Official
Vartan Efendi
Armenian Christian (Ermeni). Born in Izmir (İzmir) in 1873/74 (AH 1290). On record 1891 to 1907, 15 annual entries.
Archive reference 148-230-455
Life#
Born in Izmir (İzmir) in 1873/74 (AH 1290), Vartan Efendi came from the Armenian Christian (Ermeni) community. In all Vartan knew four languages, Armenian, French and Turkish in writing and Greek (Rum) in speech; fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials knew as many.
Vartan began work in Kuşadası in 1888/89, at about 16, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 385 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1891/92, places Vartan in Izmir, the birthplace, as a travelling postal official (Seyyar Memur). Vartan then moved to Samos (Sisam) from 1892 to 1894, with a rise to communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in 1892/93. From 1895 to 1907 the annual entries place Vartan in Papulo.
The salary went from 385 kuruş a month in 1891/92 to 500 in 1892/93, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Samos, when 44 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1906/07. An entry in "Sicill-i Ahval kayıtlarına göre İzmir doğumlu gayrimüslim memurlar" by SEDEF KUMSAR (2019) probably refers to Vartan, since the name, the birthplace and a place of service 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 1873/74 (AH 1290)
First work 1888/89 (AH 1306)
1895 to 1907 (AH 1313 to 1324)
No annual entry for 1894/95 (AH 1312) before it.
500 kuruş a month; entries in 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92 | 385 | 500 | 600 | 575 | 29% |
| 1892/93 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 44% |
| 1893/94 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 600 | 46% |
| 1895/96 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 47% |
| 1896/97 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 472.5 | 49% |
| 1897/98 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 49% |
| 1898/99 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 48% |
| 1899/1900 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 47% |
| 1900/01 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 47% |
| 1901/02 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 49% |
| 1902/03 | 500 | 500 | 380 | 450 | 49% |
| 1903/04 | 500 | 475 | 350 | 400 | 51% |
| 1904/05 | 500 | 450 | 350 | 400 | 52% |
| 1905/06 | 500 | 475 | 330 | 400 | 50% |
| 1906/07 | 500 | 450 | 300 | 400 | 51% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888/89AH 1306 | First work | Kuşadası | 385first-salary field |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Seyyar Memur | Izmir (İzmir) | 385 |
| 1892 to 1894AH 1310 to 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Samos (Sisam) | 500 |
| No annual entry: 1894/95 (AH 1312) | |||
| 1895 to 1907AH 1313 to 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1873/74 (AH 1290)
- Birthplace
- Izmir (İzmir)
- Community
- Armenian Christian (Ermeni)
- Nationality as recorded
- Ermeni
Education
- Community school
- Millet Mektebi (4 years)community school (school of a non-Muslim community)
- 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
- Armenian
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Greek (Rum)
- Tekellumspeaking. Rum is the word of the records for Greek as spoken by the Orthodox Christians of the empire. It is kept apart from the column Greek, which the records also have
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1888/89 (AH 1306)
- Place
- Kuşadası
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 385
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 kayıtlarına göre İzmir doğumlu gayrimüslim memurlar (SEDEF KUMSAR, 2019). Name as printed: Vartan Efendi. Printed page 47, PDF page 63.
Probable link: same name and birthplace; served in the place the work covers
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 2 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Papulo in the same years, Vartan Efendi had the highest salary.
- İsmail Hakkı Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 250 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 2 officials with entries in Samos (Sisam) in the same years, Vartan Efendi had the lowest salary.
- Mıgırdıç Kirkoryan2 shared years; highest salary 1,400 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 2,164 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Vartan Efendi had the 870th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey14 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey14 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Nikola Yunani Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,350 kuruş
Same school
Of the 263 officials with Millet Mektebi among their schools, Vartan Efendi had the 115th highest salary.
- Dikran Papazyan Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Dikran Vartanyan Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Dimtoni Vasilyadis Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hanna Afif Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
- İsak Behor Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 62 officials born in Izmir (İzmir), Vartan Efendi had the 23rd highest salary.
- İbrahim Ethem Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mustafa Nuri Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Kadri Efendiborn 1872/73 (AH 1289); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Supun Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 350 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 136 officials whose first annual entry is for 1891/92 (AH 1309), Vartan Efendi had the 71st highest salary.
- Mehmed Mazhar Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Osman Nuri Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülvahap Efendifirst entry in Malko Tarnovo (Tırnovacık); highest salary 750 kuruş
- Abraham Efendifirst entry in Kırklareli; highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ali Kemal Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (15)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Seyyar Memur | Izmir (İzmir) | 385 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Samos (Sisam) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Samos (Sisam) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Papulo | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 148-230-455 |
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 | Vartan Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1290 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | izmir | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | aydin | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Religion | Hristiyan | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Nationality or community | Ermeni | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Millet 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) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1306 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1889 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Kusadasi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 385 | 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.
- 14 annual entries of 15 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
- Vartan Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Papulo
- Izmir (İzmir)
- Community school (Millet Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Armenian Christian (Ermeni)
- 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)