Official
Ahmet Muhtar Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Tripoli (Trablusgarp) in 1879/80 (AH 1297). On record 1899 to 1911, 12 annual entries.
Archive reference 116_93; 183
Life#
Born in Tripoli (Trablusgarp) in 1879/80 (AH 1297) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Ahmet Muhtar Efendi was the child of a tradesman (esnaf). Ahmet Muhtar knew four languages, Arabic, French, Italian and Turkish, all in writing, a number reached by fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials.
At about 18, in 1898/99, Ahmet Muhtar began work in the telegraph service (Telgraf) in Tripoli, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 200 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1899/1900, places Ahmet Muhtar in Tripoli, the birthplace, as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Ahmet Muhtar then moved to Al-Khums (Hums) and Siirt from 1901 to 1903, then Sokna from 1903 to 1908. The last posts were in Tarhuna (Terhune) from 1908 to 1910 and Misrata in 1910/11, with a rise to director of the second grade (2. Müdür) in 1908/09. The farthest post, Siirt, lay about 2,650 km from Tripoli, and fewer than 4 per cent of the 5,162 officials with a known birthplace and place of service served as far from the birthplace.
Pay rose from 200 kuruş a month in 1899/1900 to a peak of 1,000 in 1910/11, as 2. Müdür in Misrata, when three in four paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1910/11.
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 (Place not recorded).
Born 1879/80 (AH 1297); First work 1898/99 (AH 1316); 1899/1900 (AH 1317)
First work as Telgraf
200 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
Place not recorded not on the map
1900/01 (AH 1318)
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, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 720 | 7% |
| 1901/02 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 685 | 14% |
| 1903/04 | 600 | 475 | 350 | 800 | 67% |
| 1904/05 | 600 | 450 | 350 | 800 | 67% |
| 1905/06 | 600 | 475 | 330 | 800 | 67% |
| 1906/07 | 600 | 450 | 300 | 800 | 65% |
| 1907/08 | 600 | 300 | 250 | 800 | 74% |
| 1908/09 | 900 | 350 | 800 | 900 | 77% |
| 1909/10 | 900 | 462.5 | 800 | 950 | 71% |
| 1910/11 | 1,000 | 500 | 900 | 74% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Telgraffirst work | Tripoli (Trablusgarp) | 200first-salary field |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Tripoli (Trablusgarp) | 200 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | |||
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Al-Khums (Hums) | 250 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Siirt | ||
| 1903 to 1908AH 1321 to 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 |
| 1908 to 1910AH 1326 to 1327 | 2. Müdür | Tarhuna (Terhune) | 900 |
| 1910/11AH 1328 | 2. Müdür | Misrata | 1,000 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1879/80 (AH 1297)
- Birthplace
- Tripoli (Trablusgarp)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school); place of the school as worded: Trablusgarp
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Italian
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1898/99 (AH 1316)
- First job as worded
- Telgraf
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 19
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 200
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 200
Notes from the record
- Merit and competence grade (recorded code)
- 1
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 6 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Tripoli (Trablusgarp) in the same years, Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the highest salary.
- Mehmet Tahir Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Kostantin Eminyan Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 650 kuruş
- Hafız Mehmet Emin Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 400 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 2 officials with entries in Sokna in the same years, Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the highest salary.
- Unnamed official (0087_0098, sayfa no:193.)1 shared year; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,695 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the 50th highest salary.
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey7 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mahmut Nedim Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mustafa Nuri Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Besim Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Mirat Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the 289th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Hilmi Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Abdullah Agah Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülmecid Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 690 kuruş
- Abdülmecit Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 220 kuruş
- Ahmet Burhanettin Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 400 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 10 officials born in Tripoli (Trablusgarp), Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Tahir Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Sadık Şükrü Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hafız Sadettin Efendiborn 1882/83 (AH 1300); highest salary 1,001 kuruş
- MEHMET MUHTAR EFENDİborn 1884/85 (AH 1302); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mehmet Ragıb Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 1,060 kuruş
The page of Tripoli (Trablusgarp), with the 10 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 87 officials whose first annual entry is for 1899/1900 (AH 1317), Ahmet Muhtar Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Tahir Efendifirst entry in Tripoli (Trablusgarp); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mustafa Kenan Efendifirst entry in Tripoli (Trablusgarp); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendifirst entry in Tripoli (Trablusgarp); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Midhat Efendifirst entry in Adana; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Emin Rüştü Efendifirst entry in Trabzon; highest salary 380 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (12)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Tripoli (Trablusgarp) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 116_93; 183 | |||
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Al-Khums (Hums) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Siirt | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 116_93; 183 | ||
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1907/08AH 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Sokna | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1908/09AH 1326 | 2. Müdür | Tarhuna (Terhune) | 900 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1909/10AH 1327 | 2. Müdür | Tarhuna (Terhune) | 900 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
| 1910/11AH 1328 | 2. Müdür | Misrata | 1,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 116_93; 183 |
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 (26)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Ahmet Muhtar Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1297 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | trablusgarp | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | trablusgarp | 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; 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 | rusdiye mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Place of the school | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 1 used on this page | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 0 other value | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1316 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1898 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | trablusgarp | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | Trablusgarp | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Telgraf | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 19 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 200 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 200 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Other recorded values | ||
| Merit and competence grade (recorded code) | 1 | 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.
- 5 annual entries of 12 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
- Ahmet Muhtar Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Sokna
- Tripoli (Trablusgarp)
- 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)