Official
Mehmet Behcet Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1866/67 (AH 1283). On record 1894 to 1901, 7 annual entries.
Archive reference 70_128; 253
Life#
Mehmet Behcet Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1866/67 (AH 1283) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father's occupation was "Beylerbeyi Payelisi". Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Behcet also wrote French as well as Turkish.
At about 21, in 1887/88, Mehmet Behcet began work in Istanbul, with seven unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 100 kuruş. Of the 5,142 officials with a known apprenticeship, fewer than 6 per cent worked unpaid for seven years or longer. Every annual entry from 1894/95 to 1900/01 places Mehmet Behcet in Istanbul, the birthplace, first as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru), from 1900/01 in the control office (Kontrol Kalemi).
Pay rose from 100 kuruş a month in 1894/95 to a peak of 220 in 1899/1900, as Muhabere Memuru in Istanbul, when 11 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, seven years of salary come to 14,880 kuruş, 35 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1900/01.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 450 | 3% |
| 1895/96 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 440 | 3% |
| 1896/97 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 425 | 8% |
| 1897/98 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 425 | 9% |
| 1898/99 | 200 | 500 | 400 | 440 | 9% |
| 1899/1900 | 220 | 500 | 400 | 450 | 11% |
| 1900/01 | 220 | 500 | 300 | 450 | 12% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1887/88AH 1305 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100first-salary field |
| 1894 to 1900AH 1312 to 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 to 220 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 220 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1866/67 (AH 1283)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Beylerbeyi Payelisi
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 7 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
- 1887/88 (AH 1305)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 100
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 132 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 119th highest salary.
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey6 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Nazım Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,300 kuruş
- Hasan Ruhi Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Mustafa Daim Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 834 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 740th highest salary.
- Salahattin Bey7 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey7 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey7 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Fahri Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Asaf Bey7 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,270 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 1,238th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey6 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey6 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 2,723rd highest salary of them.
- Abbas Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülmuttalip Muhlis Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 700 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Sezai Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Asaf Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Ahmet Kazım Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 500 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 1,619th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Aleksan Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ali Bedri Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 540 kuruş
- Ali Cenap Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 550 kuruş
- Ali Haydar Efendiborn 1866/67 (AH 1283); highest salary 600 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 173 officials whose first annual entry is for 1894/95 (AH 1312), Mehmet Behcet Efendi had the 158th highest salary.
- Pol Şişmanyanfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Necip Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 70 kuruş
- Mehmet Nazif Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ahmet Bahaattin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Nazım Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (7)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 220 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Kontrol Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 220 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_128; 253 |
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 Behcet Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1283 | 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 | beylerbeyi payelisi | 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) | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1305 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1888 | 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) | 100 | 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.
- 7 annual entries of 7 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 Behcet Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Control office (Kontrol Kalemi)
- 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)