Skip to content
Ottoman BureaucracyPeople, places and careers in Ottoman public service

Job title

Müdür

Director

Group of job titles: Management

Stored spellings: Mudur; mudur

82 officials held the job title Müdür. Its 366 annual entries run from 1856 to 1910 (AH 1273 to 1327). The median of the 366 recorded monthly salaries is 2,000 kuruş, against 500 kuruş for the whole collection in the same years. The median entry paid 4 times the collection median of its year. On average an official was paid more than 94 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 3 different years, and a quarter in 6 or more. It was the first title on record for 1 per cent of the officials and the last for 27 per cent. The title held just before it by most officials is 1. Müdür (40 officials), and the title held just after it by most officials is Müfettiş (17 officials). The entries name 51 places. The place with the largest number of officials is Istanbul, with 15.

Officials
82
Years on recordAH 1273 to 1327, 54 years with an entry
1856 to 1910
Median monthly salary4× the collection median of the same years (500 kuruş)
2,000 kuruş
Places with officials
51
First job title on recordfor 1 of the 82 officials
1%

What the job was

Director (müdür) of an office of the service, recorded without a grade.

Duties

  • run an office of the service and direct its clerks
  • in a telegraph office, keep the daily duty turns of the clerks, see that the apparatus is clean and working, and send a fault the office cannot repair to the mechanics (makineci) of the province or of Istanbul
  • answer for the orderly and safe working of the office

History

Under the regulation of November 1876 the officers of the post and telegraph were divided by seniority and ability into five classes in the capital and four in the provinces.

Sources

  1. Güneş, Mahir Melih (2026). Anadolu'da Telgrafın Toplumsal Tarihi (1856-1908). Doctoral thesis, Hacettepe University. Online copy (read 11 October 2026).Pages or part: 115, 119. Used for: summary, duties.
  2. 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: 49. Used for: history.
  3. 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: Table A17, notes. Used for: summary.
All years

Monthly salary each year

The median of the 366 recorded monthly salaries is 2,000 kuruş, the mean 2,184 kuruş.
05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001858/59AH 12751863/64AH 12801868/69AH 12851873/74AH 12901878AH 12951882/83AH 13001887/88AH 13051892/93AH 13101897/98AH 13151902/03AH 13201907/08AH 1325Median 2,225 kuruş in 1906/07Müdür, median of years with 5 or more salariesMean of the same yearsWhole collectionFewer than 5 salaries, not joined to the line

The same numbers as a table
Monthly salary each year in kuruş, Müdür
YearRecorded salariesMedianMeanLower quartileUpper quartileMedian of the whole collection
1856/5712,2002,2002,2002,200375
1857/5812,2002,2002,2002,200475
1858/5912,2002,2002,2002,200500
1860/6142,1252,187.52,0002,312.5500
1861/6252,2502,1502,0002,400600
1862/6322,4502,4502,4252,475500
1863/6481,9252,0601,732.52,500500
1864/6592,0002,097.781,9002,500625
1865/66121,8252,025.831,6802,525650
1866/6792,2002,144.441,9202,500600
1867/68102,0602,0681,6902,425600
1868/69121,9602,068.331,687.52,525600
1869/70101,8451,9521,652.52,150600
1870/71101,6901,9371,6102,237.5600
1871/7251,6901,9281,6002,250550
1872/7341,8451,8851,667.52,062.5550
1873/7461,8452,106.671,622.52,187.5500
1874/7531,8751,8551,782.51,937.5535
1875/7651,8751,8531,7002,000530
1876/7772,5002,482.142,2502,750575
1877/7872,0002,267.862,0002,500560
187862,2502,312.52,0002,500600
1878/7952,0002,1752,0002,500600
1879/8072,0002,085.712,0002,200500
1880/8162,2002,1502,0502,350500
1881/8262,1002,183.332,0002,350500
1882/8352,4002,3402,0002,500500
1883/8462,2502,316.672,0002,725500
1884/8572,4002,357.142,0002,750500
1885/8662,5002,5002,4252,875500
1886/8752,5002,4002,4002,500500
1887/8852,5002,5402,4002,800500
1888/8982,2502,306.251,712.53,000500
1889/9072,0002,207.141,6752,750500
1890/9162,2502,308.331,812.52,875500
1891/9252,4002,2501,7502,500500
1892/9352,4002,3401,7002,500500
1893/9452,5002,3701,7002,550500
1894/9571,7002,3001,6252,525500
1895/9682,2502,487.51,6753,000500
1896/9762,2502,4301,597.52,700500
1897/9851,8002,0161,5302,700500
1898/9972,0002,154.291,6652,700500
1899/1900121,9002,002.51,6502,175500
1900/01132,0002,188.461,9002,700500
1901/02112,0002,081.821,6502,100500
1902/03132,0002,092.311,6502,200500
1903/04131,7501,965.381,6502,000475
1904/05132,0002,073.081,6502,200450
1905/0692,2002,261.112,0002,250475
1906/0782,2252,343.751,762.52,625450
1907/0842,7502,9252,237.53,437.5300
1908/0942,7252,862.52,1503,437.5350
1909/1022,1252,1251,937.52,312.5462.5

