Official
Mehmet Lütfi Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Shumen (Şumnu) in 1878 (AH 1295). On record 1892 to 1903, 8 annual entries.
Archive reference 121-126-247
Life#
Born in Shumen (Şumnu) in 1878 (AH 1295), Mehmet Lütfi Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Mehmet Lütfi had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
At about 14, in 1891/92, Mehmet Lütfi began work in Ioannina (Yanya), with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1892/93, places Mehmet Lütfi in Margilic as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Mehmet Lütfi then moved to Filiates (Filat), Ioannina and Metsovo (Meçova) from 1893 to 1902. For 1898 to 1901 the lists have no entry. The last post was in Damascus (Şam) in 1902/03.
The salary never rose above the first in the lists, 300 kuruş a month in 1892/93, as Muhabere Memuru in Margilic, when 17 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, eight years of salary come to 28,200 kuruş, 58 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1902/03.
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 1878 (AH 1295)
First work 1891/92 (AH 1309)
1901/02 (AH 1319)
No annual entry for 1898 to 1901 (AH 1316 to 1318) before it.
250 kuruş a month; entries in 1 year
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 17% |
| 1893/94 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 17% |
| 1894/95 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 17% |
| 1895/96 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 17% |
| 1896/97 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1897/98 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 19% |
| 1901/02 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 14% |
| 1902/03 | 300 | 500 | 380 | 21% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | First work | Ioannina (Yanya) | 300first-salary field |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Margilic | 300 |
| 1893 to 1896AH 1311 to 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Filiates (Filat) | 300 |
| 1896 to 1898AH 1314 to 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Ioannina (Yanya) | 300 |
| No annual entry: 1898 to 1901 (AH 1316 to 1318) | |||
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Metsovo (Meçova) | 250 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1878 (AH 1295)
- Birthplace
- Shumen (Şumnu)
- 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1891/92 (AH 1309)
- Place
- Ioannina (Yanya)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 300
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 3 officials with entries in Filiates (Filat) in the same years, Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the lowest salary.
- Hüseyin Rahmi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Salih Hakkı Bey1 shared year; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,727 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 1,487th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey8 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey8 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abdülkadir Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
- ABDULLAH VEHBİ EFENDİborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdurrezzak Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmed İzzet Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 360 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 13 officials born in Shumen (Şumnu), Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 12th highest salary.
- Mehmet Rasim Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Hüseyin Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 150 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Hasan Tahsin Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Haci İbrahim Ethem Efendiborn 1870/71 (AH 1287); highest salary 750 kuruş
The page of Shumen (Şumnu), with the 13 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 189 officials whose first annual entry is for 1892/93 (AH 1310), Mehmet Lütfi Efendi had the 158th highest salary.
- Abdurrezzak Efendifirst entry in Basra; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ali Ferit Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 170 kuruş
- ALİ RIZA EFENDİfirst entry in Karaagac; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Emil Galbar Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 225 kuruş
- Esad Efendifirst entry in Kirkuk (Kerkük); highest salary 513 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (8)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Margilic | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Filiates (Filat) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Filiates (Filat) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Filiates (Filat) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Ioannina (Yanya) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Ioannina (Yanya) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Metsovo (Meçova) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 121-126-247 |
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 Lütfi Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1295 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | sumnu | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | tuna | 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) | 1309 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1892 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Yanya | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 300 | 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.
- 8 annual entries of 8 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 Lütfi Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Filiates (Filat)
- Shumen (Şumnu)
- 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)