Official
Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1874/75 (AH 1291). On record 1893 to 1906, 13 annual entries.
Archive reference 70_71; 139
Life#
Born in Istanbul in 1874/75 (AH 1291) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi was the child of a postal official (posta memuru). Mehmet Zeynel had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Work began in Istanbul in 1888/89, at about 15, with five unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 50 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1893/94 to 1905/06 places Mehmet Zeynel in Istanbul, the birthplace, first in the office for important affairs (Mühimme Kalemi), from 1901/02 in the stamp clerkship (Pul Kitabeti) and from 1903/04 in the accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi).
The salary went from 50 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to 350 in 1903/04, the peak, in the Muhasebe Kalemi in Istanbul, when 32 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over 13 years the salaries add up to 31,680 kuruş, 41 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The final annual entry is for 1905/06.
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.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94 | 50 | 500 | 400 | 0% |
| 1894/95 | 70 | 500 | 400 | 2% |
| 1895/96 | 70 | 500 | 400 | 2% |
| 1896/97 | 150 | 500 | 400 | 6% |
| 1897/98 | 150 | 500 | 325 | 6% |
| 1898/99 | 150 | 500 | 250 | 6% |
| 1899/1900 | 200 | 500 | 325 | 7% |
| 1900/01 | 200 | 500 | 375 | 8% |
| 1901/02 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 14% |
| 1902/03 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 21% |
| 1903/04 | 350 | 475 | 350 | 32% |
| 1904/05 | 350 | 450 | 375 | 32% |
| 1905/06 | 350 | 475 | 400 | 32% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89AH 1306 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50first-salary field |
| 1893 to 1901AH 1311 to 1318 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 to 200 |
| 1901 to 1903AH 1319 to 1320 | Pul Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 to 300 |
| 1903 to 1906AH 1321 to 1323 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1874/75 (AH 1291)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Posta Memuru
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 5 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1888/89 (AH 1306)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 50
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 place, same years
Of the 1,104 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi had the 768th highest salary.
- Salahattin Bey13 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey13 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey13 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Asaf Bey13 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 21 officials with the title Mühimme Kalemi in the same years, Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi had the 15th highest salary.
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Hasib Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Abdullah Hamdi Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Neşet Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Durak Bey8 shared years; highest salary 350 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi had the 2,129th highest salary of them.
- Abdülgani Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Abdullah Halit Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Kemal Beyborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Abdullah Kemal Beyborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Tahsin Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi had the 1,378th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Kemal Beyborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Abdullah Kemal Beyborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Tahsin Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmed Gazi Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 150 kuruş
- Ahmet Asım Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 250 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 162 officials whose first annual entry is for 1893/94 (AH 1311), Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi had the 139th highest salary.
- Ahmet Asım Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Şevki Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 550 kuruş
- Mehmet Hilmi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Ahmet Şakir Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hasan Fehmi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (13)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 70 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 70 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Pul Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Pul Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_71; 139 |
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 (14)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1291 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | posta memuru | 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) | 5 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1306 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1889 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 50 | 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.
- 13 annual entries of 13 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
- Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi
- Office for important affairs (Mühimme Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi)
- 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)