Official
Mehmet Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Crete (Girit) in 1829/30 (AH 1245). On record 1856 to 1888, 32 annual entries. Death recorded 1888/89.
Archive reference _0007_0166; 329
Life#
Born in Crete (Girit) in 1829/30 (AH 1245), Mehmet Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a merchant (tüccar). Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi); Mehmet also attended the telegraph school, and wrote Turkish and spoke Greek (Rum).
Work began in Istanbul in 1845, at about 16, paid from the start, on 100 kuruş a month. The first annual entry, for 1856/57, places Mehmet in Istanbul as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Next came Selimiye and Seddülbahir from 1858 to 1862. From 1862 to 1888 every annual entry places Mehmet again in Istanbul, with four changes of title, from Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru to Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru in 1876/77.
The salary went from 250 kuruş a month in 1856/57 to 1,820 in 1877/78, the peak, as Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru in Istanbul, when 92 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over 32 years the salaries add up to 535,260 kuruş, 2.6 times what an official on the median salary earned, a level reached by fewer than 6 per cent of the 3,805 officials paid for five years or more. After the last annual entry, for 1887/88, the list of 1888/89 (AH 1306) gives the status word Vefat (death).
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 1829/30 (AH 1245)
First work 1845 (AH 1261); 1856 to 1858 (AH 1273 to 1274)
250 to 400 kuruş a month; entries in 2 years
1862 to 1888 (AH 1279 to 1305)
Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru 1862 to 1870 (AH 1279 to 1286); Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru 1870 to 1876 (AH 1287 to 1292); Tahsilat Kalemi 1872/73 (AH 1289); Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru 1876 to 1888 (AH 1293 to 1305)
1,200 to 1,820 kuruş a month; entries in 27 years
Death recorded in the annual list of 1888/89 (AH 1306): the word Vefat, not a date of death.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1856/57 | 250 | 375 | 400 | 29% |
| 1857/58 | 400 | 475 | 400 | 39% |
| 1858/59 | 1,000 | 500 | 73% | |
| 1860/61 | 1,200 | 500 | 1,500 | 78% |
| 1861/62 | 1,250 | 600 | 1,000 | 78% |
| 1862/63 | 1,350 | 500 | 78% | |
| 1863/64 | 1,500 | 500 | 79% | |
| 1864/65 | 1,500 | 625 | 79% | |
| 1865/66 | 1,500 | 650 | 81% | |
| 1866/67 | 1,500 | 600 | 84% | |
| 1867/68 | 1,680 | 600 | 87% | |
| 1868/69 | 1,680 | 600 | 88% | |
| 1869/70 | 1,680 | 600 | 89% | |
| 1870/71 | 1,680 | 600 | 89% | |
| 1871/72 | 1,425 | 550 | 89% | |
| 1872/73 | 1,600 | 550 | 91% | |
| 1873/74 | 1,800 | 500 | 92% | |
| 1874/75 | 1,800 | 535 | 92% | |
| 1875/76 | 1,800 | 530 | 92% | |
| 1876/77 | 1,750 | 582.5 | 91% | |
| 1877/78 | 1,820 | 560 | 92% | |
| 1878 | 1,820 | 600 | 91% | |
| 1878/79 | 1,820 | 600 | 91% | |
| 1879/80 | 1,200 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1880/81 | 1,200 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1881/82 | 1,200 | 500 | 86% | |
| 1882/83 | 1,200 | 500 | 86% | |
| 1883/84 | 1,200 | 500 | 86% | |
| 1884/85 | 1,200 | 500 | 86% | |
| 1885/86 | 1,200 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1886/87 | 1,200 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1887/88 | 1,200 | 500 | 87% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1845AH 1261 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100first-salary field |
| 1856 to 1858AH 1273 to 1274 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 to 400 |
| 1858/59AH 1275 | 2. Müdür | Selimiye | 1,000 |
| No annual entry: 1859/60 (AH 1276) | |||
| 1860/61AH 1277 | 1. Müdür | Selimiye | 1,200 |
| 1861/62AH 1278 | 2. Müdür | Seddülbahir | 1,250 |
| 1862 to 1870AH 1279 to 1286 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,350 to 1,680 |
| 1870 to 1872AH 1287 to 1288 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,680 to 1,425 |
| 1872/73AH 1289 | Tahsilat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,600 |
| 1873 to 1876AH 1290 to 1292 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,800 |
| 1876 to 1888AH 1293 to 1305 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,750 to 1,200 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1829/30 (AH 1245)
- Birthplace
- Crete (Girit)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Tuccar
- Death recorded
- 1888/89 (AH 1306)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Higher or professional
- Telgraf Mektebitelegraph school; recorded as a code
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 0 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Low
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- NoShown as in the flag of the paper. The qualification column of the recovered extract gives yes.