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
2%76%22%01002003004005007501,0001,5002,500

82 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 (76%) are in the band 1,500 to 2,500 kuruş.

The same numbers as a table
Officials of Müdür 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 1,00000%5%
1,000 to 1,50022%4%
1,500 to 2,5006276%2%
2,500 and more1822%1%

The median of the 366 recorded monthly salaries of this job is 2,000 kuruş. In the same years the whole collection paid a median of 500 kuruş. The median entry paid 4× the collection median of its year, and the middle half of the entries between 3.3× and 5×. On average an official of this job was paid more than 94% of the other paid officials of the same year.

Times the collection median4×0.25×0.5×1×2×4×8×Share of paid officials earning less94%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
51 places with officials on record, 51 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) Other place Office or region
Istanbul (Dersaadet)Al-Faw (Fav)Baghdad (Bağdat)EdirneThessaloniki (Selanik)Al Hudaydah (Hudeyde)Beirut (Beyrut)Diyarbakır15 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 Müdür. Pay: the change on moving from that title to Müdür. The 8 titles with most officials, of 101 moves in all.

  1. 1. Müdürdirector of the first grade40pay +280 kuruş (+20%)
  2. 2. Müdürdirector of the second grade8pay +910 kuruş (+83%)
  3. Müfettişinspector8pay -250 kuruş (-8%)
  4. Muhabere Memurucommunications official (telegraph operator)7pay +960 kuruş (+92%)
  5. Başmüdürchief director6pay 0 kuruş (0%)
  6. Başmuhabere Memuruchief communications official5pay +1,000 kuruş (+100%)
  7. Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyetipost of official for foreign communications5pay +1,090 kuruş (+195%)
  8. Müfettiş Muaviniassistant inspector2

Held just after

The title of the entries just after a run of Müdür. Pay: the change on moving from Müdür to that title. The 8 titles with most officials, of 80 moves in all.

  1. Müfettişinspector17pay +300 kuruş (+15%)
  2. 1. Müdürdirector of the first grade14pay -310 kuruş (-19%)
  3. Başmüdürchief director8pay +300 kuruş (+10%)
  4. 2. Müdürdirector of the second grade8pay -740 kuruş (-40%)
  5. Müfettiş Muaviniassistant inspector3
  6. Muhabere Memurucommunications official (telegraph operator)2
  7. Muhendis Kalemi Muduru2
  8. 3. Müdürdirector of the third grade1

Of the 141 moves shown, 8 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
3 yearsmedian over 82 officials
A quarter of the officials
6 years or moreupper quartile
Most years of one official
16 years
  1. First job title on recordthe first year with an entry with a job title has it1%1 official
  2. Last job title on recordthe last such year has it27%22 officials
  3. No other job titlein the whole record0%0 officials
  4. One place in the jobof 82 officials with a place recorded73%60 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

82 officials with it recorded.

  1. Muslim (Müslüman)90%74
  2. Armenian Christian (Ermeni)5%4
  3. Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum)4%3
  4. Christian (Hristiyan)1%1

Age at the first annual entry in the job

82 officials with it recorded.

  1. under 150%0
  2. 15 to 190%0
  3. 20 to 246%5
  4. 25 to 2921%17
  5. 30 to 3427%22
  6. 35 to 3915%12
  7. 40 and over32%26

Province of birth

81 officials with it recorded. 13 other values not shown.

