Official
Mehmed Rıfat Bey
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1853/54 (AH 1270). On record 1875 to 1893, 8 annual entries. Death recorded 1893/94.
Archive reference 58-160;313
Life#
Mehmed Rıfat Bey was born in Istanbul in 1853/54 (AH 1270) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a colonel (miralay). Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi).
Work began in Serres (Siroz) in 1874/75, at about 20, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1875/76, with Mehmed Rıfat as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop). Mehmed Rıfat then moved to Thessaloniki in 1877/78. The lists have no entry for 1878 to 1888. The last posts were in Pristina (Priştine) from 1888 to 1893.
The salary went from 300 kuruş a month in 1875/76 to 400 in 1877/78, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Thessaloniki, when 16 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, eight years of salary come to 36,000 kuruş, 71 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. After the last annual entry, for 1892/93, the list of 1893/94 (AH 1311) gives the status word Vefat (death).
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 1853/54 (AH 1270)
First work 1874/75 (AH 1291)
1875 to 1877 (AH 1292 to 1293)
300 kuruş a month; entries in 2 years
1888 to 1893 (AH 1306 to 1310)
No annual entry for 1878 to 1888 (AH 1295 to 1305) before it.
400 kuruş a month; entries in 5 years
Death recorded in the annual list of 1893/94 (AH 1311): the word Vefat, not a date of death.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1875/76 | 300 | 530 | 400 | 12% |
| 1876/77 | 300 | 582.5 | 410 | 9% |
| 1877/78 | 400 | 560 | 410 | 16% |
| 1888/89 | 400 | 500 | 250 | 27% |
| 1889/90 | 400 | 500 | 250 | 27% |
| 1890/91 | 400 | 500 | 300 | 28% |
| 1891/92 | 400 | 500 | 275 | 29% |
| 1892/93 | 400 | 500 | 275 | 29% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1874/75AH 1291 | First work | Serres (Siroz) | 300first-salary field |
| 1875 to 1877AH 1292 to 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 300 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 400 |
| No annual entry: 1878 to 1888 (AH 1295 to 1305) | |||
| 1888 to 1893AH 1306 to 1310 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1853/54 (AH 1270)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Miralay
- Death recorded
- 1893/94 (AH 1311)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1874/75 (AH 1291)
- Place
- Serres (Siroz)
- 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 place, same years
Of the 20 officials with entries in Pristina (Priştine) in the same years, Mehmed Rıfat Bey had the 17th highest salary.
- Ahmed Sadık Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Besim Remzi Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Mehmet Behzat Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 19 officials with the title Nakliye Memuru in the same years, Mehmed Rıfat Bey had the 14th highest salary.
- Mehmet Ali Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hakkı Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 540 kuruş
- Süleyman Vehbi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 540 kuruş
- İbrahim Fehmi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Mehmed Rıfat Bey had the 617th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdurarhim Rahmi Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Agop Maryan Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Canib Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 590 kuruş
- Ahmet Fehmi Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmed Rıfat Bey had the 1,196th highest salary of them.
- Agop Maryan Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Canib Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 590 kuruş
- Ahmet Naim Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ali Haydar Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Riza Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 600 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 87 officials whose first annual entry is for 1875/76 (AH 1292), Mehmed Rıfat Bey had the 77th highest salary.
- İbrahim Sırrı Efendifirst entry in Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Agop Maryan Efendifirst entry in Mostar; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Ahmet Canib Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 590 kuruş
- Ali Haydar Efendifirst entry in Edirne; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Haci Mehmet Şükrü Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 200 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (8)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Muhabere Memuru | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhabere Memuru | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhabere Memuru | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Nakliye Memuru | Pristina (Priştine) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 58-160;313 |
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 | Mehmed Rıfat Bey | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1270 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | miralay | 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 | Sibyan Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 1 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1291 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1874 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Siroz | 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 |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1311 | Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy); Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy)
- A copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read for the title wording of each year. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death.
- Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy)
- A second copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read in the same way. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death. Two copies that agree are one piece of evidence, not two.
- 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.
- 8 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
- Mehmed Rıfat Bey
- Transport official (Nakliye Memuru)
- Pristina (Priştine)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- School for young children (Sıbyan 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)