Official
Sason Efendi
Jewish (Musevi). Born in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1863/64 (AH 1280). On record 1883 to 1906, 22 annual entries.
Archive reference 102_22_39
Life#
Sason Efendi was born in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1863/64 (AH 1280) into the Jewish (Musevi) community. In all Sason knew four languages, Arabic, English, French and Turkish, all in writing; fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials knew as many.
At about 18, in 1881/82, Sason began work in the telegraph service (Telgraf) in Baghdad, with two unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 500 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1883/84, places Sason in Karbala (Kerbela) as a chief communications official (Başmuhabere Memuru). Sason then moved to Baghdad in 1884/85 and Al-Faw in 1885/86, then Amarah (Amare) from 1886 to 1894. The annual lists then follow Sason back to Baghdad from 1894 to 1903. The last posts were in Burhaniye in 1904/05, in the Vapur Kitabeti and Baghdad again in 1905/06.
Pay rose from 500 kuruş a month in 1883/84 to a peak of 1,000 in 1904/05, in the Vapur Kitabeti in Burhaniye, when 87 per cent of paid officials earned less. The peak lasted a single year; the next list gives 700 kuruş. The last annual entry is for 1905/06.
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.
1904/05 (AH 1322)
No annual entry for 1903/04 (AH 1321) before it.
1,000 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883/84 | 500 | 500 | 600 | 43% |
| 1884/85 | 380 | 500 | 600 | 18% |
| 1885/86 | 760 | 500 | 600 | 75% |
| 1886/87 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1887/88 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 58% |
| 1888/89 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 58% |
| 1889/90 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 58% |
| 1890/91 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1891/92 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1892/93 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1893/94 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 60% |
| 1894/95 | 480 | 500 | 500 | 46% |
| 1895/96 | 480 | 500 | 500 | 46% |
| 1896/97 | 480 | 500 | 495 | 47% |
| 1897/98 | 480 | 500 | 480 | 48% |
| 1898/99 | 480 | 500 | 495 | 47% |
| 1899/1900 | 480 | 500 | 500 | 47% |
| 1900/01 | 480 | 500 | 500 | 46% |
| 1901/02 | 480 | 500 | 480 | 48% |
| 1902/03 | 480 | 500 | 400 | 48% |
| 1904/05 | 1,000 | 450 | 87% | |
| 1905/06 | 700 | 475 | 73% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Telgraffirst work | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 500first-salary field |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Karbala (Kerbela) | 500 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Al-Faw (Fav) | 760 |
| 1886 to 1894AH 1304 to 1311 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 |
| 1894 to 1903AH 1312 to 1320 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 |
| No annual entry: 1903/04 (AH 1321) | |||
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Vapur Kitabeti | Burhaniye | 1,000 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Arazi Kalemi | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 700 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1863/64 (AH 1280)
- Birthplace
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- Community
- Jewish (Musevi)
- Nationality as recorded
- Yahudi
Education
- Other named school
- Mekteb-i Mahsusa (4 years)special school
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 2 years
- 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
- English
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1881/82 (AH 1299)
- Place
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- First job as worded
- Telgraf
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 19
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 500
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 500
Legal records
- Judicial record (recorded code)
- 1
- Legal record note as worded
- Edepsizlik / bazı iştibah edilen su-i ahlakından naşi tenzil-i sınıfla üç yüz on iki senesi şehr-i Şevvalü'l-mükerreminin on ikisinde 26 Mart sene 1311 dört yüz seksen kuruş aylıkla Bağdat Telgraf Merkezi Lisan-ı Ecnebi Muhabere Memuriyeti'ne tahvil kılınmıştır; Memuriyete Uymayan Hal ve Hareketler
- Years (AH) with a criminal-record mark in the annual records
- 1312; 1313; 1314; 1315; 1316; 1317; 1318; 1319; 1320
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 84 officials with entries in Baghdad (Bağdat) in the same years, Sason Efendi had the 17th highest salary.
