Official
Mehmet Fahri Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1849/50 (AH 1266). On record 1876 to 1880, 5 annual entries.
Archive reference 26_191; 377
Life#
Mehmet Fahri Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1849/50 (AH 1266) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father's occupation was "Gumruk Baskatibi". Schooling took seven years, at the Maarif Mektebi.
Work began in Istanbul in 1862/63, at about 13, paid from the start, on 100 kuruş a month. Fewer than 6 per cent of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known began work at 13 or younger. Every annual entry from 1876/77 to 1879/80 places Mehmet Fahri in Istanbul, the birthplace, first in the Idare Kalemi, from 1877/78 in the correspondence office (Tahrirat Kalemi) and from 1879/80 as Divan-i Muhasebat.
The salary went from 600 kuruş a month in 1876/77 to 3,000 in 1879/80, the peak, as Divan-i Muhasebat in Istanbul, when 97 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, five years of salary come to 81,600 kuruş, 2.4 times what an official on the median salary earned in those years, a level reached by fewer than 7 per cent of the 3,805 officials paid for five years or more. The final annual entry is for 1879/80.
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 | 600 | 582.5 | 50% | |
| 1877/78 | 1,000 | 560 | 700 | 79% |
| 1878 | 1,000 | 600 | 900 | 76% |
| 1878/79 | 1,200 | 600 | 700 | 84% |
| 1879/80 | 3,000 | 500 | 97% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1862/63AH 1279 | Enderunu Humayunfirst work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100first-salary field |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Idare Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 |
| 1877 to 1879AH 1294 to 1296 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,000 to 1,200 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Divan-i Muhasebat | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 3,000 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1849/50 (AH 1266)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Gumruk Baskatibi
Education
- Other named school
- Maarif Mektebi (7 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1862/63 (AH 1279)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First job as worded
- Enderunu Humayun
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 13
- 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 407 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Fahri Efendi had the 54th highest salary.
- Emrullah Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 10,000 kuruş
- Emil Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 9,000 kuruş
- Salahattin Bey5 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- İsmail Hakki Bey5 shared years; highest salary 7,500 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey5 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 21 officials with the title Tahrirat Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Fahri Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Ali Kaya Bey3 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Şevki Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 2,000 kuruş
- Huseyin Refik Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Arif Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 12 officials with Maarif Mektebi among their schools, Mehmet Fahri Efendi had the 5th highest salary.
- Hacı Kazım Efendiborn 1848/49 (AH 1265); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Faik Efendiborn 1848/49 (AH 1265); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Kadri Efendiborn 1847/48 (AH 1264); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Tevfik Beyborn 1851/52 (AH 1268); highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0007_0144; 285)born 1839/40 (AH 1255); highest salary 2,750 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Fahri Efendi had the 74th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Naili Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmet Halit Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 720 kuruş
- Ahmet Latif Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ali Galip Beyborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Ali Riza Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 600 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 120 officials whose first annual entry is for 1876/77 (AH 1293), Mehmet Fahri Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Cemal Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ali Şefik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 450 kuruş
- Vasıf Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Safvet Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 650 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (5)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Idare Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 600 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 26_191; 377 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 26_191; 377 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 26_191; 377 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Tahrirat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 26_191; 377 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Divan-i Muhasebat | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 3,000 | Justice (Adliye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 26_191; 377 |
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 Fahri Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1266 | 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 | Gumruk Baskatibi | 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 | Maarif Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; 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) | 0 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1279 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1862 | 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 | Enderunu Humayun | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 13 | 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.
- 3 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
- Mehmet Fahri Efendi
- Correspondence office (Tahrirat Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Maarif Mektebi
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Idare Kalemi
- 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)