Official
Mehmet Raif Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1842/43 (AH 1258). On record 1889 to 1906, 14 annual entries.
Archive reference 0084_0193; 381
Life#
Mehmet Raif Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1842/43 (AH 1258) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Work began in Istanbul in 1889/90, at about 48, paid from the start, on 100 kuruş a month. Of the 5,128 officials whose age at first work is known, 8 started at 48 or older. Every annual entry from 1889/90 to 1905/06 places Mehmet Raif in the same office, office of the corresponding secretary (Mektubi Kalemi), in Istanbul, the birthplace.
Pay rose from 100 kuruş a month in 1889/90 to a peak of 300 in 1905/06, in the Mektubi Kalemi in Istanbul, when 23 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, 14 years of salary come to 31,200 kuruş, 37 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The last 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889/90 | 100 | 500 | 500 | 2% |
| 1890/91 | 100 | 500 | 600 | 2% |
| 1891/92 | 100 | 500 | 580 | 3% |
| 1892/93 | 200 | 500 | 450 | 9% |
| 1896/97 | 100 | 500 | 495 | 2% |
| 1897/98 | 130 | 500 | 450 | 5% |
| 1898/99 | 130 | 500 | 472.5 | 5% |
| 1899/1900 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 7% |
| 1900/01 | 200 | 500 | 475 | 8% |
| 1901/02 | 200 | 500 | 500 | 9% |
| 1902/03 | 280 | 500 | 400 | 20% |
| 1903/04 | 280 | 475 | 400 | 22% |
| 1904/05 | 280 | 450 | 400 | 22% |
| 1905/06 | 300 | 475 | 287.5 | 23% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1889/90AH 1307 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100first-salary field |
| 1889 to 1893AH 1307 to 1310 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 to 200 |
| No annual entry: 1893 to 1896 (AH 1311 to 1313) | |||
| 1896 to 1906AH 1314 to 1323 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 to 300 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1842/43 (AH 1258)
- 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 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
- 1889/90 (AH 1307)
- 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 place, same years
Of the 1,180 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Raif Efendi had the 864th highest salary.
- Salahattin Bey14 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey14 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey14 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Melkok Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
- Dikran Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 4,500 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 40 officials with the title Mektubi Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Raif Efendi had the 29th highest salary.
- Salih Hulusi Efendi14 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Raşit Efendi 127713 shared years; highest salary 725 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Bey11 shared years; highest salary 550 kuruş
- Mahmut Aziz Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Nuri Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 710 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Raif Efendi had the 2,211th highest salary of them.
- Abdülkadir Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmet Şakir Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Aziz Mahmut Beyborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 2,250 kuruş
- Bekir Sami Efendborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Cemal Beyborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 1,100 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Raif Efendi had the 1,419th highest salary of them.
- Abdülkadir Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdüllatif Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 1,200 kuruş
- Abdurrahman Zekai Beyborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 3,600 kuruş
- Ahmet İsmet Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 4,400 kuruş
- Ahmet Kemalettin Efendiborn 1842/43 (AH 1258); highest salary 800 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 116 officials whose first annual entry is for 1889/90 (AH 1307), Mehmet Raif Efendi had the 101st highest salary.
- Mehmet Mazhar Beyfirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Naim Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Ramazan Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Habip Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 170 kuruş
- Salih Tevfik Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 475 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (14)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889/90AH 1307 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1890/91AH 1308 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1891/92AH 1309 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 100 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 130 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 130 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 280 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 280 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 280 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Mektubi Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0084_0193; 381 |
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 Raif Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1258 | 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 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1307 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1890 | 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.
- 14 annual entries of 14 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 Raif Efendi
- Office of the corresponding secretary (Mektubi 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)