Job title

Polis

Policeman

Group of job titles: Police

Stored spellings: Polis; polis

35 officials held the job title Polis. Its 126 annual entries run from 1878 to 1911 (AH 1296 to 1329). The median of the 126 recorded monthly salaries is 300 kuruş, against 500 kuruş for the whole collection in the same years. The median entry paid 60 per cent of the collection median of its year. On average an official was paid more than 18 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 77 per cent of the officials and the last for 6 per cent. No other title is recorded for 3 per cent of them. The title held just after it by most officials is 3. Sınıf Polis Komiseri (14 officials). The entries name 16 places. The place with the largest number of officials is Istanbul, with 16.

Officials: 35
Years on recordAH 1296 to 1329, 32 years with an entry: 1878 to 1911
Median monthly salary0.6× the collection median of the same years (500 kuruş): 300 kuruş
Places with officials: 16
First job title on recordfor 27 of the 35 officials: 77%

Profile of the group: Police

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

Officials of the police (polis), which kept order in towns. A police organisation founded in 1845 was soon absorbed by the police command (Zaptiye Müşirliği) of 1846, and from 1881 a police force was set up permanently across the empire.

Requirements for entry

from 1889 a police course taught candidates some law besides reading and writing
a police school opened in Salonika in 1907, and others across the empire after 1909

History

From 1879 the Ministry of Police (Zaptiye Nezareti) dealt only with police work. In 1909 the ministry was abolished, and police work passed to the Directorate of Public Security (Emniyet-i Umumiye Müdüriyeti) under the Ministry of the Interior.

Sources

Özcan, Abdülkadir (2013). Zaptiye. TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 44, 128-130. Online copy (read 14 October 2026).Pages or part: 128-130. Used for: summary, requirements for entry, history.

All years

Monthly salary each year

The median of the 126 recorded monthly salaries is 300 kuruş, the mean 323 kuruş.

The same numbers as a table

Monthly salary each year in kuruş, Polis
Year	Recorded salaries	Median	Mean	Lower quartile	Upper quartile	Median of the whole collection
1878/79	1	400	400	400	400	600
1879/80	6	300	316.67	300	300	500
1880/81	5	300	330	300	350	500
1881/82	4	350	355	342.5	362.5	500
1882/83	5	300	324	300	320	500
1883/84	3	320	340	310	360	500
1884/85	6	300	300	300	300	500
1885/86	8	300	300	300	300	500
1886/87	10	300	300	300	300	500
1887/88	8	300	300	300	300	500
1888/89	7	300	300	300	300	500
1889/90	7	300	300	300	300	500
1890/91	6	300	300	300	300	500
1891/92	7	300	300	300	300	500
1892/93	9	300	311.11	300	300	500
1893/94	4	300	300	300	300	500
1894/95	3	300	316.67	300	325	500
1895/96	2	350	350	350	350	500
1896/97	4	350	337.5	337.5	350	500
1897/98	2	350	350	350	350	500
1898/99	2	350	350	350	350	500
1899/1900	1	350	350	350	350	500
1900/01	3	300	266.67	200	350	500
1901/02	3	300	266.67	200	350	500
1902/03	2	350	350	325	375	500
1903/04	2	350	350	325	375	475
1904/05	1	300	300	300	300	450
1905/06	1	300	300	300	300	475
1906/07	1	300	300	300	300	450
1909/10	1	800	800	800	800	462.5
1910/11	1	800	800	800	800	500
1911	1	800	800	800	800	500

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

35 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 (91%) are in the band 300 to 400 kuruş.

The same numbers as a table

Officials of Polis by median monthly salary
Median monthly salary, kuruş	Officials	Share	Whole collection
0 to 100	0	0%	3%
100 to 200	0	0%	10%
200 to 300	0	0%	17%
300 to 400	32	91%	18%
400 to 500	2	6%	17%
500 to 750	0	0%	23%
750 to 1,000	1	3%	5%
1,000 to 1,500	0	0%	4%
1,500 to 2,500	0	0%	2%
2,500 and more	0	0%	1%

The median of the 126 recorded monthly salaries of this job is 300 kuruş. In the same years the whole collection paid a median of 500 kuruş. The median entry paid 0.6× the collection median of its year, and the middle half of the entries between 0.6× and 0.64×. On average an official of this job was paid more than 18% of the other paid officials of the same year.

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

16 places with officials on record, 16 of them with a position on the map. A larger dot means more officials.

