Official
Mehmet Zühtü Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Trabzon in 1878 (AH 1295). On record 1893 to 1897, 4 annual entries.
Archive reference 70_22; 41
Life#
Born in Trabzon in 1878 (AH 1295) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Mehmet Zühtü Efendi was the child of a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Zühtü also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
At about 5, in 1882/83, Mehmet Zühtü began work in Ordu, with 11 unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 500 kuruş. Of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known, 2 started at 5 or younger. So long an unpaid start was rare; 31 of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship worked unpaid for 11 years or longer. The annual lists begin in 1893/94, with Mehmet Zühtü as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Trabzon, the birthplace. The last posts were in Mytilene in 1894/95 and Edremit in 1895/96 and Benghazi (Bingazi) in 1896/97.
Pay rose from 500 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to a peak of 600 in 1894/95, as Muhabere Memuru in Mytilene, when 60 per cent of paid officials earned less. The final annual entry is for 1896/97.
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.
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 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 46% |
| 1894/95 | 600 | 500 | 400 | 60% |
| 1895/96 | 490 | 500 | 400 | 46% |
| 1896/97 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 49% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1882/83AH 1300 | First work | Ordu | 500first-salary field |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Trabzon | 500 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Mytilene (Midilli) | 600 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Edremit | 490 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Benghazi (Bingazi) | 500 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1878 (AH 1295)
- Birthplace
- Trabzon
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 11 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1882/83 (AH 1300)
- Place
- Ordu
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 500
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 26 officials with entries in Trabzon in the same years, Mehmet Zühtü Efendi had the 15th highest salary.
- Mehmet Besim Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Zeynelabidin Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mustafa İsmet Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,350 kuruş
- Hafız İbrahim Kazım Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,195 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Zühtü Efendi had the 364th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey4 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Akif Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,750 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey4 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Zühtü Efendi had the 852nd highest salary of them.
- Abdülkadir Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
- ABDULLAH VEHBİ EFENDİborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdurrezzak Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmed İzzet Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 360 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 66 officials born in Trabzon, Mehmet Zühtü Efendi had the 33rd highest salary.
- Hacı Ali Recai Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Hüseyin Tahsin Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0156_0037; 71)born 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Mehmet Niyazi Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Halil Recai Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 162 officials whose first annual entry is for 1893/94 (AH 1311), Mehmet Zühtü Efendi had the 48th highest salary.
- Salih Celalettin Efendifirst entry in Trabzon; highest salary 814 kuruş
- Süleyman Efendifirst entry in Trabzon; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendifirst entry in Eyüpsultan; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Selahattin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 200 kuruş
- Hüseyin Suphi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 630 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (4)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Trabzon | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_22; 41 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Mytilene (Midilli) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_22; 41 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Edremit | 490 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_22; 41 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Benghazi (Bingazi) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_22; 41 |
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 Zühtü Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1295 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | trabzon | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | trabzon | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | esnaf | 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) | 11 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1300 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1883 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Ordu | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 500 | 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.
- 4 annual entries of 4 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 Zühtü Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Trabzon
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Mytilene (Midilli)
- 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)