Official
Mehmet Tahir Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1877/78 (AH 1294). On record 1893 to 1906, 13 annual entries.
Archive reference 70_27; 51
Life#
Born in Istanbul in 1877/78 (AH 1294) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Mehmet Tahir Efendi was the child of a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
At about 16, in 1893/94, Mehmet Tahir began work in Istanbul, with half a year without pay as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 40 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1893/94 to 1905/06 places Mehmet Tahir in the same office, accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi), in Istanbul, the birthplace.
The salary went from 40 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to 370 in 1905/06, the peak, in the Muhasebe Kalemi in Istanbul, when 35 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, 13 years of salary come to 28,860 kuruş, 37 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1905/06.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94 | 40 | 500 | 200 | 0% |
| 1894/95 | 50 | 500 | 250 | 0% |
| 1895/96 | 50 | 500 | 250 | 0% |
| 1896/97 | 125 | 500 | 245 | 5% |
| 1897/98 | 125 | 500 | 275 | 5% |
| 1898/99 | 125 | 500 | 262.5 | 5% |
| 1899/1900 | 250 | 500 | 300 | 12% |
| 1900/01 | 250 | 500 | 300 | 13% |
| 1901/02 | 250 | 500 | 340 | 14% |
| 1902/03 | 250 | 500 | 350 | 15% |
| 1903/04 | 250 | 475 | 350 | 14% |
| 1904/05 | 270 | 450 | 375 | 22% |
| 1905/06 | 370 | 475 | 400 | 35% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 40first-salary field |
| 1893 to 1906AH 1311 to 1323 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 40 to 370 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1877/78 (AH 1294)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 0.5 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
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1893/94 (AH 1311)
- 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 1,104 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 766th highest salary.
- Salahattin Bey13 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey13 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey13 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Asaf Bey13 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 137 officials with the title Muhasebe Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 94th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Rıza Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Refet Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 1,480 kuruş
- Mehmet Şemsettin Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Cemalettin Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Mehmet Muhyittin Efendi13 shared years; highest salary 730 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 2,123rd 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; Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 1,375th 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 162 officials whose first annual entry is for 1893/94 (AH 1311), Mehmet Tahir Efendi had the 138th highest salary.
- Mehmet Nezihi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdullah Faik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 250 kuruş
- Hasan Vehbi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 160 kuruş
- Mehmet Selahattin Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 200 kuruş
- Mustafa İhsan Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (13)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 40 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 125 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 125 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 125 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 270 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Muhasebe Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 370 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_27; 51 |
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 Tahir 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 | 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) | 0.5 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1311 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1893 | 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.
- 13 annual entries of 13 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 Tahir Efendi
- Accounts office (Muhasebe Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- 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)