Official
Mehmet Cemal Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1876/77 (AH 1293). On record 1895 to 1905, 10 annual entries.
Archive reference 70_56; 109
Life#
Mehmet Cemal Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1876/77 (AH 1293) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi).
At about 16, in 1891/92, Mehmet Cemal began work in Istanbul, with four unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 35 kuruş. Every annual entry from 1895/96 to 1904/05 places Mehmet Cemal in Istanbul, the birthplace, first in the office for important affairs (Mühimme Kalemi), from 1902/03 as an official for outgoing items (Mersule Memuru).
The salary went from 35 kuruş a month in 1895/96 to 320 in 1904/05, the peak, as Mersule Memuru in Istanbul, when 31 per cent of paid officials earned less. In all, ten years of salary come to 23,460 kuruş, 39 per cent of what an official on the median salary earned in those years. The final annual entry is for 1904/05.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1895/96 | 35 | 500 | 400 | 440 | 0% |
| 1896/97 | 150 | 500 | 400 | 425 | 6% |
| 1897/98 | 150 | 500 | 325 | 425 | 6% |
| 1898/99 | 150 | 500 | 250 | 440 | 6% |
| 1899/1900 | 200 | 500 | 325 | 450 | 7% |
| 1900/01 | 200 | 500 | 375 | 450 | 8% |
| 1901/02 | 200 | 500 | 150 | 440 | 9% |
| 1902/03 | 250 | 500 | 250 | 450 | 15% |
| 1903/04 | 300 | 475 | 300 | 450 | 23% |
| 1904/05 | 320 | 450 | 285 | 450 | 31% |
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1891/92AH 1309 | First work | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 35first-salary field |
| 1895 to 1902AH 1313 to 1319 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 35 to 200 |
| 1902 to 1905AH 1320 to 1322 | Mersule Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 to 320 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- 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)
- 4 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
- 1891/92 (AH 1309)
- Place
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 35
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 16 officials who held Mühimme Kalemi in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 12th highest salary.
- Hasib Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Mehmet Neşet Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Hacı Mehmet Zeynel Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 350 kuruş
- Mehmet Durak Bey6 shared years; highest salary 350 kuruş
Same place, same years
Of the 991 officials with entries in Istanbul in the same years, Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 716th highest salary.
- Hüseyin Hasip Efendi10 shared years; highest salary 20,000 kuruş
- Salahattin Bey10 shared years; highest salary 7,800 kuruş
- Suleyman Resat Bey10 shared years; highest salary 7,000 kuruş
- Mehmet Hayri Bey10 shared years; highest salary 5,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Asaf Bey10 shared years; highest salary 5,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 21 officials with the title Mühimme Kalemi in the same years, Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 15th highest salary.
- Hasib Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 750 kuruş
- Mehmet Nuri Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Aziz Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdullah Hamdi Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Mehmet Neşet Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 500 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 2,200th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemil Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 720 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 1,413th highest salary of them.
- Abdullah Faik Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 250 kuruş
- Ahmet Cemil Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 720 kuruş
- Ahmet İhsan Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Ahmet Nefi Efendiborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 150 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 183 officials whose first annual entry is for 1895/96 (AH 1313), 182 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Cemal Efendi had the 152nd highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Cemil Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ali Nazmi Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Hafız Nuri Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 300 kuruş
- Mehmet Talat Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 600 kuruş
- Salih Celalettin Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 800 kuruş
All 183 officials whose first annual entry is for 1895/96 (AH 1313)
Full record
Annual entries (10)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1895/96AH 1313 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 35 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 150 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Mühimme Kalemi | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 200 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Mersule Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 250 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Mersule Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 300 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Mersule Memuru | Istanbul (Dersaadet) | 320 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 70_56; 109 |
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 Cemal Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1293 | 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) | 4 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work | ||
| First work: year (AH) | 1309 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First work: Gregorian year as stored | 1892 | 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) | 35 | 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.
- 10 annual entries of 10 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 Cemal Efendi
- Office for important affairs (Mühimme Kalemi)
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Rüşdiye school (Rüşdiye Mektebi)
- Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf)
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Official for outgoing items (Mersule 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)