Official
Ahmet Sami Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1868/69 (AH 1285). On record 1889 to 1895, 6 annual entries.
Archive reference 53_0247; 491
Life#
Born in Istanbul in 1868/69 (AH 1285) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Ahmet Sami Efendi was the child of a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Ahmet Sami began work in Istanbul in 1886/87, at about 18, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 60 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1889/90, places Ahmet Sami in Istanbul, the birthplace, as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). The last posts were in Üsküdar from 1890 to 1895, first as Muhabere Memuru, from 1891/92 as a registry clerk (Mukayyit).
The salary went from 60 kuruş a month in 1889/90 to 200 in 1894/95, the peak, as Mukayyit in Üsküdar, when one in ten paid officials earned less. In all, six years of salary come to 7,440 kuruş, 20 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1894/95.
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 1868/69 (AH 1285); First work 1886/87 (AH 1304); 1889/90 (AH 1307)
60 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
1890 to 1895 (AH 1308 to 1312)
Muhabere Memuru 1890/91 (AH 1308); Mukayyit 1891 to 1895 (AH 1309 to 1312)
60 to 200 kuruş a month; entries in 5 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.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889/90 | 60 | 500 | 400 | 1% |
| 1890/91 | 60 | 500 | 400 | 1% |
| 1891/92 | 100 | 500 | 300 | 3% |
| 1892/93 | 100 | 500 | 300 | 3% |
| 1893/94 | 100 | 500 | 300 | 3% |
| 1894/95 | 200 | 500 | 300 | 9% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1886/87AH 1304 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 60first-salary field |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 60 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhabere Memuru | Üsküdar | 60 |
| 1891 to 1895AH 1309 to 1312 | Mukayyit | Üsküdar | 100 to 200 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1868/69 (AH 1285)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 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
- 1886/87 (AH 1304)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 60
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 23 officials with entries in Üsküdar in the same years, Ahmet Sami Efendi had the 22nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Nazım Bey5 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Enver Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Hafiz Mehmet Bahaettin Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,400 kuruş
- Ali Şefik Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 640 kuruş
- Mehmet Nezir Bey5 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 26 officials with the title Mukayyit in the same years, Ahmet Sami Efendi had the 25th highest salary.
- Mehmet Talat Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 15,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Faiz Efend4 shared years; highest salary 5,400 kuruş
- Cemal Bey4 shared years; highest salary 1,100 kuruş
- Bekir Sıtkı Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 430 kuruş
- Abdullah Hilmi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Sami Efendi had the 2,739th highest salary of them.
- Ahmed Tevfik Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 594 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Ahmet Rifat Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ahmet Sami Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Tevfik Beyborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 750 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Sami Efendi had the 1,627th highest salary of them.
- Ali Ekrem Beyborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Hafız Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Hafız Mahmut Nazif Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 330 kuruş
- Hafız Yusuf Hüsamettin Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 495 kuruş
- Hasan Bahri Efendiborn 1868/69 (AH 1285); highest salary 480 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 116 officials whose first annual entry is for 1889/90 (AH 1307), Ahmet Sami Efendi had the 107th highest salary.
- Ali Ekrem Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Hafız Mahmut Nazif Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 330 kuruş
- İbrahim Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmed Canib Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Osman Besim Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (6)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 60 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhabere Memuru | Üsküdar | 60 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Mukayyit | Üsküdar | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Mukayyit | Üsküdar | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Mukayyit | Üsküdar | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Mukayyit | Üsküdar | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 53_0247; 491 |
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 | Ahmet Sami Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1285 | 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 | 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 | 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) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1304 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1887 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 60 | 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.
- 6 annual entries of 6 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 Sami Efendi
- Registry clerk (Mukayyit)
- Üsküdar
- 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)