Official
Cafer Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1877/78 (AH 1294). On record 1897 to 1906, 9 annual entries.
Archive reference 0098_0225; 447
Life#
Cafer Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1877/78 (AH 1294) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was an army major (binbaşı). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Cafer began work in Istanbul in 1894/95, at about 17, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 40 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1897/98, with Cafer as an official for outgoing items (Mersule Memuru) in Galata, where the entries run to 1900/01. The last posts were in Istanbul, the birthplace, from 1901 to 1906.
Pay rose from 40 kuruş a month in 1897/98 to a peak of 200 in 1905/06, in the sorting room (Tefrik Odası) in Istanbul, when 8 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, nine years of salary come to 11,760 kuruş, 22 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1905/06.
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 1877/78 (AH 1294); First work 1894/95 (AH 1312)
1901 to 1906 (AH 1319 to 1323)
100 to 200 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.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897/98 | 40 | 500 | 135 | 0% |
| 1898/99 | 65 | 500 | 170 | 1% |
| 1899/1900 | 75 | 500 | 200 | 0% |
| 1900/01 | 100 | 500 | 250 | 1% |
| 1901/02 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 1% |
| 1902/03 | 100 | 500 | 420 | 1% |
| 1903/04 | 150 | 475 | 450 | 4% |
| 1904/05 | 150 | 450 | 400 | 5% |
| 1905/06 | 200 | 475 | 400 | 8% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95AH 1312 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 40first-salary field |
| 1897 to 1901AH 1315 to 1318 | Mersule Memuru | Galata | 40 to 100 |
| 1901 to 1906AH 1319 to 1323 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 to 200 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1877/78 (AH 1294)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Binbasi
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 years
- 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
- 1894/95 (AH 1312)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 40
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 826 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Cafer Efendi had the 670th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Hasip Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Salahattin Bey5 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey5 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey5 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Hasan Ferit Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 25 officials with the title Tefrik Odası in the same years, Cafer Efendi had the 22nd highest salary.
- Viçen Metviş Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- İbrahim Saffet Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 550 kuruş
- Mahir Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 400 kuruş
- İsmail Celaleddin Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Eksiri Erşidi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Cafer Efendi had the 2,739th highest salary of them.
- Abdi Nazım Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Fikri Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 800 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Cafer Efendi had the 1,627th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Hamdi Beyborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Hayri Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Lütfi Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmet Münim Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Necati Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 400 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 88 officials whose first annual entry is for 1897/98 (AH 1315), Cafer Efendi had the 72nd highest salary.
- Mehmet Edip Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 440 kuruş
- Yusuf Ziya Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 340 kuruş
- Mustafa Asım Efendifirst entry in Galata; highest salary 530 kuruş
- Mahmud Ferid Efendifirst entry in Sjenica (Seniçe); highest salary 550 kuruş
- Mehmet Arif Efendifirst entry in Kozani (Kozana); highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (9)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mersule Memuru | Galata | 40 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mersule Memuru | Galata | 65 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mersule Memuru | Galata | 75 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Mersule Memuru | Galata | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Tefrik Odası | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0225; 447 |
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 | Cafer Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1294 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | dersaadet | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | Binbasi | 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) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1312 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1894 | 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) | 40 | 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.
- 9 annual entries of 9 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
- Cafer Efendi
- Sorting room (Tefrik Odası)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Official for outgoing items (Mersule 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)