Official
Mehmet Saim Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1888/89 (AH 1306). On record 1905 to 1908, 3 annual entries.
Archive reference 149-244-483
Life#
Born in Istanbul in 1888/89 (AH 1306), Mehmet Saim Efendi came from the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Mehmet Saim had seven years of schooling, at the Mektebi Tefeyyuz, and wrote French as well as Turkish.
Work began in Istanbul in 1905/06, at about 16, with half a year without pay as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 150 kuruş. From the first annual entry, for 1905/06, to 1907/08, every annual entry places Mehmet Saim in the same post, communications official (Muhabere Memuru), in Istanbul, the birthplace.
Pay rose from 150 kuruş a month in 1905/06 to a peak of 250 in 1906/07, as Muhabere Memuru in Istanbul, when 15 per cent of paid officials earned less. Over three years the salaries add up to 7,800 kuruş, 53 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned. The last annual entry is for 1907/08.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905/06 | 150 | 475 | 330 | 5% |
| 1906/07 | 250 | 450 | 300 | 15% |
| 1907/08 | 250 | 300 | 250 | 28% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1905/06AH 1323 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150first-salary field |
| 1905 to 1908AH 1323 to 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 to 250 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1888/89 (AH 1306)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
Education
- Other named school
- Mektebi Tefeyyuz (7 years)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 0.5 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
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1905/06 (AH 1323)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 150
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 571 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 399th highest salary.
- Abdurrahman Serafettin Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 25,000 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hasip Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey3 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Hasan Ferit Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 946 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 678th highest salary.
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey3 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mahmut Nedim Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Abdülvahid Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Muhtar Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Said Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 1,554th highest salary of them.
- Abdurrahman Süreyya Beyborn 1888/89 (AH 1306); highest salary 70 kuruş
- Ahmet Naci Efendiborn 1888/89 (AH 1306); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmet Vehbi Efendiborn 1888/89 (AH 1306); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ali Hayri Efendiborn 1888/89 (AH 1306); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Hasan Sami Efendiborn 1888/89 (AH 1306); highest salary 800 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 117 officials whose first annual entry is for 1905/06 (AH 1323), Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 60th highest salary.
- Mehmet Burhanettin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemal Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ali Refik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ali Zihni Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 100 kuruş
- Ahmed Sadi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 100 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (3)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 149-244-483 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 149-244-483 |
| 1907/08AH 1325 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 149-244-483 |
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 Saim Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1306 | 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 | telgraf memuru | 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 | Mektebi Tefeyyuz | 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) | 0.5 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1323 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1905 | 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) | 150 | 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.
- 1 annual entry of 3 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 Saim Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Mektebi Tefeyyuz
- 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)