Official
Mehmet Ata Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Tekirdağ in 1853/54 (AH 1270). On record 1874 to 1907, 34 annual entries.
Archive reference 5_53; 103
Life#
Mehmet Ata Efendi was born in Tekirdağ in 1853/54 (AH 1270) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a mufti (müftü). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Ata also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration).
Mehmet Ata began work in Istanbul in 1873/74, at about 19, with one unpaid year as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 120 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1874/75 to 1906/07 places Mehmet Ata in Istanbul, with six changes of title, from official (Memur) to Tasra Maas Kitabe in 1902/03. A career like this is rare; 11 per cent of the 775 officials whose entries span 30 years or more stayed in one place throughout.
Pay rose from 120 kuruş a month in 1874/75 to a peak of 1,050 in 1903/04, as Tasra Maas Kitabe in Istanbul, when nine in ten paid officials earned less. In all, 34 years of salary come to 288,132 kuruş, 1.4 times what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.
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 1853/54 (AH 1270)
First work 1873/74 (AH 1290); 1874 to 1907 (AH 1291 to 1324)
Memur 1874/75 (AH 1291); Muhasebe Kalemi 1875 to 1891 (AH 1292 to 1308); Sicil Kalemi 1880 to 1890 (AH 1298 to 1307); Maas Baskitabeti 1891/92 (AH 1309); Maas Kitabeti 1892 to 1902 (AH 1310 to 1319); Tasra Maas Kitabe 1902 to 1907 (AH 1320 to 1324)
120 to 1,050 kuruş a month; entries in 34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874/75 | 120 | 535 | 250 | 2% |
| 1875/76 | 230 | 530 | 280 | 8% |
| 1876/77 | 380 | 582.5 | 400 | 16% |
| 1877/78 | 380 | 560 | 400 | 15% |
| 1878 | 380 | 600 | 400 | 15% |
| 1878/79 | 500 | 600 | 400 | 34% |
| 1879/80 | 475 | 500 | 380 | 42% |
| 1880/81 | 475 | 500 | 43% | |
| 1881/82 | 475 | 500 | 42% | |
| 1882/83 | 475 | 500 | 39% | |
| 1883/84 | 475 | 500 | 40% | |
| 1884/85 | 475 | 500 | 39% | |
| 1885/86 | 475 | 500 | 39% | |
| 1886/87 | 475 | 500 | 39% | |
| 1887/88 | 675 | 500 | 550 | 71% |
| 1888/89 | 800 | 500 | 300 | 77% |
| 1889/90 | 800 | 500 | 350 | 78% |
| 1890/91 | 800 | 500 | 272.5 | 79% |
| 1891/92 | 800 | 500 | 79% | |
| 1892/93 | 850 | 500 | 85% | |
| 1893/94 | 940 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1894/95 | 940 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1895/96 | 975 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1896/97 | 877 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1897/98 | 877 | 500 | 88% | |
| 1898/99 | 877 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1899/1900 | 900 | 500 | 85% | |
| 1900/01 | 950 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1901/02 | 950 | 500 | 87% | |
| 1902/03 | 1,010 | 500 | 90% | |
| 1903/04 | 1,050 | 475 | 89% | |
| 1904/05 | 1,050 | 450 | 89% | |
| 1905/06 | 1,050 | 475 | 88% | |
| 1906/07 | 1,050 | 450 | 88% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1873/74AH 1290 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 120first-salary field |
| 1874/75AH 1291 | Memur | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 120 |
| 1875 to 1880AH 1292 to 1297 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 230 to 475 |
| 1880 to 1890AH 1298 to 1307 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 to 800 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Maas Baskitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 |
| 1892 to 1902AH 1310 to 1319 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 850 to 950 |
| 1902 to 1907AH 1320 to 1324 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,010 to 1,050 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1853/54 (AH 1270)
- Birthplace
- Tekirdağ
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Muftu
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 1 year
- 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
- 1873/74 (AH 1290)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 120
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 1,505 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Ata Efendi had the 368th highest salary.
- Suleyman Resat Bey34 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey34 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi34 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0007_0144; 285)34 shared years; highest salary 2,750 kuruş
- Salih Tevfik Efendi34 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 9 officials with the title Sicil Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Ata Efendi had the 4th highest salary.
- İbrahim Cemil Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,900 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 2,250 kuruş
- Ömer Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Osman Mazhar Bey2 shared years; highest salary 2,550 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0049_0032; 61)2 shared years; highest salary 530 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Ata Efendi had the 283rd highest salary of them.
- Abdülbaki Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Naim Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Rüştü Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- Ali Haydar Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Feyzullah Zihni Efendiborn 1853/54 (AH 1270); highest salary 400 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 21 officials born in Tekirdağ, Mehmet Ata Efendi had the 3rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1852/53 (AH 1269); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Raif Efendiborn 1854/55 (AH 1271); highest salary 650 kuruş
- Mehmet Raif Efendiborn 1849/50 (AH 1266); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Salih Sabri Efendiborn 1848/49 (AH 1265); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Fazıl Beyborn 1862/63 (AH 1279); highest salary 800 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 55 officials whose first annual entry is for 1874/75 (AH 1291), Mehmet Ata Efendi had the 15th highest salary.
- Osman Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 650 kuruş
- Hacı Mehmet Tevfik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Hasan Azmi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,250 kuruş
- Ahmet Refik Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,100 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (34)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874/75AH 1291 | Memur | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 120 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1875/76AH 1292 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 230 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1876/77AH 1293 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1877/78AH 1294 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1878AH 1295 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1878/79AH 1296 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1879/80AH 1297 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1880/81AH 1298 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1881/82AH 1299 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1882/83AH 1300 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1883/84AH 1301 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1884/85AH 1302 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1885/86AH 1303 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1886/87AH 1304 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 475 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1887/88AH 1305 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 675 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1888/89AH 1306 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Sicil Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Maas Baskitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 800 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 850 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 940 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 940 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 975 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 877 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 877 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 877 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 900 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 950 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Maas Kitabeti | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 950 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,010 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,050 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,050 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,050 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Tasra Maas Kitabe | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 1,050 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 5_53; 103 |
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 Ata Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1270 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | tekirdag | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | edirne | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | muftu | 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) | 1290 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1873 | 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) | 120 | 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.
- 33 annual entries of 34 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 Ata Efendi
- Register office (Sicil Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Tekirdağ
- 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)