- Bekir Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 2,700 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0087_0089, sayfa no:175.)10 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Mehmet Salih Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 655 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmed Şükrü Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 90 officials with the title Başmuhabere Memuru in the same years, Sason Efendi had the 26th highest salary.
- Esperdiyon Diloti Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 3,360 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 2,640 kuruş
- Mehmet Tahir Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 1,750 kuruş
- Mustafa Mehdi Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Hilmi Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
Same school
Of the 38 officials with Mekteb-i Mahsusa among their schools, Sason Efendi had the 6th highest salary.
- Pedrus Kandela Efendiborn 1863/64 (AH 1280); highest salary 550 kuruş
- Reşid Efendiborn 1863/64 (AH 1280); highest salary 700 kuruş
- Fransuva Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Zenob Balyan Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Besim Efendiborn 1864/65 (AH 1281); highest salary 800 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 73 officials born in Baghdad (Bağdat), Sason Efendi had the 11th highest salary.
- İbrahim Efendiborn 1863/64 (AH 1280); highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Musa Kazim Efendiborn 1863/64 (AH 1280); highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- İbrahim Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mardek(?) Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Kâmil Efendiborn 1864/65 (AH 1281); highest salary 630 kuruş
The page of Baghdad (Bağdat), with the 73 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 80 officials whose first annual entry is for 1883/84 (AH 1301), Sason Efendi had the 7th highest salary.
- Ahmed İzzet Efendifirst entry in Araç; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Dadi Fransuva Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Dençoylu Hayler Efendifirst entry in Diyarbakır; highest salary 1,350 kuruş
- Dikran Efendifirst entry in Keşan; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Halil Efendifirst entry in Mezraa; highest salary 600 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (22)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Karbala (Kerbela) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Al-Faw (Fav) | 760 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Amarah (Amare) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 480 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 102_22_39 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Vapur Kitabeti | Burhaniye | 1,000 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 102_22_39 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Arazi Kalemi | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 700 | Land Registry (Defter-i Hakani) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 102_22_39 |
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 (26)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Sason Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1280 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Religion | Musevi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Nationality or community | Yahudi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Mektebi Mahsusa | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; 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) | 2 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1299 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1882 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | Bagdat | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Telgraf | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 19 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 500 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 500 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Legal records | ||
| Judicial record (recorded code) | 1 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Legal record note as worded | Edepsizlik / bazı iştibah edilen su-i ahlakından naşi tenzil-i sınıfla üç yüz on iki senesi şehr-i Şevvalü'l-mükerreminin on ikisinde 26 Mart sene 1311 dört yüz seksen kuruş aylıkla Bağdat Telgraf Merkezi Lisan-ı Ecnebi Muhabere Memuriyeti'ne tahvil kılınmıştır used on this page | Legal notes (earlier workbook copy); Legal notes (later workbook copy) |
| Legal record note as worded | Memuriyete Uymayan Hal ve Hareketler other value | Legal notes (earlier workbook copy); Legal notes (later workbook copy) |
| Years (AH) with a criminal-record mark in the annual records | 1312; 1313; 1314; 1315; 1316; 1317; 1318; 1319; 1320 | Later annual personnel extract |
What the sources named in this table are
- Legal notes (earlier workbook copy)
- A workbook of notes on legal records. The wording is kept as written. It may hold an accusation or an acquittal, it is not the finding of a court, and its year is the year of the record, not the date of an event.
- Legal notes (later workbook copy)
- A later copy of the workbook of notes on legal records. The same wording in both copies is one note, not two.
- 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.
- Later annual personnel extract
- The detailed annual personnel file of October 2025. It marks single annual entries with a criminal-record flag and holds status words such as Vefat. For a death, the year is the year of the annual list in which the status word stands.
- 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.
- The sources give more than one value for a marked field. Every value is listed.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 20 annual entries of 22 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
- Sason Efendi
- Chief communications official (Başmuhabere Memuru)
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- Special school (Mekteb-i Mahsusa)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Jewish (Musevi)
- Post of official for foreign communications (Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti)
- 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)