Official
Mehmet Arif Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Aleppo (Halep) in 1883/84 (AH 1301). On record 1900 to 1907, 7 annual entries.
Archive reference 159-165-325
Life#
Born in Aleppo (Halep) in 1883/84 (AH 1301), Mehmet Arif Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Arif also wrote Arabic as well as Turkish.
Mehmet Arif began work in Aleppo in 1898/99, at about 15, with two unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 200 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1900/01, with Mehmet Arif as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Gaziantep (Antep), where the entries run to 1902/03. The last posts were in Aleppo, the birthplace, from 1903 to 1907, with a rise to postal official (Posta Memuru) in 1906/07.
The salary went from 200 kuruş a month in 1900/01 to 700 in 1906/07, the peak, as Posta Memuru in Aleppo, when 72 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over seven years the salaries add up to 30,000 kuruş, 74 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.
Places in order of time#
Each number is a stop: the birthplace, the place of first work, then every place of the annual entries in turn. The year beside an arrow is the first entry at the new place.
Born 1883/84 (AH 1301); First work 1898/99 (AH 1316)
1903 to 1907 (AH 1321 to 1324)
Muhabere Memuru 1903 to 1906 (AH 1321 to 1323); Posta Memuru 1906/07 (AH 1324)
400 to 700 kuruş a month; entries in 4 years
Career and salary#
Log scale: equal steps are equal ratios. The median of the same title is drawn for the years in which at least 5 officials with that title had a salary, and the median of the same province for the years in which at least 5 officials were paid in the province of the official's salary that year.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Median, same province | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900/01 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 8% |
| 1901/02 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 9% |
| 1902/03 | 200 | 500 | 380 | 400 | 9% |
| 1903/04 | 400 | 475 | 350 | 400 | 36% |
| 1904/05 | 400 | 450 | 350 | 400 | 38% |
| 1905/06 | 400 | 475 | 330 | 500 | 38% |
| 1906/07 | 700 | 450 | 320 | 500 | 72% |
Paid less: the share of the other officials with a salary that year who earned less.
Point at a year for its salary, title, place and the median of all officials paid that year. Choose a row of the table to mark its years in the charts and its stop on the map.
| Years | Title | Place | Salary (kuruş a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898/99AH 1316 | First work | Aleppo (Halep) | 200first-salary field |
| 1900 to 1903AH 1318 to 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Gaziantep (Antep) | 200 |
| 1903 to 1906AH 1321 to 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Posta Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 700 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1883/84 (AH 1301)
- Birthplace
- Aleppo (Halep)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 2 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- No
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1898/99 (AH 1316)
- Place
- Aleppo (Halep)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 200
Recorded with#
Officials who share a place, a job title, a school, a birthplace or the year of the first annual entry. Ranks compare the highest monthly salary of each official.
Same post (job title and place), same years
Of the 3 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Gaziantep (Antep) in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the highest salary.
- Osman Nuri Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Fuat Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 440 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 57 officials with entries in Aleppo (Halep) in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 21st highest salary.
- Unnamed official (26_188; 371)4 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- İsmail Nuri Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Veli Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Fetullah Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 350 kuruş
- AHMET KEMAL EFENDİ4 shared years; highest salary 290 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,412 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 214th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey6 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey6 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Hurşit Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 729th highest salary of them.
- Abdülhafız Efendiborn 1883/84 (AH 1301); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdullah Şevki Efendiborn 1883/84 (AH 1301); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdullah Sıdkı Efendiborn 1883/84 (AH 1301); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet İhsan Efendiborn 1883/84 (AH 1301); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet İhsan Efendiborn 1883/84 (AH 1301); highest salary 100 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 67 officials born in Aleppo (Halep), Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 16th highest salary.
- Mehmet Ragıp Efendiborn 1884/85 (AH 1302); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0156_0029; 55)born 1884/85 (AH 1302); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Cemil Remzi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Refik Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 300 kuruş
- İbrahim Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 250 kuruş
The page of Aleppo (Halep), with the 67 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 140 officials whose first annual entry is for 1900/01 (AH 1318), 139 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 18th highest salary of them.
- Mehmet Murat Efendifirst entry in Gaziantep (Antep); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ali Memduh Efendifirst entry in Bursa; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 110 kuruş
- Mordahay Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Murde Hay Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
All 140 officials whose first annual entry is for 1900/01 (AH 1318)
Full record
Annual entries (7)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Gaziantep (Antep) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Gaziantep (Antep) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Gaziantep (Antep) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Posta Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 700 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 159-165-325 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
Sources and original values (13)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Arif Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1301 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | halep | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | halep | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Nationality or community | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Rusdiye Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 2 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1316 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1898 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Halep | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 200 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract
- The detailed annual personnel file of October 2024. An official found only in this file keeps the years, titles and salaries it gives.
- Recovered annual personnel extract
- The merged annual personnel file recovered for the replication of the first paper. Annual entries are taken from it for every official it holds.
- Personnel attributes extract
- The detailed personnel file of September 2025, read for personal details such as birth, schooling and first work.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 6 annual entries of 7 belong to the saved estimation sample of the paper.
How to read this record: calendar years, years without an annual entry, salaries and sources.
Subjects
- Mehmet Arif Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Aleppo (Halep)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Postal official (Posta Memuru)
- Biography of an Ottoman official (Osmanlı memurunun biyografisi)
- Career and pay (memuriyet ve maaş)
- Ottoman history (Osmanlı tarihi)
- Ottoman bureaucracy (Osmanlı bürokrasisi)
- Ottoman officials (Osmanlı'da memurlar)
- Ottoman personnel registers (Sicill-i Ahvâl defterleri)
- Ottoman registers (Osmanlı defterleri)