Official
Mehmet Arif Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Damascus (Şam) in 1876/77 (AH 1293). On record 1893 to 1900, 7 annual entries.
Archive reference 0085_0172: 339
Life#
Born in Damascus (Şam) in 1876/77 (AH 1293), Mehmet Arif Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a clerk (ketebe). Mehmet Arif had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi), and wrote Arabic as well as Turkish.
Work began in Jableh (Cebele) in 1886/87, at about 11, with seven unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 285 kuruş. Of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known, fewer than 2 per cent started at 11 or younger. Fewer than 6 per cent of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship worked unpaid for seven years or longer. The annual lists begin in 1893/94, with Mehmet Arif as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Nablus. The last posts were in Beirut (Beyrut) and Tarsus from 1894 to 1899 and Havran in 1899/1900.
The salary went from 285 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to 400 in 1899/1900, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Havran, when 31 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1899/1900.
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 1876/77 (AH 1293)
First work 1886/87 (AH 1304)
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 | 285 | 500 | 400 | 16% |
| 1894/95 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 17% |
| 1895/96 | 332 | 500 | 400 | 24% |
| 1896/97 | 332 | 500 | 400 | 26% |
| 1897/98 | 332 | 500 | 400 | 26% |
| 1898/99 | 332 | 500 | 400 | 26% |
| 1899/1900 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 31% |
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 | Jableh (Cebele) | 285first-salary field |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Nablus | 285 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 300 |
| 1895 to 1899AH 1313 to 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Tarsus | 332 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Havran | 400 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- Birthplace
- Damascus (Şam)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Ketebe
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 7 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- No
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
- 1886/87 (AH 1304)
- Place
- Jableh (Cebele)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 285
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 8 officials with entries in Tarsus in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 7th highest salary.
- Ömer Lütfü Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Necip Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Fahri Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 570 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,378 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 1,025th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey7 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey7 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 1,725th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemil Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 720 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 59 officials born in Damascus (Şam), Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 31st highest salary.
- Mehmet Ali Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Resmi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 300 kuruş
- MİŞEL MİHAİL KAYŞO EFENDİborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Selim Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 540 kuruş
The page of Damascus (Şam), with the 59 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 Arif Efendi had the 113th highest salary.
- Abdullah Faik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hasan Rıza Efendifirst entry in Üsküdar; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hasan Vehbi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 160 kuruş
- Hüseyin Avni Efendifirst entry in Bursa; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mahmut Hamdi Efendifirst entry in Serres (Siroz); highest salary 420 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (7)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Nablus | 285 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Tarsus | 332 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Tarsus | 332 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Tarsus | 332 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Tarsus | 332 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Havran | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0172: 339 |
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 Arif Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1293 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | sam | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | suriye | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | ketebe | 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 | Cebele | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 285 | 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 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
- Mehmet Arif Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Tarsus
- Damascus (Şam)
- 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)