Official
Vasıf Bey
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Hama in 1852/53 (AH 1269). On record 1876 to 1882, 7 annual entries.
Archive reference 25_81; 157
Life#
Vasıf Bey was born in Hama in 1852/53 (AH 1269) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father's occupation was "Istabl-i Amire Muduru". Schooling took four years, at a primary school (İbtidai Mektebi); Vasıf also wrote Arabic, French and Turkish.
Work began in the telegraph service (Telgraf) in Beirut (Beyrut) in 1875/76, at about 22, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 200 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1876/77, places Vasıf in Istanbul as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). The last posts were in Tripoli (Trablusşam) and Beirut from 1877 to 1881 and Damascus (Şam) in 1881/82.
The salary went from 200 kuruş a month in 1876/77 to 600 in 1881/82, the peak, as Icra Memuru in Damascus, when 60 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, seven years of salary come to 34,560 kuruş, 74 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1881/82.
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 1852/53 (AH 1269)
1878 to 1881 (AH 1295 to 1298)
400 to 480 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77 | 200 | 582.5 | 410 | 587.5 | 5% |
| 1877/78 | 400 | 560 | 410 | 500 | 16% |
| 1878 | 400 | 600 | 500 | 500 | 17% |
| 1878/79 | 400 | 600 | 420 | 600 | 18% |
| 1879/80 | 400 | 500 | 380 | 487.5 | 35% |
| 1880/81 | 480 | 500 | 400 | 475 | 46% |
| 1881/82 | 600 | 500 | 500 | 60% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Telgraffirst work | Beirut (Beyrut) | 200first-salary field |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | Tripoli (Trablusşam) | 400 |
| 1878 to 1881AH 1295 to 1298 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 400 to 480 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Icra Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 600 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1852/53 (AH 1269)
- Birthplace
- Hama
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Istabl-i Amire Muduru
Education
- Primary
- İbtidai Mektebi (4 years)primary school; place of the school as worded: Hama
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- NoShown as in the flag of the paper. The qualification column of the recovered extract gives yes.
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1875/76 (AH 1292)
- Place
- Beirut (Beyrut)
- First job as worded
- Telgraf
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 22
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 200
- First-job salary of the original workbook (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 12 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Beirut (Beyrut) in the same years, Vasıf Bey had the 7th highest salary.
- Rifat Antuvan Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdülmecit Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Kasım Tevfik Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Esat Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet İzzet Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 980 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 16 officials with entries in Beirut (Beyrut) in the same years, Vasıf Bey had the 11th highest salary.
- Mehmet Kamil Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 760 kuruş
- Rifat Antuvan Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Corci Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 4,000 kuruş
- Rodrigez Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Abdülmecit Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 658 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Vasıf Bey had the 370th highest salary.
- Ali Rıza Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 3,150 kuruş
- Süleyman Reşid Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Unnamed official (26_188; 371)6 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Ohannes Holas Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,800 kuruş
Same school
Of the 33 officials with İbtidai Mektebi among their schools, Vasıf Bey had the 23rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Cemil Beyefendiborn 1852/53 (AH 1269); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Hasan Beyborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mahmut Cemal Efendiborn 1850/51 (AH 1267); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Servet Efendiborn 1854/55 (AH 1271); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Müştak Efendiborn 1856/57 (AH 1273); highest salary 400 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 5 officials born in Hama, Vasıf Bey had the highest salary.
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 590 kuruş
- Mehmet Selim Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 475 kuruş
- Halid Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Halit Efendiborn 1887/88 (AH 1305); highest salary 400 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 120 officials whose first annual entry is for 1876/77 (AH 1293), Vasıf Bey had the 55th highest salary.
- Ali Şefik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 450 kuruş
- Mehmet Cemal Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Kılınççıyan Naşit Efendi Veled-İ Agopfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
All 120 officials whose first annual entry is for 1876/77 (AH 1293)
Full record
Annual entries (7)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | Tripoli (Trablusşam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 25_81; 157 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Icra Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 600 | Justice (Adliye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 25_81; 157 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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 (24)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Vasıf Bey | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1269 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | hama | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Hama | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Hama | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Suriye | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | suriye | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | Istabl-i Amire Muduru | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Nationality or community | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Schooling | ||
| School | ibtidai Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Place of the school | Hama | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 1 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1292 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1875 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | beyrut | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | beyrut | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | beyrut | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | beyrut | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Telgraf | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 22 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 200 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 200 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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.
- Linked personnel workbook
- The original personnel workbook, from which selected fields on background and first work are taken.
- 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
- Vasıf Bey
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Beirut (Beyrut)
- Hama
- Primary school (İbtidai Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- 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)