Official
Mehmet Salih Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1873/74 (AH 1290). On record 1888 to 1897, 9 annual entries.
Archive reference 0088_0246: 487
Life#
Born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1873/74 (AH 1290) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Mehmet Salih Efendi was the child of a merchant (tüccar). Mehmet Salih had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi), and wrote Turkish and spoke Arabic and Persian.
Work began in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1884/85, at about 12, with four unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. Of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known, fewer than 3 per cent started at 12 or younger. The annual lists begin in 1888/89, with Mehmet Salih as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Kirkuk, the birthplace, where the entries run to 1894/95. From 1895 to 1897 the annual entries place Mehmet Salih in Khanaqin (Hanikin).
The salary went from 300 kuruş a month in 1888/89 to 380 in 1889/90, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Kirkuk, when 21 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, nine years of salary come to 40,080 kuruş, 74 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. 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.
Born 1873/74 (AH 1290)
First work 1884/85 (AH 1302)
1888 to 1895 (AH 1306 to 1312)
300 to 380 kuruş a month; entries in 7 years
1895 to 1897 (AH 1313 to 1314)
380 kuruş a month; entries in 2 years
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, 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
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Median, same province | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 475 | 12% |
| 1889/90 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 570 | 21% |
| 1890/91 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 570 | 22% |
| 1891/92 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 24% |
| 1892/93 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 24% |
| 1893/94 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 450 | 25% |
| 1894/95 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 400 | 26% |
| 1895/96 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 535 | 26% |
| 1896/97 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 28% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1884/85AH 1302 | First work | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 300first-salary field |
| 1888 to 1895AH 1306 to 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 300 to 380 |
| 1895 to 1897AH 1313 to 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Khanaqin (Hanikin) | 380 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1873/74 (AH 1290)
- Birthplace
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Tuccar
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 4 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
- Tekellumspeaking
- Persian
- Tekellumspeaking
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1884/85 (AH 1302)
- Place
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- 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 post (job title and place), same years
Of the 7 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in the same years, Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 6th highest salary.
- Abbas Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 810 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 575 kuruş
- Hasan Hüsnü Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 540 kuruş
- Esad Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 513 kuruş
- Mustafa İzzet Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 570 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 10 officials with entries in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in the same years, Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 9th highest salary.
- Abbas Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 810 kuruş
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 575 kuruş
- Hasan Hüsnü Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 540 kuruş
- Esad Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 513 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,516 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 1,372nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey9 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mustafa Naili Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 2,060th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Rüştü Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Abdülbaki Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 675 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 720 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 30 officials born in Kirkuk (Kerkük), Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 19th highest salary.
- SALİH ZEKİ EFENDİborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Şakir Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 325 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 720 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Tahir Efendiborn 1870/71 (AH 1287); highest salary 950 kuruş
The page of Kirkuk (Kerkük), with the 30 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 114 officials whose first annual entry is for 1888/89 (AH 1306), 113 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Salih Efendi had the 98th highest salary of them.
- Abdurrahman Halis Efendifirst entry in Sivas; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,100 kuruş
- Cemal Efendifirst entry in Karaburun; highest salary 480 kuruş
- Ethem Muzaffer Efendifirst entry in Kıyıköy (Midye); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Rıfat Efendifirst entry in Ünye; highest salary 500 kuruş
All 114 officials whose first annual entry is for 1888/89 (AH 1306)
Full record
Annual entries (9)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Khanaqin (Hanikin) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Khanaqin (Hanikin) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0088_0246: 487 |
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 Salih Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1290 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | kerkuk | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | musul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | tuccar | 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) | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1302 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1885 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Bagdat | 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 |
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.
- 9 annual entries of 9 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 Salih Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Khanaqin (Hanikin)
- 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)