Official
Ali Ağa
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Sidirokastro (Demirhisar) in 1857/58 (AH 1274). On record 1876 to 1880, 5 annual entries.
Archive reference 5_85; 167
Life#
Born in Sidirokastro (Demirhisar) in 1857/58 (AH 1274), Ali Ağa came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Ali spoke Bulgarian and Greek (Rum).
Work began in Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) in 1876/77, at about 18, paid from the start, on 150 kuruş a month. The annual lists begin in 1876/77, with Ali as a deliverer (Müvezzi) in Gotse Delchev. From 1877 to 1880 the annual entries place Ali in Serres (Siroz), with a rise to sergeant (Çavuş).
The salary went from 150 kuruş a month in 1876/77 to 200 in 1877/78, the peak, as Çavuş in Serres, when 4 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, five years of salary come to 11,280 kuruş, 33 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1879/80.
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 1857/58 (AH 1274)
First work 1876/77 (AH 1293); 1876/77 (AH 1293)
150 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77 | 150 | 582.5 | 3% | |
| 1877/78 | 200 | 560 | 250 | 4% |
| 1878 | 200 | 600 | 250 | 3% |
| 1878/79 | 200 | 600 | 250 | 5% |
| 1879/80 | 190 | 500 | 300 | 5% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77AH 1293 | First work | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 150first-salary field |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Müvezzi | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 150 |
| 1877 to 1880AH 1294 to 1297 | Çavuş | Serres (Siroz) | 200 to 190 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1857/58 (AH 1274)
- Birthplace
- Sidirokastro (Demirhisar)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Recorded wording
- Okumasi Yok (0 years)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 0 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
- Bulgarian
- Tekellumspeaking
- Greek (Rum)
- Tekellumspeaking. Rum is the word of the records for Greek as spoken by the Orthodox Christians of the empire. It is kept apart from the column Greek, which the records also have
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 150
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 12 officials with entries in Serres (Siroz) in the same years, Ali Ağa had the lowest salary.
- Abdurrahman Nuri Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,400 kuruş
- Ahmet Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hayrullah Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Hüseyin Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Numan Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 13 officials with the title Çavuş in the same years, Ali Ağa had the lowest salary.
- Halil Arif Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Hayrullah Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Hüseyin Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Numan Ağa4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Enver Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 3 officials born in Sidirokastro (Demirhisar), Ali Ağa had the lowest salary.
- İbrahim Hakkı Efendiborn 1864/65 (AH 1281); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Süleyman Tevfik Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 250 kuruş
The page of Sidirokastro (Demirhisar), with the 3 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 120 officials whose first annual entry is for 1876/77 (AH 1293), Ali Ağa had the 116th highest salary.
- Ahmet İzzet Efendifirst entry in Ruse (Rusçuk); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Kâmil Efendifirst entry in Karacabey (Mihaliç); highest salary 475 kuruş
- Kirkor Abdullah Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Kamil Efendifirst entry in Karacabey (Mihaliç); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Muhittin Sırrı Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 675 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (5)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Müvezzi | Gotse Delchev (Nevrekop) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_85; 167 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Çavuş | Serres (Siroz) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_85; 167 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Çavuş | Serres (Siroz) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_85; 167 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Çavuş | Serres (Siroz) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_85; 167 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Çavuş | Serres (Siroz) | 190 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_85; 167 |
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 | Ali Ağa | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1274 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | demirhisar | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | selanik | 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 | Okumasi yok | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 0 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 0 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1293 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1876 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Nevrekop | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 150 | 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.
- 5 annual entries of 5 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
- Ali Ağa
- Sergeant (Çavuş)
- Serres (Siroz)
- Sidirokastro (Demirhisar)
- Okumasi Yok
- 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)