  1. Istanbul (Dersaadet) province49%40
  2. Danube (Tuna) province7%6
  3. Mamuretülaziz province6%5
  4. Eastern Rumelia (Rumeli-i Şarkî) province4%3
  5. Hüdavendigâr province4%3
  6. Sivas province4%3
  7. Ankara province2%2
  8. Edirne province2%2

Schooling

82 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. Rüşdiye33%27
  2. Primary32%26
  3. Higher or professional27%22
  4. Darüşşafaka10%8
  5. Community school10%8
  6. Other named school5%4
  7. Foreign school2%2
  8. İdadi1%1

Languages

81 officials with it recorded. An official can have several, so the shares add up to more than 100%. 2 other values not shown.

  1. Turkish98%79
  2. French37%30
  3. Arabic28%23
  4. Persian15%12
  5. Greek (Rum)11%9
  6. Armenian6%5
  7. English5%4
  8. Greek1%1

Qualification

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

  1. No77%63
  2. Yes23%19

Officials on record each year

The fullest year is 1900/01 (AH 1318) with 13 officials. Years with an annual entry: 54.
0510151858/59AH 12751863/64AH 12801868/69AH 12851873/74AH 12901878AH 12951882/83AH 13001887/88AH 13051892/93AH 13101897/98AH 13151902/03AH 13201907/08AH 132513 in 1900/01Recorded in an earlier year tooFirst recorded in this year

The same numbers as a table
Officials on record each year, Müdür
YearOfficials on recordFirst recordedAnnual entries
1856/57 (AH 1273)111
1857/58 (AH 1274)101
1858/59 (AH 1275)101
1860/61 (AH 1277)434
1861/62 (AH 1278)515
1862/63 (AH 1279)202
1863/64 (AH 1280)858
1864/65 (AH 1281)939
1865/66 (AH 1282)12512
1866/67 (AH 1283)909
1867/68 (AH 1284)10310
1868/69 (AH 1285)12312
1869/70 (AH 1286)10210
1870/71 (AH 1287)10210
1871/72 (AH 1288)515
1872/73 (AH 1289)414
1873/74 (AH 1290)616
1874/75 (AH 1291)303
1875/76 (AH 1292)525
1876/77 (AH 1293)727
1877/78 (AH 1294)727
1878 (AH 1295)616
1878/79 (AH 1296)505
1879/80 (AH 1297)717
1880/81 (AH 1298)606
1881/82 (AH 1299)636
1882/83 (AH 1300)515
1883/84 (AH 1301)616
1884/85 (AH 1302)707
1885/86 (AH 1303)606
1886/87 (AH 1304)505
1887/88 (AH 1305)515
1888/89 (AH 1306)838
1889/90 (AH 1307)717
1890/91 (AH 1308)606
1891/92 (AH 1309)505
1892/93 (AH 1310)515
1893/94 (AH 1311)515
1894/95 (AH 1312)717
1895/96 (AH 1313)828
1896/97 (AH 1314)616
1897/98 (AH 1315)505
1898/99 (AH 1316)727
1899/1900 (AH 1317)12512
1900/01 (AH 1318)13313
1901/02 (AH 1319)11111
1902/03 (AH 1320)13313
1903/04 (AH 1321)13213
1904/05 (AH 1322)13413
1905/06 (AH 1323)919
1906/07 (AH 1324)838
1907/08 (AH 1325)404
1908/09 (AH 1326)414
1909/10 (AH 1327)222

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

Show the other 26 places

Ottoman officials recorded

82 officials, the one with most annual entries first. The first 25 are shown, the others are under them.