Seat of a province (vilayet) Seat of a sancak Other place Office or region

The 10 places with most officials, of 16, all years
Place	Officials	Remark
Istanbul (Dersaadet)	16
Beyoğlu	5
Bursa	2
Sivas	2
Üsküdar	2
Amasya	1
Aydın	1
Bitola (Manastır)	1
Crete (Girit)	1
Hicaz	1	in the small map

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 Polis. Pay: the change on moving from that title to Polis. The 8 titles with most officials, of 10 moves in all.

Çavuşsergeant (a lower service grade)3
3. Sınıf Polis Komiseripolice commissioner, third class1
3. Sinif Teftis Memuru1
Gardiyan1
Jandarma1
Muhabere Memurucommunications official (telegraph operator)1
Nefer1
Tahrirat Kalemicorrespondence office1

Held just after

The title of the entries just after a run of Polis. Pay: the change on moving from Polis to that title. The 8 titles with most officials, of 35 moves in all.

3. Sınıf Polis Komiseripolice commissioner, third class14pay +100 kuruş (+33%)
Çavuşsergeant (a lower service grade)7pay +50 kuruş (+17%)
Muhabere Memurucommunications official (telegraph operator)4
2. Sınıf Polis Komiseripolice commissioner, second class2
Başmüdür Kitabeticlerkship of the chief director's office1
Evrak Kalemidocuments office1
Müfettiş Muaviniassistant inspector1
Mulazemet1

Of the 41 moves shown, 11 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 35 officials
A quarter of the officials: 6 years or moreupper quartile
Most years of one official: 12 years

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

35 officials with it recorded.

Age at the first annual entry in the job

35 officials with it recorded.

Province of birth

32 officials with it recorded. 7 other values not shown.

Schooling

34 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.

Languages

35 officials with it recorded. An official can have several, so the shares add up to more than 100%. 3 other values not shown.

Qualification

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

Source of the record

35 officials with it recorded.

Officials on record each year

The fullest year is 1886/87 (AH 1304) with 10 officials. Years with an annual entry: 32.

The same numbers as a table

Officials on record each year, Polis
Year	Officials on record	First recorded	Annual entries
1878/79 (AH 1296)	1	1	1
1879/80 (AH 1297)	6	5	6
1880/81 (AH 1298)	5	1	5
1881/82 (AH 1299)	4	0	4
1882/83 (AH 1300)	5	3	5
1883/84 (AH 1301)	3	0	3
1884/85 (AH 1302)	6	5	6
1885/86 (AH 1303)	8	2	8
1886/87 (AH 1304)	10	2	10
1887/88 (AH 1305)	8	3	8
1888/89 (AH 1306)	7	1	7
1889/90 (AH 1307)	7	1	7
1890/91 (AH 1308)	6	1	6
1891/92 (AH 1309)	7	2	7
1892/93 (AH 1310)	9	4	9
1893/94 (AH 1311)	4	0	4
1894/95 (AH 1312)	3	0	3
1895/96 (AH 1313)	2	0	2
1896/97 (AH 1314)	4	2	4
1897/98 (AH 1315)	2	0	2
1898/99 (AH 1316)	2	0	2
1899/1900 (AH 1317)	1	0	1
1900/01 (AH 1318)	3	1	3
1901/02 (AH 1319)	3	0	3
1902/03 (AH 1320)	2	0	2
1903/04 (AH 1321)	2	0	2
1904/05 (AH 1322)	1	0	1
1905/06 (AH 1323)	1	0	1
1906/07 (AH 1324)	1	0	1
1909/10 (AH 1327)	1	1	1
1910/11 (AH 1328)	1	0	1
1911 (AH 1329)	1	0	1

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 Polis, the place with most officials first
Place	Province	Officials	Annual entries	Years
Istanbul (Dersaadet)	Istanbul (Dersaadet) province	16	64	1879 to 1907
Beyoğlu	Istanbul (Dersaadet) province	5	14	1879 to 1911
Sivas	Sivas province	2	10	1884 to 1897
Bursa	Hüdavendigâr province	2	7	1884 to 1897
Üsküdar	Istanbul (Dersaadet) province	2	3	1885 to 1887
Suriye	Syria (Suriye) province	1	6	1878 to 1884
Thessaloniki (Selanik)	Thessaloniki (Selanik) province	1	5	1882 to 1887
Amasya	Sivas province	1	4	1895 to 1899
Serres (Siroz)	Thessaloniki (Selanik) province	1	4	1885 to 1889
Aydın	Aydın province	1	3	1884 to 1887
Bitola (Manastır)	Bitola (Manastır) province	1	1	1887/88
Crete (Girit)	Crete (Girit) province	1	1	1892/93
Hicaz	Hejaz (Hicaz) province	1	1	1888/89
Kosova	Kosovo (Kosova) province	1	1	1890/91
Trabzon	Trabzon province	1	1	1892/93
Van	Van province	1	1	1891/92

