Official
Despot Obles Efendi
Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1871/72 (AH 1288). On record 1893 to 1899, 6 annual entries.
Archive reference 89_246;489
Life#
Despot Obles Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1871/72 (AH 1288) into the Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Despot Obles also held a qualification (a diploma, certificate, training or decoration). In all Despot Obles knew four languages, Armenian, French, Greek (Rum) and Turkish, all in writing; fewer than 5 per cent of the 5,211 officials knew as many.
Despot Obles began work in Istanbul in 1890/91, at about 19, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 50 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1893/94, with Despot Obles as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Beyoğlu, where the entries run to 1895/96. The last posts were in İskenderun from 1896 to 1898 and Vlorë (Avlonya) in 1898/99.
The salary went from 50 kuruş a month in 1893/94 to 540 in 1898/99, the peak, as Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti in Vlorë, when 61 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1898/99.
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 1871/72 (AH 1288); First work 1890/91 (AH 1308)
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 | 50 | 500 | 400 | 0% |
| 1894/95 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 3% |
| 1895/96 | 100 | 500 | 400 | 3% |
| 1896/97 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 18% |
| 1897/98 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 19% |
| 1898/99 | 540 | 500 | 495 | 61% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890/91AH 1308 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 50first-salary field |
| 1893 to 1896AH 1311 to 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 50 to 100 |
| 1896 to 1898AH 1314 to 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | İskenderun | 300 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Vlorë (Avlonya) | 540 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1871/72 (AH 1288)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum)
- Nationality as recorded
- Rum
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 years
- Preparation route (classification of the paper)
- Middle
- Qualification (diploma, certificate, training or nişan)
- Yes
The years count all schooling up to that school, as the record gives them.
Languages
- Armenian
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- Greek (Rum)
- Kitabetwriting. Rum is the word of the records for Greek as spoken by the Orthodox Christians of the empire. It is kept apart from the column Greek, which the records also have
- Turkish
- Kitabetwriting
The glosses are cautious historical readings of the recorded words, not modern levels of proficiency.
First work
- Year
- 1890/91 (AH 1308)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 50
Legal records
- Legal record note as worded
- Edepsizlik / harekat-ı serkeşanesi ve seyyiat-ı ahvâli cihetiyle idareten azl edildiği; Memuriyete Uymayan Hal ve Hareketler
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 156 officials with entries in Beyoğlu in the same years, Despot Obles Efendi had the 108th highest salary.
- Mustafa Habip Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 15,000 kuruş
- Emrullah Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 10,000 kuruş
- Muftuzade Mehmet Hilmi Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 10,000 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0002_0176; 350)3 shared years; highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Paskal Mıgırdıç Kazancıyan Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 2,905 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,249 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Despot Obles Efendi had the 570th highest salary.
- Mehmet Arif Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey5 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Ali Galip Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 2,500 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey5 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi5 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; Despot Obles Efendi had the 1,157th highest salary of them.
- Abdi Zühtü Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Avni Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Ahmet Cevdet Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 300 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Despot Obles Efendi had the 956th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Bahaattin Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Cevdet Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 700 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 162 officials whose first annual entry is for 1893/94 (AH 1311), Despot Obles Efendi had the 67th highest salary.
- Mehmet Tevfik Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Dikran Vartanyan Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Asaf Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 4,896 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendifirst entry in Beyoğlu; highest salary 800 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (6)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893/94AH 1311 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 50 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | İskenderun | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | İskenderun | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Vlorë (Avlonya) | 540 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 89_246;489 |
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 (16)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Despot Obles Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1288 | 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 | Hristiyan | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Nationality or community | Rum | 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) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1308 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1891 | 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) | 50 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Legal records | ||
| Legal record note as worded | Edepsizlik / harekat-ı serkeşanesi ve seyyiat-ı ahvâli cihetiyle idareten azl edildiği used on this page | Legal notes (earlier workbook copy); Legal notes (later workbook copy) |
| Legal record note as worded | Memuriyete Uymayan Hal ve Hareketler other value | Legal notes (earlier workbook copy); Legal notes (later workbook copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Legal notes (earlier workbook copy)
- A workbook of notes on legal records. The wording is kept as written. It may hold an accusation or an acquittal, it is not the finding of a court, and its year is the year of the record, not the date of an event.
- Legal notes (later workbook copy)
- A later copy of the workbook of notes on legal records. The same wording in both copies is one note, not two.
- 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.
- The sources give more than one value for a marked field. Every value is listed.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 6 annual entries of 6 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
- Despot Obles Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Beyoğlu
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Greek Orthodox Christian (Rum)
- 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)