Official
Mehmet Rauf Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1873/74 (AH 1290). On record 1893 to 1906, 12 annual entries.
Archive reference 0088_0101:197
Life#
Born in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1873/74 (AH 1290), Mehmet Rauf Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). In all Mehmet Rauf knew four languages, Arabic, French, Persian and Turkish, all in writing; fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials knew as many.
Mehmet Rauf began work in Baghdad in 1886/87, at about 14, with seven unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 400 kuruş. Fewer than 6 per cent of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship worked unpaid for seven years or longer. The first annual entry, for 1893/94, places Mehmet Rauf in Baghdad, the birthplace, as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Next came Al Diwaniyah (Divaniye), Kirkuk (Kerkük) and Mosul (Musul) from 1894 to 1898. The last posts were in Baghdad again from 1898 to 1906, first as Muhabere Memuru, from 1905/06 as a central office official (Merkez Memuru).
Pay rose from 400 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to a peak of 500 in 1903/04, as Muhabere Memuru in Baghdad, when 51 per cent of paid officials earned less. That salary was paid for a single year, and the next list gives 400 kuruş. Over 12 years pay ended where it began, at 400 kuruş. The final 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.
Born 1873/74 (AH 1290); First work 1886/87 (AH 1304); 1893/94 (AH 1311)
400 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
1898 to 1906 (AH 1316 to 1323)
Muhabere Memuru 1898 to 1904 (AH 1316 to 1321); Merkez Memuru 1905/06 (AH 1323)
380 to 500 kuruş a month; entries in 7 years
No annual entry for 1904/05 (AH 1322).
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 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 30% |
| 1894/95 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 26% |
| 1895/96 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 30% |
| 1896/97 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 32% |
| 1897/98 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 32% |
| 1898/99 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 28% |
| 1899/1900 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 27% |
| 1900/01 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 27% |
| 1901/02 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 29% |
| 1902/03 | 380 | 500 | 380 | 31% |
| 1903/04 | 500 | 475 | 350 | 51% |
| 1905/06 | 400 | 475 | 500 | 38% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1886/87AH 1304 | First work | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 400first-salary field |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 400 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Al Diwaniyah (Divaniye) | 380 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 400 |
| 1896 to 1898AH 1314 to 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Mosul (Musul) | 400 |
| 1898 to 1904AH 1316 to 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 to 500 |
| No annual entry: 1904/05 (AH 1322) | |||
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Merkez Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 400 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1873/74 (AH 1290)
- Birthplace
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 7 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
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Persian
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1886/87 (AH 1304)
- Place
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 400
Legal records
- Years (AH) with a criminal-record mark in the annual records
- 1311
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 75 officials with entries in Baghdad (Bağdat) in the same years, Mehmet Rauf Efendi had the 46th highest salary.
- Bekir Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 2,700 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0087_0089, sayfa no:175.)8 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Setran Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadi Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Haci Tahsin Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 6,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,812 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Rauf Efendi had the 781st highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey11 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey11 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi11 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Hurşit Efendi11 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 Rauf Efendi had the 1,253rd highest salary of them.
- Abbas Rüştü Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Abdülbaki Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 675 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 720 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 73 officials born in Baghdad (Bağdat), Mehmet Rauf Efendi had the 39th highest salary.
- Abdülaziz Hikmet Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Said Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Sait Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0094_2; 1)born 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 400 kuruş
- İlyas Şavalborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 500 kuruş
The page of Baghdad (Bağdat), with the 73 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 162 officials whose first annual entry is for 1893/94 (AH 1311), Mehmet Rauf Efendi had the 78th highest salary.
- İlyas Şavalfirst entry in Baghdad (Bağdat); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadi Efendifirst entry in Baghdad (Bağdat); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendifirst entry in Yemen; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Şakir Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Şevki Efendifirst entry in Çatalca; highest salary 300 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (12)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Al Diwaniyah (Divaniye) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Mosul (Musul) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Mosul (Musul) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Merkez Memuru | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0101:197 |
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 (15)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Rauf Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1290 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | Telgraf 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) | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1304 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1887 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 400 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Legal records | ||
| Years (AH) with a criminal-record mark in the annual records | 1311 | Later annual personnel extract |
What the sources named in this table are
- 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.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 12 annual entries of 12 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 Rauf Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Central office official (Merkez 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)