Ottoman officials recorded

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

Officials of Polis
Official	Years	Annual entries	Kuruş a month	Birthplace
İbrahim Ethem Efendi	1889 to 1902	12	100 to 350	Sivas
Hafiz Mehmet Efendi	1884 to 1892	8	300	Yambol (Yanbolu)
Mehmed Ziya Eefendi	1884 to 1892	8	300	Harput
Mehmet Emin Efendi	1896 to 1904	8	350 to 400	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Efendi	1884 to 1897	8	300 to 350	Sivas
Arif Bey	1900 to 1907	7	300	Chania (Hanya)
Mustafa Efendi	1886 to 1893	7	300	Sliven (İslimiye)
Haci İbrahim Ethem Efendi	1888 to 1894	6	300	Shumen (Şumnu)
Kamil Hakki Efendi	1878 to 1884	6	400	Damascus (Şam)
Mustafa Rifat Efendi	1884 to 1890	6	300	Svilengrad (Cisr-i Mustafapaşa)
İsmail Efendi	1882 to 1887	5	300	Niš (Niş)
Mustafa Safvet Efendi	1879 to 1884	5	300 to 320	Kirim
Hafız Ahmet Efendi	1891 to 1895	4	300 to 350	Bosna
İshak Bey	1885 to 1889	4	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mahmut Celaleddin Efendi	1909 to 1911	3	800	Aydın
Mehmet Tevfik Efendi Bin Abdullah	1884 to 1887	3	300	Belgrade (Belgrad)
Salih Necati Efendi	1887 to 1890	3	300	Damascus (Şam)
Yusuf Cemal Efendi	1879 to 1882	3	300 to 350	Cerkezistan
Mehmet Ali Efendi	1879 to 1882	2	300 to 350	Izmir (İzmir)
Mehmet Kemal Efendi	1885 to 1887	2	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mehmet Nezir Bey	1879 to 1881	2	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Efendi	1882/83	1	300	Bolu
Ahmet Muhtar Efendi	1880/81	1	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Ahmet Tevfik Efendi	1892/93	1	300	Damascus (Şam)
Halil Efendi	1882/83	1	300	Erzurum

Show the other 10 officials

Officials of Polis, continued
Official	Years	Annual entries	Kuruş a month	Birthplace
Huseyin Husnu Efendi	1879/80	1	300	Sliven (İslimiye)
Hüseyin Şevki Efendi	1887/88	1	300	Görele
İbrahim Aski Efendi	1896/97	1	300	Bursa
İbrahim Halil Efendi	1892/93	1	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
İbrahim Vahi Efendi	1892/93	1	400	Crete (Girit)
Mehmet Said Efendi	1886/87	1	300	Çemişgezek
Mehmet Sukru Efendi	1887/88	1	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)
Mustafa Fahri Efendi	1891/92	1	300	Shkodër (İşkodra)
Mustafa Safvet Efendi	1892/93	1	300	Trabzon
Yusuf Cemil Efendi	1890/91	1	300	Istanbul (Dersaadet)

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

Policeman (Polis)
Ottoman job titles (Osmanlı memuriyet unvanları)
Labour history (emek tarihi)
Salaries of officials (memur maaşları)
Ottoman history (Osmanlı tarihi)
Ottoman bureaucracy (Osmanlı bürokrasisi)
Ottoman officials (Osmanlı'da memurlar)
Ottoman personnel registers (Sicill-i Ahvâl defterleri)
Ottoman registers (Osmanlı defterleri)

Profile of the group: Police#

Requirements for entry

History

Sources

Monthly salary each year#

Pay against the whole collection#

Where the job was held#

Career paths: the titles just before and after#

Held just before

Held just after

Time in the job#

Who held the job#

Community

Age at the first annual entry in the job

Province of birth

Schooling

Languages

Qualification

Source of the record

Officials on record each year#

Places#

Ottoman officials recorded#

Subjects

Profile of the group: Police

Monthly salary each year

Pay against the whole collection

Where the job was held

Career paths: the titles just before and after

Time in the job

Who held the job

Officials on record each year

Places

Ottoman officials recorded