Official
Mehmet Selim Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Beirut (Beyrut) in 1876/77 (AH 1293). On record 1896 to 1907, 11 annual entries.
Archive reference 0100_0248/493
Life#
Mehmet Selim Efendi was born in Beirut (Beyrut) in 1876/77 (AH 1293) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a telegraph official (telgraf memuru). Schooling took seven years, at a middle school (Rüşdiye Mektebi); Mehmet Selim also wrote Arabic, French and Turkish.
At about 16, in 1891/92, Mehmet Selim began work in Beirut, with five unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 400 kuruş. The annual lists begin in 1896/97, with Mehmet Selim as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru) in Aleppo (Halep), where the entries run to 1899/1900. Next came a return to Beirut, the birthplace, from 1900 to 1904. The last posts were in Tuzla in 1904/05, as a director of the third grade (3. Müdür), and Aleppo in 1905/06, as a chief clerkship (Başkitabet) and Beirut again in 1906/07.
Pay rose from 400 kuruş a month in 1896/97 to a peak of 1,000 in 1905/06, as Başkitabet in Aleppo, when 86 per cent of paid officials earned less. The peak lasted a single year; the next list gives 700 kuruş. The final 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.
Born 1876/77 (AH 1293); First work 1891/92 (AH 1309)
1896 to 1900 (AH 1314 to 1317)
400 to 500 kuruş a month; entries in 4 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.
The numbers of the chart
| Year | Salary | Median, all officials | Median, same title | Paid less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97 | 400 | 500 | 400 | 32% |
| 1897/98 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 49% |
| 1898/99 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 48% |
| 1899/1900 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 47% |
| 1900/01 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 47% |
| 1901/02 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 49% |
| 1902/03 | 500 | 500 | 380 | 49% |
| 1903/04 | 500 | 475 | 350 | 51% |
| 1904/05 | 630 | 450 | 540 | 72% |
| 1905/06 | 1,000 | 475 | 800 | 86% |
| 1906/07 | 700 | 450 | 350 | 72% |
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 | Beirut (Beyrut) | 400first-salary field |
| 1896 to 1900AH 1314 to 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 to 500 |
| 1900 to 1904AH 1318 to 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 500 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | 3. Müdür | Tuzla | 630 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Başkitabet | Aleppo (Halep) | 1,000 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Beirut (Beyrut) | 700 |
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1876/77 (AH 1293)
- Birthplace
- Beirut (Beyrut)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Telgraf Memuru
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- Unpaid years (mülazemet)
- 5 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
- Arabic
- Kitabetwriting
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- 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
- Beirut (Beyrut)
- First salary field (kuruş a month)
- 400
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 76 officials with entries in Aleppo (Halep) in the same years, Mehmet Selim Efendi had the 19th highest salary.
- İsmail Nuri Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Ahmet Salih Efendi5 shared years; highest salary 900 kuruş
- Kostantin De Martin Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Yusuf Vasfi Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Mehmet Ali Efendi4 shared years; highest salary 1,000 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,553 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Mehmet Selim Efendi had the 65th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey8 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey8 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi8 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Mehmet Hurşit Efendi8 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 Selim Efendi had the 289th 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 51 officials born in Beirut (Beyrut), Mehmet Selim Efendi had the 8th highest salary.
- MEHMET MÜNİP EFENDİborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 400 kuruş
- Yusuf Cemil Beyborn 1876/77 (AH 1293); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Abdülkerim Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 100 kuruş
- Mehmet Efendiborn 1877/78 (AH 1294); highest salary 450 kuruş
- Abdülgani Efendiborn 1874/75 (AH 1291); highest salary 200 kuruş
The page of Beirut (Beyrut), with the 51 officials born there
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 164 officials whose first annual entry is for 1896/97 (AH 1314), 163 have a recorded salary; Mehmet Selim Efendi had the 6th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Feyzi Efendifirst entry in Tripoli (Trablusgarp); highest salary 720 kuruş
- Ahmet Mithat Efendifirst entry in Diyarbakır; highest salary 475 kuruş
- Ahmet Talat Efendifirst entry in Ioannina (Yanya); highest salary 600 kuruş
- Aziz İhsan Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 500 kuruş
- Hasan Fehmi Efendifirst entry in Novi Pazar (Yenipazar); highest salary 700 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (11)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896/97AH 1314 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 400 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Aleppo (Halep) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Beirut (Beyrut) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | 3. Müdür | Tuzla | 630 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1905/06AH 1323 | Başkitabet | Aleppo (Halep) | 1,000 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
| 1906/07AH 1324 | Muhaberat-ı Ecnebiye Memuriyeti | Beirut (Beyrut) | 700 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 0100_0248/493 |
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 Selim Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1293 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birthplace | beyrut | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Province of birth | beyrut | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Father's occupation | telgraf memuru | 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) | 5 | 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 | beyrut | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| First salary field (kuruş a month) | 400 | 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 11 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 Selim Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Aleppo (Halep)
- Beirut (Beyrut)
- 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)