Official
Kevser Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1858/59 (AH 1275). On record 1891 to 1901, 10 annual entries.
Archive reference 00049_0174; 341
Life#
Born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1858/59 (AH 1275), Kevser Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi); Kevser also wrote Turkish and spoke Arabic and Persian.
Work began in the Evrak Kalemi in Zor in 1876/77, at about 17, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 30 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1891/92 to 1900/01 places Kevser in Zor, first in the documents office (Evrak Kalemi), from 1892/93 as a central office official (Merkez Memuru).
Pay rose from 540 kuruş a month in 1891/92 to a peak of 790 in 1899/1900, as Merkez Memuru in Zor, when 83 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1900/01. An entry in "Sicill-i Ahval Defterlerine göre Kerküklü devlet adamları" by ORHAN ABDULBASIT ANWER ANWER (2021) probably refers to Kevser, since the name and the birthplace agree.
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 1858/59 (AH 1275)
First work 1876/77 (AH 1293); 1891 to 1901 (AH 1309 to 1318)
First work as Evrak Kalemi
Evrak Kalemi 1891/92 (AH 1309); Merkez Memuru 1892 to 1901 (AH 1310 to 1318)
540 to 790 kuruş a month; entries in 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92 | 540 | 500 | 150 | 57% |
| 1892/93 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1893/94 | 700 | 500 | 600 | 74% |
| 1894/95 | 700 | 500 | 600 | 74% |
| 1895/96 | 700 | 500 | 600 | 74% |
| 1896/97 | 630 | 500 | 540 | 75% |
| 1897/98 | 630 | 500 | 540 | 75% |
| 1898/99 | 630 | 500 | 520 | 74% |
| 1899/1900 | 790 | 500 | 540 | 83% |
| 1900/01 | 790 | 500 | 520 | 81% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Evrak Kalemifirst work | Zor | 30first-salary field |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Evrak Kalemi | Zor | 540 |
| 1892 to 1901AH 1310 to 1318 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 600 to 790 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1858/59 (AH 1275)
- Birthplace
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 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
- Arabic
- Tekellumspeaking
- Persian
- Tekellumspeaking
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- Place
- Zor
- First job as worded
- Evrak Kalemi
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 18
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 30
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 30
Named in scholarly works#
No link between a work and an official has been accepted. Each entry was found by fixed rules on the name and the recorded fields, and says what it rests on.
Sicill-i Ahval Defterlerine göre Kerküklü devlet adamları (ORHAN ABDULBASIT ANWER ANWER, 2021). Name as printed: KEVSER EFENDİ. PDF pages 68 and 69.
Probable link: same name and birthplace
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 14 officials with entries in Zor in the same years, Kevser Efendi had the 8th highest salary.
- Mehmet Vahit Sıtkı Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,800 kuruş
- Nuri Fehmi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ali Ferit Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mustafa Bahri Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,750 kuruş
- Mehmet Rahmi Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 1,080 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 69 officials with the title Merkez Memuru in the same years, Kevser Efendi had the 30th highest salary.
- Hasan Tevfik Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,600 kuruş
- İsmail Zühtü Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Abdülbaki Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Cemil Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Kevser Efendi had the 324th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Hilmi Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Adil Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hafiz Mehmet Galib Efendiborn 1858/59 (AH 1275); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 30 officials born in Kirkuk (Kerkük), Kevser Efendi had the 6th highest salary.
- Zeynelabidin Efendiborn 1859/60 (AH 1276); highest salary 720 kuruş
- Mehmet Salih Efendiborn 1856/57 (AH 1273); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abbas Efendiborn 1860/61 (AH 1277); highest salary 810 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0087_0094, sayfa no:185.)born 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 700 kuruş
- İsmail Hakkı Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 760 kuruş
The page of Kirkuk (Kerkük), with the 30 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 136 officials whose first annual entry is for 1891/92 (AH 1309), Kevser Efendi had the 29th highest salary.
- Vasilaki Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Mehmet Fuat Efendifirst entry in Marmara Ereğlisi; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Kostantin Efendifirst entry in Rhodes (Rodos); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 850 kuruş
- Ahmet Efendifirst entry in Maltepe; highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (10)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Evrak Kalemi | Zor | 540 | Other | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 700 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 700 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 700 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 630 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 630 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 630 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 790 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Merkez Memuru | Zor | 790 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 00049_0174; 341 |
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 (22)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Kevser Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1275 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | kerkuk | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Kerkuk | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Kerkuk | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Musul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | musul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| 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 | Sibyan Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1293 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1876 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Zor | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | kerkuk | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | kerkuk | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | musul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Evrak Kalemi | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 18 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 30 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 30 | 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.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 9 annual entries of 10 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
- Kevser Efendi
- Central office official (Merkez Memuru)
- Zor
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- 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)