Official
Mehmet Ali Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Damascus (Şam) in 1876/77 (AH 1293). On record 1894 to 1901, 7 annual entries.
Archive reference 0065_0201; 399
Life#
Mehmet Ali Efendi was born in Damascus (Şam) in 1876/77 (AH 1293) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took four years, at a school for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi); Mehmet Ali also wrote Arabic as well as Turkish.
At about 17, in 1893/94, Mehmet Ali began work in Damascus, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 285 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1894/95, with Mehmet Ali as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Havran. The last posts were in Damascus, the birthplace, from 1896 to 1901, first as a letters official (Mekâtib Memuru), from 1900/01 as a postal official (Posta Memuru).
Pay rose from 285 kuruş a month in 1894/95 to a peak of 500 in 1899/1900, as Mekâtib Memuru in Damascus, when 47 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over seven years the salaries add up to 29,640 kuruş, 70 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1900/01.
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 1876/77 (AH 1293); First work 1893/94 (AH 1311)
1896 to 1901 (AH 1314 to 1318)
Mekâtib Memuru 1896 to 1900 (AH 1314 to 1317); Posta Memuru 1900/01 (AH 1318)
300 to 500 kuruş a month; entries in 5 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, and the median of the same province for the years in which at least 5 officials were paid in the province of the official's salary that year.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Median, same province | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95 | 285 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 16% |
| 1895/96 | 285 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 16% |
| 1896/97 | 300 | 500 | 300 | 500 | 18% |
| 1897/98 | 300 | 500 | 260 | 500 | 19% |
| 1898/99 | 300 | 500 | 235 | 500 | 19% |
| 1899/1900 | 500 | 500 | 310.5 | 500 | 47% |
| 1900/01 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 540 | 47% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | First work | Damascus (Şam) | 285first-salary field |
| 1894 to 1896AH 1312 to 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Havran | 285 |
| 1896 to 1900AH 1314 to 1317 | Mekâtib Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 to 500 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Posta Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 500 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- Birthplace
- Damascus (Şam)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
Education
- Primary
- Sıbyan Mektebi (4 years)school for young children (primary school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1893/94 (AH 1311)
- Place
- Damascus (Şam)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 285
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 post (job title and place), same years
Of the 3 officials who held Mekâtib Memuru in Damascus (Şam) in the same years, Mehmet Ali Efendi had the highest salary.
- Unnamed official (0067_0238; sayfa no:473)3 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Yahya Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 400 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 41 officials with entries in Damascus (Şam) in the same years, Mehmet Ali Efendi had the 26th highest salary.
- Mahmut Hilmi Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Reşid Bey5 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Rasih Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Sait Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Emin Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 790 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 20 officials with the title Mekâtib Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Ali Efendi had the 6th highest salary.
- Mehmed Cemal Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Halit Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 720 kuruş
- Mustafa Zeki Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 650 kuruş
- Mehmet Selahattin Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 450 kuruş
- Mehmet Bahattin Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 315 kuruş
Same school
Of the 746 officials with Sıbyan Mektebi among their schools, 745 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Ali Efendi had the 511th highest salary of them.
- Ali Nazmi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Emin Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Selahattin Beyborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mühtedi Mehmet İrfan Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 540 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 59 officials born in Damascus (Şam), Mehmet Ali Efendi had the 18th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Resmi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 300 kuruş
- MİŞEL MİHAİL KAYŞO EFENDİborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Selim Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 540 kuruş
The page of Damascus (Şam), with the 59 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 173 officials whose first annual entry is for 1894/95 (AH 1312), Mehmet Ali Efendi had the 66th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Hulusi Efendifirst entry in Havran; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendifirst entry in Kemaliye (Eğin); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Memduh Efendifirst entry in Kastamonu; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ali Asım Efendifirst entry in Niğde; highest salary 200 kuruş
- Devay Efendifirst entry in Skopje (Üsküp); highest salary 760 kuruş
All 173 officials whose first annual entry is for 1894/95 (AH 1312)
Full record
Annual entries (7)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Havran | 285 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Havran | 285 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Mekâtib Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mekâtib Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mekâtib Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mekâtib Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Posta Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0065_0201; 399 |
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 (13)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Ali Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1293 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | sam | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | suriye | 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 | Sibyan Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Years of schooling | 4 | 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) | 1311 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1893 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | sam | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 285 | 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.
- 7 annual entries of 7 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 Ali Efendi
- Letters official (Mekâtib Memuru)
- Damascus (Şam)
- School for young children (Sıbyan Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- 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)