Official
Mehmet Ruhi Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1879/80 (AH 1297). On record 1900 to 1908, 8 annual entries.
Archive reference 0098_0159; 315
Life#
Mehmet Ruhi Efendi was born in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in 1879/80 (AH 1297), into the Muslim (Müslüman) community. Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi). In all Mehmet Ruhi knew four languages, Arabic, French, Persian and Turkish, all in writing; fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials knew as many.
Mehmet Ruhi began work in Baghdad (Bağdat) in 1895/96, at about 16, with five unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 250 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1900/01, with Mehmet Ruhi as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Kirkuk, the birthplace, where the entries run to 1904/05, with a rise to chief communications official (Başmuhabere Memuru) in 1904/05. The last posts were in Karbala in 1905/06 and Hillah in 1906/07 and Mandali (Mendeli) in 1907/08.
Pay rose from 250 kuruş a month in 1900/01 to a peak of 600 in 1905/06, as Başmuhabere Memuru in Karbala, when two in three paid officials earned less. The final annual entry is for 1907/08.
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 1879/80 (AH 1297)
First work 1895/96 (AH 1313)
1900 to 1905 (AH 1318 to 1322)
Muhabere Memuru 1900 to 1904 (AH 1318 to 1321); Başmuhabere Memuru 1904/05 (AH 1322)
250 to 500 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900/01 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 13% |
| 1901/02 | 250 | 500 | 400 | 14% |
| 1902/03 | 250 | 500 | 380 | 15% |
| 1903/04 | 250 | 475 | 350 | 14% |
| 1904/05 | 500 | 450 | 600 | 52% |
| 1905/06 | 600 | 475 | 600 | 67% |
| 1906/07 | 600 | 450 | 650 | 65% |
| 1907/08 | 600 | 300 | 540 | 74% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1895/96AH 1313 | First work | Baghdad (Bağdat) | 250first-salary field |
| 1900 to 1904AH 1318 to 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 250 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 500 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Karbala (Kerbela) | 600 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Hillah (Hille) | 600 |
| 1907/08AH 1325 | 3. Müdür | Mandali (Mendeli) | 600 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1879/80 (AH 1297)
- Birthplace
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Persian
- Kitabetwriting
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1895/96 (AH 1313)
- Place
- Baghdad (Bağdat)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 250
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 6 officials with entries in Kirkuk (Kerkük) in the same years, Mehmet Ruhi Efendi had the 2nd highest salary.
- Neşet Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Esad Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 513 kuruş
- Abdülaziz Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 380 kuruş
- Muhyiddin Kabil Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 380 kuruş
- Unnamed official (121-110-215)3 shared years; highest salary 300 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,223 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Ruhi Efendi had the 249th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey4 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey4 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Hurşit Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Ruhi Efendi had the 852nd highest salary of them.
- Abbas Hilmi Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Abdullah Agah Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Abdülmecid Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 690 kuruş
- Abdülmecit Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 220 kuruş
- Ahmet Burhanettin Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 400 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 30 officials born in Kirkuk (Kerkük), Mehmet Ruhi Efendi had the 11th highest salary.
- Abdülmecit Efendiborn 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 220 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0086_0154:303)born 1879/80 (AH 1297); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Muhyiddin Kabil Efendiborn 1878/79 (AH 1296); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Ahmet İzzet Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Yahya Naci Efendiborn 1878 (AH 1295); highest salary 300 kuruş
The page of Kirkuk (Kerkük), with the 30 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 140 officials whose first annual entry is for 1900/01 (AH 1318), 139 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Ruhi Efendi had the 21st highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Rüşdi Efendifirst entry in Hicaz; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ali Refik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 200 kuruş
- ANASTAŞ EFENDİfirst entry in Konya; highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hasan Şevket Efendifirst entry in Damascus (Şam); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Hüseyin Efendifirst entry in Haydarpaşa; highest salary 200 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (8)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Kirkuk (Kerkük) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Karbala (Kerbela) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Başmuhabere Memuru | Hillah (Hille) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
| 1907/08AH 1325 | 3. Müdür | Mandali (Mendeli) | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0159; 315 |
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 (13)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Mehmet Ruhi Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1297 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | kerkuk | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | musul | 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) | 5 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1313 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1895 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Bagdat | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 250 | 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.
- 6 annual entries of 8 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 Ruhi Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Kirkuk (Kerkük)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Chief communications official (Başmuhabere 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)