Official
Hamdi Tahir Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1878/79 (AH 1296). On record 1899 to 1903, 4 annual entries.
Archive reference 110_126; 249
Life#
Hamdi Tahir Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1878/79 (AH 1296) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a policeman (polis). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Hamdi Tahir also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
At about 17, in 1896/97, Hamdi Tahir began work in Istanbul, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 50 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1899/1900 to 1902/03 places Hamdi Tahir in the same office, control office (Kontrol Kalemi), in Istanbul, the birthplace.
The salary went from 50 kuruş a month in 1899/1900 to 150 in 1902/03, the peak, in the Kontrol Kalemi in Istanbul, when 5 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over four years the salaries add up to 4,800 kuruş, 20 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The final annual entry is for 1902/03.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900 | 50 | 500 | 300 | 0% |
| 1900/01 | 100 | 500 | 300 | 1% |
| 1901/02 | 100 | 500 | 425 | 1% |
| 1902/03 | 150 | 500 | 300 | 5% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97AH 1314 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50first-salary field |
| 1899 to 1903AH 1317 to 1320 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 to 150 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1878/79 (AH 1296)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Polis
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 years
- 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1896/97 (AH 1314)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 50
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 783 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Hamdi Tahir Efendi had the 712th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Hasip Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Salahattin Bey4 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey4 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey4 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Hasan Ferit Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 47 officials with the title Kontrol Kalemi in the same years, Hamdi Tahir Efendi had the 42nd highest salary.
- Ahmet Kemal Bey4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Edvar Konunyan Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 975 kuruş
- Mustafa Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Bekir Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mustafa Kâmil Bey4 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Hamdi Tahir Efendi had the 2,922nd highest salary of them.
- Abdülcabbar Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Zihni Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdullah Vahdi Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmed Refik Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Celalettin Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 700 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Hamdi Tahir Efendi had the 1,716th highest salary of them.
- Ahmed Refik Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Bahaettin Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 150 kuruş
- Ahmet Halit Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 380 kuruş
- AHMET KEMAL EFENDİborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 290 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 87 officials whose first annual entry is for 1899/1900 (AH 1317), Hamdi Tahir Efendi had the 78th highest salary.
- Ahmet Bahaettin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 150 kuruş
- İsmail Hakkı Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Mehmet Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 100 kuruş
- Yakup Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 550 kuruş
- Hüseyin Memduh Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 425 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (4)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 110_126; 249 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 110_126; 249 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 110_126; 249 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 110_126; 249 |
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 | Hamdi Tahir Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1296 | 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 | Polis | 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) | 1314 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1896 | 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) | 50 | 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.
- 4 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
- Hamdi Tahir Efendi
- Control office (Kontrol Kalemi)
- 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)