Official
Mehmet Arif Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1830/31 (AH 1246). On record 1853 to 1864, 8 annual entries.
Archive reference 4_264; 522
Life#
Mehmet Arif Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1830/31 (AH 1246) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father's occupation was "Tersane kaptani". Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi). Mehmet Arif knew four languages, Turkish in writing and Arabic, French and Persian a little, a number reached by fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials.
At about 14, in 1844/45, Mehmet Arif began work in the Tercume Odasi in Istanbul, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 100 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1853/54, with Mehmet Arif in the Atina Sefaret-i Seniyyesi Kitabeti and no place named. Mehmet Arif then moved back to Istanbul, the birthplace, from 1854 to 1863, with a rise to PT Telgraf Mudur Muavini in 1861/62 and to PT Nazir Muavini in 1862/63. The last entry, for 1863/64, names Mehmet Arif as Orman Idaresi Reisi Vekaletine, with no place.
Pay rose from 2,000 kuruş a month in 1853/54 to a peak of 7,500 in 1862/63, as PT Nazir Muavini in Istanbul, when 99 per cent of paid officials earned less. The peak lasted a single year; the next list gives 2,500 kuruş. In all, eight years of salary come to 270,000 kuruş, 6.1 times the median official's, a level reached by 27 of the 3,805 officials paid for five years or more. The last annual entry is for 1863/64.
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.
Not on the map, as no position is recorded: stop 2 (Atina1), stop 4 (Place not recorded).
Atina1 as worded, no place record not on the map
1853/54 (AH 1270)
Atina Sefaret-i Seniyyesi Kitabeti
2,000 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
1854 to 1863 (AH 1271 to 1279)
Başkitabet 1854 to 1858 (AH 1271 to 1274); PT Telgraf Mudur Muavini 1861/62 (AH 1278); PT Nazir Muavini 1862/63 (AH 1279)
2,000 to 7,500 kuruş a month; entries in 6 years
No annual entry for 1858 to 1861 (AH 1275 to 1277).
Place not recorded not on the map
1863/64 (AH 1280)
Orman Idaresi Reisi Vekaletine
2,500 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1853/54 | 2,000 | 400 | 93% | |
| 1854/55 | 2,000 | 400 | 89% | |
| 1855/56 | 2,000 | 432.5 | 87% | |
| 1856/57 | 2,000 | 375 | 89% | |
| 1857/58 | 2,000 | 475 | 91% | |
| 1861/62 | 2,500 | 600 | 94% | |
| 1862/63 | 7,500 | 500 | 99% | |
| 1863/64 | 2,500 | 500 | 92% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1844/45AH 1260 | Tercume Odasifirst work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100first-salary field |
| 1853/54AH 1270 | Atina Sefaret-i Seniyyesi Kitabeti | 2,000 | |
| 1854 to 1858AH 1271 to 1274 | Başkitabet | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,000 |
| No annual entry: 1858 to 1861 (AH 1275 to 1277) | |||
| 1861/62AH 1278 | PT Telgraf Mudur Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,500 |
| 1862/63AH 1279 | PT Nazir Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 7,500 |
| 1863/64AH 1280 | Orman Idaresi Reisi Vekaletine | 2,500 | |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1830/31 (AH 1246)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- turkish
- Father's occupation
- Tersane kaptani
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 years
- 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
- Arabic
- asinafamiliarity
- French
- asinafamiliarity
- Persian
- asinafamiliarity
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1844/45 (AH 1260)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First job as worded
- Tercume Odasi
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 14
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 100
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 100
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 88 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 9th highest salary.
- Mustafa Habip Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 15,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Munir Bey6 shared years; highest salary 11,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 8,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Bey6 shared years; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- Mahmut Aziz Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 3,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 8th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Hilmi Efendiborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Halil Nese Beyborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 4,000 kuruş
- Omer Rahmi Efendiborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 5,940 kuruş
- Abdulgani Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 1,750 kuruş
- Abdulhamit Afif Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 2,500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 13th highest salary of them.
- Halil Nese Beyborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 4,000 kuruş
- Karabet Efendiborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Vecihi Beyborn 1830/31 (AH 1246); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdulhamit Afif Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Semsettin Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 3,500 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 13 officials whose first annual entry is for 1853/54 (AH 1270), Mehmet Arif Efendi had the 4th highest salary.
- Mehmet Emin Efendifirst annual entry 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 8,600 kuruş
- Es-Seyyid Ali Riza Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mustafa Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- El-Hac Ahmet Nafiz Efendifirst entry in Trabzon; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Mazhar Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 7,125 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (8)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1853/54AH 1270 | Atina Sefaret-i Seniyyesi Kitabeti | Atina1 | 2,000 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 4_264; 522 |
| 1854/55AH 1271 | Başkitabet | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1855/56AH 1272 | Başkitabet | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1856/57AH 1273 | Başkitabet | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1857/58AH 1274 | Başkitabet | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1861/62AH 1278 | PT Telgraf Mudur Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 2,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1862/63AH 1279 | PT Nazir Muavini | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 7,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 4_264; 522 |
| 1863/64AH 1280 | Orman Idaresi Reisi Vekaletine | 2,500 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 4_264; 522 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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 (24)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Arif Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1246 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | dersaadet used on this page | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | istanbul other value | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | tersane kaptani | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Nationality or community | turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Schooling | ||
| School | sibyan mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1260 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1844 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Tercume Odasi | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 14 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 100 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 100 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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.
- Linked personnel workbook
- The original personnel workbook, from which selected fields on background and first work are taken.
- The sources give more than one value for a marked field. Every value is listed.
- 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
- Mehmet Arif Efendi
- Chief clerkship (Başkitabet)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- School for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Atina Sefaret-i Seniyyesi Kitabeti
- 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)