Official
Mehmet Rahmi Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1885/86 (AH 1303). On record 1904 to 1908, 4 annual entries.
Archive reference 147-152-299
Life#
Mehmet Rahmi Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1885/86 (AH 1303) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was an imam. Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Work began in Erbaa in 1896/97, at about 11, with eight unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 200 kuruş. Fewer than 2 per cent of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known began work at 11 or younger. Of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship, fewer than 4 per cent worked unpaid for eight years or longer. The annual lists begin in 1904/05, with Mehmet Rahmi as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Ereğli. From 1906 to 1908 the annual entries place Mehmet Rahmi in Kadınhanı.
Pay rose from 200 kuruş a month in 1904/05 to a peak of 300 in 1906/07, as Muhabere Memuru in Kadınhanı, when one in four paid officials earned less. In all, four years of salary come to 12,000 kuruş, 59 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1907/08.
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 1885/86 (AH 1303)
First work 1896/97 (AH 1314)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904/05 | 200 | 450 | 350 | 8% |
| 1905/06 | 200 | 475 | 330 | 8% |
| 1906/07 | 300 | 450 | 300 | 25% |
| 1907/08 | 300 | 300 | 250 | 39% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97AH 1314 | First work | Erbaa | 200first-salary field |
| 1904 to 1906AH 1322 to 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Ereğli | 200 |
| 1906 to 1908AH 1324 to 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Kadınhanı | 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1885/86 (AH 1303)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- imam
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 8 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1896/97 (AH 1314)
- Place
- Erbaa
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 200
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 job title, same years
Of the 1,113 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Rahmi Efendi had the 644th highest salary.
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey4 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mahmut Nedim Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Abdülvahid Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Muhtar Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mustafa Nuri Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Rahmi Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Yaşar Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmet Celalettin Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemil Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmet Enis Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 100 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Rahmi Efendi had the 1,419th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Yaşar Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmet Celalettin Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Enis Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmet Sabri Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Selahattin Efendiborn 1885/86 (AH 1303); highest salary 300 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 120 officials whose first annual entry is for 1904/05 (AH 1322), Mehmet Rahmi Efendi had the 38th highest salary.
- Mehmet Bekir Efendifirst entry in Jerusalem (Kudüs); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mehmet Nail Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 50 kuruş
- Mehmet Rauf Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 75 kuruş
- Said Efendifirst entry in Al-Faw (Fav); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Süleyman Sakıp Efendifirst entry in Gelibolu; highest salary 250 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (4)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Ereğli | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 147-152-299 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Ereğli | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 147-152-299 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Kadınhanı | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 147-152-299 |
| 1907/08AH 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Kadınhanı | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 147-152-299 |
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 Rahmi Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1303 | 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 | imam | 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) | 8 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1314 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1896 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | erbaa | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 200 | 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.
- 2 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 Rahmi Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Ereğli
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye 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)