Official
Ahmet Rıfat Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Nevşehir in 1875/76 (AH 1292). On record 1898 to 1907, 9 annual entries.
Archive reference 0098_0153; 303
Life#
Born in Nevşehir in 1875/76 (AH 1292) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community, Ahmet Rıfat Efendi was the child of a clerk (ketebe). Ahmet Rıfat had seven years of schooling, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
Work began in the telegraph service (Telgraf) in Istanbul in 1895/96, at about 20, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 380 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1898/99, places Ahmet Rıfat in Balıkesir as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Next came Kosova from 1900 to 1906. The last post was in Salahora in 1906/07.
Pay rose from 380 kuruş a month in 1898/99 to a peak of 500 in 1899/1900, as a soldier (Asker), when 47 per cent of paid officials earned less. The last annual entry is for 1906/07.
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.
Not on the map, as no position is recorded: stop 4 (Place not recorded).
Born 1875/76 (AH 1292)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898/99 | 380 | 500 | 400 | 485 | 28% |
| 1899/1900 | 500 | 500 | 47% | ||
| 1900/01 | 500 | 500 | 540 | 540 | 47% |
| 1901/02 | 500 | 500 | 540 | 540 | 49% |
| 1902/03 | 500 | 500 | 540 | 500 | 49% |
| 1903/04 | 500 | 475 | 540 | 500 | 51% |
| 1904/05 | 500 | 450 | 540 | 500 | 52% |
| 1905/06 | 500 | 475 | 540 | 400 | 50% |
| 1906/07 | 500 | 450 | 540 | 500 | 51% |
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 | Telgraffirst work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 380first-salary field |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Balıkesir | 380 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Asker | 500 | |
| 1900 to 1906AH 1318 to 1323 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | 3. Müdür | Salahora | 500 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1875/76 (AH 1292)
- Birthplace
- Nevşehir
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Ketebe
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school); place of the school as worded: Nevsehir
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 3 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
- 1895/96 (AH 1313)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First job as worded
- Telgraf
- Age at first work (workbook field)
- 21
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 380
- First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month)
- 380
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 3 officials who held Muhabere Memuru in Balıkesir in the same years, Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the highest salary.
- Mustafa Remzi Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi1 shared year; highest salary 400 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 36 officials with entries in Kosova in the same years, Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the 23rd highest salary.
- Mehmet Rüştü Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Halil Hayri Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- İsmail Rahmi Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 3,000 kuruş
- İbrahim Vehbi Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,480 kuruş
- Cemil Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 442 officials with the title 3. Müdür in the same years, Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the 345th highest salary.
- Ali Fehmi Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Andon Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Osman Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 650 kuruş
- Mehmet Şevket Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 640 kuruş
- Ahmet Kâşif Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the 1,253rd highest salary of them.
- Abdülaziz Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Abdülkadir Ziya Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 900 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 200 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hurrem Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 100 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 39 officials born in Nevşehir, Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the 15th highest salary.
- Ali Rıza Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Şükrü Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Mustafa Lütfü Efendiborn 1875/76 (AH 1292); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Şükrü Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 800 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1873/74 (AH 1290); highest salary 500 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 93 officials whose first annual entry is for 1898/99 (AH 1316), 92 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Rıfat Efendi had the 14th highest salary of them.
- Arif Mustafa Efendifirst entry in Didymoteicho (Dimetoka); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Artanis Hurşit Efendifirst entry in Baghdad (Bağdat); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Cemal Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 400 kuruş
- İsmail Hilmi Efendifirst entry in Jaffa (Yafa); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Mehmet Asıf Efendifirst entry in Canik; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
All 93 officials whose first annual entry is for 1898/99 (AH 1316)
Full record
Annual entries (9)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Balıkesir | 380 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Asker | 500 | Military (Askeriye) | Cross-ministry personnel workbook | 0098_0153; 303 | |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | 3. Müdür | Kosova | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | 3. Müdür | Salahora | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0098_0153; 303 |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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 (24)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Ahmet Rıfat Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| Birth year (AH) | 1292 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace | nevsehir | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: district (kaza) | Nevsehir | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: sancak | Nigde | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Birthplace: province (vilayet) | Konya | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Province of birth | konya | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | ketebe | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Religion | Musluman | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Nationality or community | Turkish | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Schooling | ||
| School | Rusdiye Mektebi | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Place of the school | Nevsehir | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of schooling | 7 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Years of apprenticeship (mülazemet) | 3 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1313 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Linked personnel workbook |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1895 | Recovered annual personnel extract |
| First work: place | istanbul | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: district (kaza) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: sancak | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First work: province (vilayet) | istanbul | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First job as worded | Telgraf | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| Age at first work (workbook field) | 21 | Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 380 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First-job salary of the original workbook (kuruş a month) | 380 | Linked personnel workbook; Cross-ministry personnel workbook |
What the sources named in this table are
- Cross-ministry personnel workbook
- A personnel workbook with the annual entries in institutions other than the Post and Telegraph (justice, land registry, customs, police and others), with the same annual fields as the personnel workbook.
- 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.
- Linked personnel workbook
- The original personnel workbook, from which selected fields on background and first work are taken.
- Origin of the record: Post and Telegraph personnel records.
- 7 annual entries of 9 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
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendi
- Director of the third grade (3. Müdür)
- Kosova
- Nevşehir
- 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)