Official
Mehmet Süreyya Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1885/86 (AH 1303). On record 1903 to 1907, 4 annual entries.
Archive reference 148-231-457
Life#
Born in Istanbul in 1885/86 (AH 1303) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Mehmet Süreyya Efendi was the child of a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Süreyya also wrote Arabic, French and Turkish.
Work began in Acre (Akka) in 1902/03, at about 16, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 450 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1903/04, places Mehmet Süreyya in Misir as an official (Memur). The last posts were in Jerusalem (Kudüs) from 1904 to 1907, with a rise to postal official (Posta Memuru) in 1905/06.
The salary never rose above the first in the lists, 450 kuruş a month in 1903/04, as Memur in Misir, when 47 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, four years of salary come to 15,600 kuruş, 70 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.
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 1902/03 (AH 1320)
1904 to 1907 (AH 1322 to 1324)
Muhabere Memuru 1904/05 (AH 1322); Posta Memuru 1905 to 1907 (AH 1323 to 1324)
250 to 300 kuruş a month; entries in 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903/04 | 450 | 475 | 450 | 47% |
| 1904/05 | 250 | 450 | 350 | 14% |
| 1905/06 | 300 | 475 | 400 | 23% |
| 1906/07 | 300 | 450 | 320 | 25% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1902/03AH 1320 | First work | Acre (Akka) | 450first-salary field |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Memur | Misir | 450 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 250 |
| 1905 to 1907AH 1323 to 1324 | Posta Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1885/86 (AH 1303)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1902/03 (AH 1320)
- Place
- Acre (Akka)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 450
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 15 officials with entries in Jerusalem (Kudüs) in the same years, Mehmet Süreyya Efendi had the 7th highest salary.
- Ahmet Naci Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mehmet Bekir Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Mustafa Sevki Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- İbrahim Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 72 officials with the title Posta Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Süreyya Efendi had the 32nd highest salary.
- Hasan Hüsnü Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ruantuvan Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mehmet Nazmi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Necati Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Şükrü Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Süreyya Efendi had the 1,658th 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 Süreyya Efendi had the 1,155th 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 174 officials whose first annual entry is for 1903/04 (AH 1321), Mehmet Süreyya Efendi had the 21st highest salary.
- Ali Efendifirst entry in Erenköy; highest salary 200 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Halit Efendifirst entry in Al-Khums (Hums); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Kenan Efendifirst entry in Kurukavak; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Osman Fehmi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 50 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (4)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Memur | Misir | 450 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-231-457 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-231-457 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Posta Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-231-457 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Posta Memuru | Jerusalem (Kudüs) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-231-457 |
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 Süreyya 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 | telgraf memuru | 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) | 1 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1320 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1902 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Akka | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 450 | 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.
- 3 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 Süreyya Efendi
- Postal official (Posta Memuru)
- Jerusalem (Kudüs)
- 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)