Official
Mehmet Tahir Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Diyarbakır in 1881/82 (AH 1299). On record 1899 to 1907, 8 annual entries.
Archive reference 114_104; 203
Life#
Born in Diyarbakır in 1881/82 (AH 1299) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Mehmet Tahir Efendi was the child of a sergeant (çavuş). Mehmet Tahir had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi), wrote Arabic as well as Turkish, and held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
Work began in Cizre in 1894/95, at about 13, with five unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. Fewer than 6 per cent of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known began work at 13 or younger. The annual lists begin in 1899/1900, with Mehmet Tahir as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Cizre, where the entries run to 1905/06. In 1906/07 the lists place Mehmet Tahir in Diyarbakır, the birthplace.
The salary never rose above the first in the lists, 300 kuruş a month in 1899/1900, as Muhabere Memuru in Cizre, when 18 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over eight years the salaries add up to 28,800 kuruş, 62 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The final 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 1881/82 (AH 1299)
First work 1894/95 (AH 1312); 1899 to 1906 (AH 1317 to 1323)
300 kuruş a month; entries in 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 18% |
| 1900/01 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 18% |
| 1901/02 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 20% |
| 1902/03 | 300 | 500 | 380 | 400 | 21% |
| 1903/04 | 300 | 475 | 350 | 400 | 23% |
| 1904/05 | 300 | 450 | 350 | 400 | 23% |
| 1905/06 | 300 | 475 | 330 | 400 | 23% |
| 1906/07 | 300 | 450 | 300 | 400 | 25% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95AH 1312 | First work | Cizre | 300first-salary field |
| 1899 to 1906AH 1317 to 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Diyarbakır | 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1881/82 (AH 1299)
- Birthplace
- Diyarbakır
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- cavus
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 5 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Middle
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- Yes
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
- 1894/95 (AH 1312)
- Place
- Cizre
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 300
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 2 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Cizre in the same years, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the highest salary.
- İbrahim Hakkı Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 300 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 3 officials with entries in Cizre in the same years, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Abdullah Şükrü Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- İbrahim Hakkı Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 300 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,614 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 1,133rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey8 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey8 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Nikola Yunani Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,350 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Hilmi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Abdülhalim Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Haşmet Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Abdullah Hulusi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdurrahim Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 251 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 72 officials born in Diyarbakır, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 59th highest salary.
- İsmail Cemil Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mustafa Nazmi Efendiborn 1880/81 (AH 1298); highest salary 250 kuruş
- MEHMET HAYRİ EFENDİborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Sakin Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Sami Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 300 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 87 officials whose first annual entry is for 1899/1900 (AH 1317), Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 56th highest salary.
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 120 kuruş
- Ahmet Refik Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Vefik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 140 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendifirst entry in Sivas; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Devidras Avram Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
All 87 officials whose first annual entry is for 1899/1900 (AH 1317)
Full record
Annual entries (8)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Cizre | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Diyarbakır | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 114_104; 203 |
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 | Mehmet Tahir Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1299 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | diyarbakir | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | diyarbakir | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | cavus | 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) | 1312 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1894 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Cizre | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 300 | 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.
- 7 annual entries of 8 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 Tahir Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Cizre
- Diyarbakır
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye 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)