Official
Mahmut Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Suriye in 1875/76 (AH 1292). On record 1891 to 1906, 14 annual entries.
Archive reference 0085_0139: 273
Life#
Mahmut Efendi was born in Suriye in 1875/76 (AH 1292) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mahmut also wrote Arabic as well as Turkish.
At about 16, in 1891/92, Mahmut began work in Hasbaya (Hasbeya), paid from the start, on 95 kuruş a month. The annual lists begin in 1891/92, with Mahmut as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Hasbaya, where the entries run to 1893/94. Mahmut then moved to Damascus (Şam) from 1895 to 1905. The last post was in Rashaya (Raşeya) in 1905/06.
The salary went from 95 kuruş a month in 1891/92 to 440 in 1905/06, the peak, as Muhabere Memuru in Rashaya, when 47 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, 14 years of salary come to 47,700 kuruş, 57 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last 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 1875/76 (AH 1292)
First work 1891/92 (AH 1309); 1891 to 1894 (AH 1309 to 1311)
95 kuruş a month; entries in 3 years
1895 to 1905 (AH 1313 to 1322)
No annual entry for 1894/95 (AH 1312) before it.
250 to 400 kuruş a month; entries in 10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92 | 95 | 500 | 400 | 3% |
| 1892/93 | 95 | 500 | 400 | 3% |
| 1893/94 | 95 | 500 | 400 | 3% |
| 1895/96 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 13% |
| 1896/97 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 13% |
| 1897/98 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 14% |
| 1898/99 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 13% |
| 1899/1900 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 12% |
| 1900/01 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 31% |
| 1901/02 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 32% |
| 1902/03 | 400 | 500 | 380 | 33% |
| 1903/04 | 400 | 475 | 350 | 36% |
| 1904/05 | 400 | 450 | 350 | 38% |
| 1905/06 | 440 | 475 | 330 | 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | First work | Hasbaya (Hasbeya) | 95first-salary field |
| 1891 to 1894AH 1309 to 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Hasbaya (Hasbeya) | 95 |
| No annual entry: 1894/95 (AH 1312) | |||
| 1895 to 1905AH 1313 to 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 to 400 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Rashaya (Raşeya) | 440 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1875/76 (AH 1292)
- Birthplace
- Suriye
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 0 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1891/92 (AH 1309)
- Place
- Hasbaya (Hasbeya)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 95
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 80 officials with entries in Damascus (Şam) in the same years, Mahmut Efendi had the 59th highest salary.
- Ahmet Reşid Bey9 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mehmet Sait Efendi9 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mahmut Hilmi Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 590 kuruş
- Mehmet Resmi Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 2,146 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mahmut Efendi had the 1,327th 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
- Ali Şevket Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,450 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mahmut Efendi had the 1,695th highest salary of them.
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Ziya Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hurrem Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 100 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 136 officials whose first annual entry is for 1891/92 (AH 1309), Mahmut Efendi had the 99th highest salary.
- Ahmet Münir Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,220 kuruş
- Hasan Tahsin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 290 kuruş
- Mehmed Mazhar Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet İhsan Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (14)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Muhabere Memuru | Hasbaya (Hasbeya) | 95 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Hasbaya (Hasbeya) | 95 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Hasbaya (Hasbeya) | 95 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhabere Memuru | Damascus (Şam) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhabere Memuru | Rashaya (Raşeya) | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0085_0139: 273 |
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 | Mahmut Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1292 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | suriye | 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 |
| Father's occupation | Esnaf | 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) | 0 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1309 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1892 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Hasbeya | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 95 | 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 14 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
- Mahmut Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Damascus (Şam)
- Suriye
- 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)