Mustafa Asım Efendi

Mustafa Asım Efendi was born in Şebinkarahisar (Karahisar-ı Şarki); the father was a deputy judge (naib). The first salary was 200 kuruş a month. The annual lists begin in 1867/68 (AH 1284), with Mustafa Asım as Evkaf Muhasebe kâtibi (Nakil) in Şebinkarahisar, the birthplace, where the entries run to 1875/76. For 1876 to 1880 the lists have no entry. Next came a post with no place named from 1880 to 1888. Alongside, the lists for 1887/88 give a second post, in Şebinkarahisar as Muhasebe yardımcısı (Nakil). At the same time, from 1887 to 1895, the lists also place Mustafa Asım in Diyarbakır as Muhasebe mümeyyizi. From 1896 to 1907 every annual entry places Mustafa Asım in Drama. The lists give Infisal for 1887/88 and 1894/95; Azil (dismissal) for 1906/07 instead of a title. Entries spanning 41 years are rare, reached by fewer than 5 per cent of the 8,239 officials.

Pay rose from 200 kuruş a month in 1867/68 to a peak of 1,800 in 1896/97, as Sancak Muhasebecisi in Drama, when 91 per cent of paid officials earned less. That salary was paid for a single year, and the next list gives 1,620 kuruş. In all, 25 years of salary come to 325,800 kuruş, 2.6 times what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.