Official
Mehmet Saim Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1881/82 (AH 1299). On record 1901 to 1904, 3 annual entries.
Archive reference 118-173-341
Life#
Mehmet Saim Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1881/82 (AH 1299) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a senior army captain (kolağası). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
At about 17, in 1899/1900, Mehmet Saim began work in Thessaloniki (Selanik), with two unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 300 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1901/02 to 1903/04 places Mehmet Saim in Thessaloniki, first as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru), from 1903/04 in the documents office (Evrak Kalemi).
The salary never rose above the first in the lists, 300 kuruş a month in 1901/02, as Muhabere Memuru in Thessaloniki, when one in five paid officials earned less. In all, three years of salary come to 8,400 kuruş, 47 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1903/04.
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 1881/82 (AH 1299)
First work 1899/1900 (AH 1317); 1901 to 1904 (AH 1319 to 1321)
Muhabere Memuru 1901 to 1903 (AH 1319 to 1320); Evrak Kalemi 1903/04 (AH 1321)
100 to 300 kuruş a month; entries in 3 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, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901/02 | 300 | 500 | 400 | 500 | 20% |
| 1902/03 | 300 | 500 | 380 | 450 | 21% |
| 1903/04 | 100 | 475 | 240 | 400 | 1% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | First work | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 300first-salary field |
| 1901 to 1903AH 1319 to 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 300 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Evrak Kalemi | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 100 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1881/82 (AH 1299)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Kolagasi
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 2 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
- 1899/1900 (AH 1317)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 300
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 29 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Thessaloniki (Selanik) in the same years, Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 26th highest salary.
- Mustafa Nuri Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0049_0019; 35)2 shared years; highest salary 800 kuruş
- Hasan Nazmi Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 700 kuruş
- Hasan Gamir Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Mehmet Galip Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 116 officials with entries in Thessaloniki (Selanik) in the same years, Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 99th highest salary.
- Mehmet Talat Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 15,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Memduh Bey3 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Rıza Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- İshak Nisyon Amon Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mustafa Nuri Efendi3 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 972 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 780th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey2 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey2 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi2 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Hasan Cemal Efendi2 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 Saim Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abbas Hilmi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Abdülhalim Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Haşmet Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Abdullah Hulusi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Abdurrahim Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 251 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 1,419th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 120 kuruş
- Ahmet Refik Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Şemsettin Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Tevfik Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 120 kuruş
- Ahmet Vefik Efendiborn 1881/82 (AH 1299); highest salary 140 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 131 officials whose first annual entry is for 1901/02 (AH 1319), Mehmet Saim Efendi had the 76th highest salary.
- Hafız Mehmet Bahir Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 285 kuruş
- Mehmet Faik Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Hüseyin Hüsnü Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 460 kuruş
- Hasan Fethi Efendifirst entry in Thessaloniki (Selanik); highest salary 500 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (3)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 118-173-341 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 118-173-341 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Evrak Kalemi | Thessaloniki (Selanik) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 118-173-341 |
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 Saim Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1299 | 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 | Kolagasi | 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) | 2 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1317 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1899 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | Selanik | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 300 | 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.
- 3 annual entries of 3 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 Saim Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Thessaloniki (Selanik)
- 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)