in the job

Years with an entry in the job
2 yearsmedian over 7 officials
A quarter of the officials
3 years or moreupper quartile
Most years of one official
9 years
  1. First job title on recordthe first year with an entry with a job title has it0%0 officials
  2. Last job title on recordthe last such year has it29%2 officials
  3. No other job titlein the whole record0%0 officials
  4. One place in the jobof 7 officials with a place recorded57%4 officials

Years are years with an annual entry in the job, each counted once for an official. They need not follow one another, and nothing is known about a year without an entry. With two posts in the first or last year, both count.

Who held the job

Officials of this jobWhole collection

Community

7 officials with it recorded.

  1. Muslim (Müslüman)100%7

Age at the first annual entry in the job

7 officials with it recorded.

  1. under 150%0
  2. 15 to 190%0
  3. 20 to 240%0
  4. 25 to 2943%3
  5. 30 to 3414%1
  6. 35 to 3929%2
  7. 40 and over14%1

Province of birth

7 officials with it recorded.

  1. Erzurum province29%2
  2. Istanbul (Dersaadet) province29%2
  3. Basra province14%1
  4. Mamuretülaziz province14%1
  5. Thessaly (Teselya) province14%1

Schooling

7 officials with it recorded. An official can have several, so the shares add up to more than 100%. The groups of the schools recorded for each official.

  1. Rüşdiye57%4
  2. Primary29%2
  3. Community school14%1
  4. Higher or professional14%1

Languages

7 officials with it recorded. An official can have several, so the shares add up to more than 100%.

  1. Turkish100%7
  2. Greek (Rum)14%1

Qualification

7 officials with it recorded. A diploma, certificate, training or decoration (nişan) recorded in the schooling or the work.

  1. No71%5
  2. Yes29%2

Officials on record each year

The fullest year is 1868/69 (AH 1285) with 2 officials. Years with an annual entry: 17.
0121863/64AH 12801868/69AH 12851873/74AH 12901878AH 12951882/83AH 13001887/88AH 13051892/93AH 13101897/98AH 13151902/03AH 13202 in 1868/69Recorded in an earlier year tooFirst recorded in this year

The same numbers as a table
Officials on record each year, 2. Posta Muduru
YearOfficials on recordFirst recordedAnnual entries
1860/61 (AH 1277)111
1861/62 (AH 1278)101
1862/63 (AH 1279)101
1865/66 (AH 1282)111
1866/67 (AH 1283)101
1867/68 (AH 1284)101
1868/69 (AH 1285)212
1869/70 (AH 1286)202
1870/71 (AH 1287)202
1871/72 (AH 1288)101
1872/73 (AH 1289)101
1873/74 (AH 1290)101
1899/1900 (AH 1317)111
1902/03 (AH 1320)111
1903/04 (AH 1321)212
1904/05 (AH 1322)111
1905/06 (AH 1323)101

An official is counted once in a year. First recorded is the first year in which the collection has an annual entry of the official on this page. It is not a hiring date.

Places

Places of 2. Posta Muduru, the place with most officials first
PlaceProvinceOfficialsAnnual entriesYears
EdirneEdirne province241871 to 1906
BarShkodër (İşkodra) province161865 to 1871
AmasyaSivas province131868 to 1871
Beirut (Beyrut)Beirut (Beyrut) province131860 to 1863
Baghdad (Bağdat)Baghdad (Bağdat) province111903/04
Bitola (Manastır)Bitola (Manastır) province111899/1900
ErzurumErzurum province111902/03
Ioannina (Yanya)Ioannina (Yanya) province111904/05
TrabzonTrabzon province111903/04

Ottoman officials recorded

7 officials, the one with most annual entries first.

Officials of 2. Posta Muduru
OfficialYearsAnnual entriesKuruş a monthBirthplace
Ali Rıza Eendi1865 to 187491,000 to 1,185Kemah
Hacı Mehmet Tevfik Efendi1868 to 18713800Kemah
Mehmet Şevki Efendi1860 to 18633750Arapgir
Mustafa Raşit Efendi1902 to 19042800Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Salih Hayri Efendi1904 to 19062900Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Abdurrezak Bey Efendi1903/0411,000Basra
Mehmet Niyazi Efendi1899/19001800Trikala (Tırhala)

Years run from the first to the last annual entry. An official without a recorded name is listed after the named officials.

How to read these records: years and calendars, what first recorded means, gaps between annual entries, and salaries.

Subjects