Officials of Müdür
OfficialYearsAnnual entriesKuruş a monthBirthplace
Ahmet Cavit Bey1870 to 1896162,000 to 2,500Plovdiv (Filibe)
Hüseyin Lebib Efendi1873 to 1891152,200 to 3,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Hayri Bey1882 to 1897152,000 to 4,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Efendi1860 to 1878142,500Arapgir
Mehmed Şefik Efendi1883 to 1901141,600 to 3,000Sivas
Ahmet Refet Efendi1894 to 1906121,650 to 3,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Rıfat Efendi1860 to 1886121,680 to 3,000Varna
Bahattin Bey1860 to 1871112,000 to 2,600Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Ali Bey1898 to 1909113,000 to 4,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Abdullah Efendi1865 to 1879102,200 to 2,640Harput
Ali Bey1893 to 1906101,600 to 2,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Ali Bey1899 to 1909101,650 to 2,200Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendi1867 to 187691,690Ürgüp
Mehmet Emin Efendi1863 to 187981,600 to 1,875Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Raif Efendi1899 to 190672,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Adolf Koper Efendi1863 to 186962,500 to 2,600Buruksel
Ahmet Rifat Efendi1867 to 188261,690 to 2,000Ruse (Rusçuk)
Ali Ramiz Efendi1899 to 190661,650 to 2,200Varna
Halil Sıtkı Efendi1899 to 190562,000Gümüşhane
Martir Efendi1881 to 188762,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Nazım Bey1901 to 190761,550Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Osman Mazhar Bey1889 to 189562,000 to 2,550Izmir (İzmir)
Ahmet Bilal Efendi1877 to 188151,600 to 2,000Arapgir
Andon Efendi1895 to 190052,700 to 3,000Ankara
Hacı Abdurrahim Muhsin Efendi1899 to 190451,650Siirt
Show the other 57 officials
Officials of Müdür, continued
OfficialYearsAnnual entriesKuruş a monthBirthplace
Hüsnü Efendi1865 to 188051,680 to 2,600Istanbul (Dersaadet)
İbrahim Kâmil Efendi1868 to 187451,600 to 2,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
İsmail Hakkı Efendi1881 to 188852,000Tulcea (Tulça)
Kadri Efendi1864 to 189651,600 to 1,680Sivas
Mahmut Aziz Efendi1864 to 186951,900 to 2,800Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmed Sami Efendi1888 to 189351,600Kütahya
Mehmet Tosun Efendi1895 to 190051,530 to 1,700Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Muhyiddin Nuri Efendi1875 to 187952,000Sivas
Mustafa Efendi1856 to 186252,200 to 2,250Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Yusuf Agâh Bey1876 to 188352,000 to 3,000Serres (Siroz)
Hacı Mehmet Reşit Efendi1872 to 187642,000Baghdad (Bağdat)
Abdülhalim Bey1867 to 188931,600 to 3,000Plovdiv (Filibe)
Ali Haydar Efendi1868 to 187131,600Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Hüseyin Azmi Efendi1905 to 190832,250Kastamonu
Mehmed Şevket Bey1869 to 188031,600 to 2,000Safranbolu
Mehmet Şevki Efendi1892 to 189531,700Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Talat Efendi1863 to 186631,680 to 2,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Enver Efendi1900 to 190331,700 to 2,000Veliko Tarnovo (Tırnova)
Mustafa Nesimi Efendi1906 to 190933,000 to 3,250Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ali Rıza Efendi1902 to 190421,250İzmit
Asaf Bey1865 to 186721,920Plovdiv (Filibe)
Corci Asaf Efendi1888 to 189021,600Haifa (Hayfa)
Hüseyin Hayrettin Efendi1863 to 186521,850 to 2,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Bahri Efendi1869 to 187121,640Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Neşe Bey1879 to 188122,200Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Süleyman Reşid Efendi1888 to 190722,000 to 2,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Emin Efendi1898/9912,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Niyazi Efendi1909/1012,500Serres (Siroz)
Ali Rıza Efendi1908/0912,000Nigbolu
Ali Rıza Efendi1902/0311,700Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Artin Aram Efendi1876/7712,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ayvazoğlu Dimitraki Efendi1887/8812,800Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ethem Efendi1875/7611,700Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Fahri Efendi1902/0313,300Nevşehir
Hacı İsmail Hakkı Efendi1904/0511,650Bursa
Hacı Mehmet Ali Efendi1904/0511,550Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Hüseyin Hilmi Bey1881/8212,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendi1904/0512,000Trabzon
Mehmed Raşid Efendi1871/7211,600Tekirdağ
Mehmet Akif Efendi1909/1011,750Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Cemal Efendi1903/0411,650Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Cemalettin Efendi1906/0711,650Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Niyazi Efendi1904/0511,650Trikala (Tırhala)
Mehmet Nurettin Efendi1868/6911,540Tekirdağ
Mehmet Salih Efendi1906/0711,800Damascus (Şam)
Mehmet Şevki Efendi1864/6511,920Arapgir
Mehmet Tahir Efendi1865/6611,750Yozgat
Mustafa Agah Efendi1861/6211,600Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Efendi1870/7111,600Bursa
Mustafa Efendi1900/0112,700Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ömer Fevzi Efendi1900/0112,000Kemaliye (Eğin)
Osman Nureddin Efendi1865/6611,680Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Osman Nuri Efendi1863/6412,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Pierre Hason Efendi1877/7812,000Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Unnamed official (0049_0040; 77)1896 to 190481,350Erzincan
Unnamed official (0002_0176; 350)1878 to 188142,000 to 2,500Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Unnamed official (0067_0246; sayfa no:489)1903 to 190631,650Crete (Girit)

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.