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1845 (AH 1261)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (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 703 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Efendi had the 192nd highest salary.
- Unnamed official (5_316; 629)29 shared years; highest salary 1,100 kuruş
- Mehmet Akif Efendi28 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Emil Efendi27 shared years; highest salary 9,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Nurettin Efendi27 shared years; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Arif Neset Efendi27 shared years; highest salary 4,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 15 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Efendi had the 14th highest salary.
- Mehmet Tevfik Bey2 shared years; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- Odi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 4,000 kuruş
- Abdülhalim Bey2 shared years; highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Mahmut Aziz Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Asaf Bey2 shared years; highest salary 3,000 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Efendi had the 93rd highest salary of them.
- Abdulgani Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 1,750 kuruş
- Abdulhamit Afif Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Semsettin Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Hacı Mustafa Nuri Efendiborn 1829/30 (AH 1245); highest salary 400 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 15 officials born in Crete (Girit), Mehmet Efendi had the highest salary.
- Rüşdü Efendiborn 1847/48 (AH 1264); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Huseyin Husnu Efendiborn 1859/60 (AH 1276); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- İbrahim Vahi Efendiborn 1859/60 (AH 1276); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Mehmet Rüştü Efendiborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 950 kuruş
- Ahmet Refik Efendiborn 1863/64 (AH 1280); highest salary 800 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 19 officials whose first annual entry is for 1856/57 (AH 1273), Mehmet Efendi had the 14th highest salary.
- Ayvazoğlu Dimitraki Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
- Hüseyin Lebib Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 4,000 kuruş
- Hüsnü Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Edmon Mone Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Ali Riza Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 4,000 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (32)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1856/57AH 1273 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1857/58AH 1274 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1858/59AH 1275 | 2. Müdür | Selimiye | 1,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1860/61AH 1277 | 1. Müdür | Selimiye | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1861/62AH 1278 | 2. Müdür | Seddülbahir | 1,250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1862/63AH 1279 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,350 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1863/64AH 1280 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1864/65AH 1281 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1865/66AH 1282 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1866/67AH 1283 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1867/68AH 1284 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,680 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1868/69AH 1285 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,680 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1869/70AH 1286 | Sevk Mekatib Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,680 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1870/71AH 1287 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,680 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1871/72AH 1288 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,425 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1872/73AH 1289 | Tahsilat Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1873/74AH 1290 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1874/75AH 1291 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Kontrol Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,750 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,820 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,820 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,820 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1882/83AH 1300 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | _0007_0166; 329 |
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 (16)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1245 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | girit | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | girit | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | Tuccar | 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 | sibyan mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Telegraph school (recorded code) | 1 | 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) | 1261 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1845 | 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) | 100 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1306 | Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy); Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy)
- A copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read for the title wording of each year. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death.
- Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy)
- A second copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read in the same way. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death. Two copies that agree are one piece of evidence, not two.
- 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.
- 19 annual entries of 32 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 Efendi
- Sevk Kalemi Basmemuru
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Crete (Girit)
- School for young children (Sıbyan 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)