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Ottoman BureaucracyPeople, places and careers in Ottoman public service

Official

İlya Efendi

Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1884/85 (AH 1302). On record 1909 to 1911, 2 annual entries.

Archive reference 189-47-46

Compare İlya Efendi with other officials

Life

İlya Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1884/85 (AH 1302) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took four years, at an Israelite school (İsrail Mektebi); İlya also knew five languages, Bulgarian, French, Greek (Rum), Russian and Turkish, all in writing, and held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration). Russian was rare in the service, known to 19 of the 5,211 officials.

İlya began work in Kavala in 1909/10, at about 24, paid from the start, on 400 kuruş a month. The annual lists begin in 1909/10, with İlya as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Kavala. The last post was in Thessaloniki (Selanik) in 1910/11.

The salary went from 400 kuruş a month in 1909/10 to 600 in 1910/11, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Thessaloniki, when 53 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1910/11. An entry in "Sicill-i Ahvâl defterlerine göre Osmanlı bürokrasisinde İstanbul doğumlu Yahudi ve ..." by AHMET SÜRMEN (2011) probably refers to İlya, since the name and the birthplace agree.

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.

All 3 stops
birthplacefirst workplace of annual entriesmove, with the year of the first entry there
1909/101910/11123IstanbulKavalaThessaloniki

  1. Istanbul (Dersaadet)

    Born 1884/85 (AH 1302)

  2. Kavala

    First work 1909/10 (AH 1327); 1909/10 (AH 1327)

    Muhabere Memuru

    400 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year

  3. Thessaloniki (Selanik)

    1910/11 (AH 1328)

    Muhabere Memuru

    600 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year

Career and salary

All years
Monthly salary by year, kuruşsalary of the yearyears with one job titleno annual entry
02004006001909/10AH 13271910/11AH 1328600 kuruşMuhabere Memuru
Salary against the medians of the same year
2005001,0001909/10AH 13271910/11AH 1328This officialMedian, all officialsMedian, same titleMedian, same province

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
Salary of İlya Efendi against the medians of the same year, kuruş a month
YearSalaryMedian, all officialsMedian, same titleMedian, same provincePaid less
1909/10400462.530050033%
1910/1160050030055053%

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.

Career of İlya Efendi, one row per stage
YearsTitlePlaceSalary (kuruş a month)
1909/10AH 1327First workKavala400first-salary field
1909/10AH 1327Muhabere MemuruKavala400
1910/11AH 1328Muhabere MemuruThessaloniki (Selanik)600

Record

Personal

Born
1884/85 (AH 1302)
Community
Muslim (Müslüman)
Nationality as recorded
turkish

Education

Community school
İsrail Mektebi (4 years)Israelite (Jewish) school
Unpaid years (mülazemet)
0 years
Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
Yes

The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.

Languages

Bulgarian
Kitabetwriting
French
Kitabetwriting
Greek (Rum)
Kitabetwriting. Rum is the word of the records for Greek as spoken by the Orthodox Christians of the empire. It is kept apart from the column Greek, which the records also have
Russian
Kitabetwriting
Turkish
Kitabetwriting

The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.

First work

Year
1909/10 (AH 1327)
Place
Kavala
First salary field (kuruş a month)
400

Named in scholarly works

No link between a work and an official has been accepted. Each entry was found by fixed rules on the name and the recorded fields, and says what it rests on.

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 Thessaloniki (Selanik) in the same years, İlya Efendi had the highest salary.

Same place, same years

Of the 6 officials with entries in Thessaloniki (Selanik) in the same years, İlya Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.

All 408 officials with entries in Thessaloniki (Selanik)

Same job title, same years

Of the 97 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, İlya Efendi had the 7th highest salary.

All 3,162 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru

Same school

Of the 5 officials with İsrail Mektebi among their schools, İlya Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.

All 5 officials with İsrail Mektebi

Same birthplace

Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; İlya Efendi had the 789th highest salary of them.

The page of Istanbul, with the 1,999 officials born there

First annual entry in the same year

Of the 123 officials whose first annual entry is for 1909/10 (AH 1327), 122 have a recorded salary; İlya Efendi had the 2nd highest salary of them.

All 123 officials whose first annual entry is for 1909/10 (AH 1327)

Full record

Annual entries (2)

Annual entries of İlya Efendi
YearTitlePlaceKuruş a monthInstitutionSourceArchive reference
1909/10AH 1327Muhabere MemuruKavala400Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)Recovered annual personnel extract189-47-46
1910/11AH 1328Muhabere MemuruThessaloniki (Selanik)600Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)Recovered annual personnel extract189-47-46
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 (12)

Recorded values of İlya Efendi with their sources
FieldRecorded valueSource
Identity
Nameİlya EfendiPersonnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Birth year (AH)1302Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
BirthplacedersaadetRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Province of birthdersaadetRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
ReligionmuslumanRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Nationality or communityturkishRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Schooling
Schoolisrail mektebiRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Years of schooling4Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet)0Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
First work
First work: year (AH)1327Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
First work: placekavalaRecovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract
First salary field (kuruş a month)400Recovered 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.

How to read this record: calendar years, years without an annual entry, salaries and sources.

Subjects