Official
Ahmet Cevdet Efendi
Muslim (Müslüman). Born in Istanbul (Dersaadet) in 1871/72 (AH 1288). On record 1892 to 1904, 12 annual entries. Death recorded 1904/05.
Archive reference 69_145; 287
Life#
Ahmet Cevdet Efendi was born in Istanbul in 1871/72 (AH 1288) into the Muslim (Müslüman) community; the father was a tradesman (esnaf). Work began in Istanbul in 1889/90, at about 18, with three unpaid years as a mülazım (apprentice) before a first salary of 500 kuruş. The first annual entry, for 1892/93, places Ahmet Cevdet in Izmir (İzmir) as a communications official (Muhabere Memuru). Next came Bebek and Zliten from 1893 to 1898, with a rise to director of the third grade (3. Müdür) in 1893/94 and to director of the second grade (2. Müdür) in 1897/98. The last posts were in Beyoğlu from 1898 to 1904. The posts lie on three continents, Africa, Asia and Europe, as for fewer than 2 per cent of the 5,200 officials with a place of service.
Pay rose from 500 kuruş a month in 1892/93 to a peak of 900 in 1897/98, as 2. Müdür in Zliten, when 88 per cent of paid officials earned less. That salary was paid for a single year, and the next list gives 440 kuruş. Over 12 years pay ended below where it began, 440 kuruş against 500. The last annual entry is for 1903/04; the list of 1904/05 (AH 1322) gives the status word Vefat (death).
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 1871/72 (AH 1288); First work 1889/90 (AH 1307)
Death recorded in the annual list of 1904/05 (AH 1322): the word Vefat, not a date of death.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93 | 500 | 500 | 400 | 44% |
| 1893/94 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 60% |
| 1894/95 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 60% |
| 1895/96 | 600 | 500 | 600 | 59% |
| 1896/97 | 540 | 500 | 540 | 61% |
| 1897/98 | 900 | 500 | 778.5 | 88% |
| 1898/99 | 440 | 500 | 400 | 43% |
| 1899/1900 | 440 | 500 | 400 | 43% |
| 1900/01 | 440 | 500 | 400 | 43% |
| 1901/02 | 440 | 500 | 400 | 45% |
| 1902/03 | 440 | 500 | 380 | 45% |
| 1903/04 | 440 | 475 | 350 | 46% |
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) | 500first-salary field |
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Izmir (İzmir) | 500 |
| 1893 to 1897AH 1311 to 1314 | 3. Müdür | Bebek | 600 to 540 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | 2. Müdür | Zliten | 900 |
| 1898 to 1904AH 1316 to 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 |
| 1904/05AH 1322 | Death recorded | ||
Record#
Personal
- Born
- 1871/72 (AH 1288)
- Birthplace
- Istanbul (Dersaadet)
- Community
- Muslim (Müslüman)
- Nationality as recorded
- Turkish
- Father's occupation
- Esnaf
- Death recorded
- 1904/05 (AH 1322)the year of the annual list with the word Vefat, not a date of death
Education
- Rüşdiye
- Rüşdiye Mektebi (7 years)rüşdiye school (middle school)
- 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
- French
- Kitabetwriting
- 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)
- 500
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 171 officials with entries in Beyoğlu in the same years, Ahmet Cevdet Efendi had the 40th highest salary.
- Emrullah Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 10,000 kuruş
- Unnamed official (0002_0176; 350)6 shared years; highest salary 3,500 kuruş
- Mustafa Nesimi Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 3,250 kuruş
- Paskal Mıgırdıç Kazancıyan Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,905 kuruş
- Hüseyin Azmi Efendi6 shared years; highest salary 2,250 kuruş
Same job title, same years
Of the 1,773 officials with the title Muhabere Memuru in the same years, Ahmet Cevdet Efendi had the 167th highest salary.
- Mehmet Hulusi Bey7 shared years; highest salary 2,600 kuruş
- Mustafa Fazıl Bey7 shared years; highest salary 1,700 kuruş
- Mehmet Sadullah Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,650 kuruş
- Mehmet Asım Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,550 kuruş
- Ali Şevket Efendi7 shared years; highest salary 1,450 kuruş
Same school
Of the 3,206 officials with Rüşdiye Mektebi among their schools, 3,200 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Cevdet Efendi had the 421st highest salary of them.
- Abdi Zühtü Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 1,000 kuruş
- Abdullah Avni Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 380 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 700 kuruş
Same birthplace
Of the 1,999 officials born in Istanbul, 1,997 have a recorded salary; Ahmet Cevdet Efendi had the 457th highest salary of them.
- Ahmet Bahaattin Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 1,500 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 210 kuruş
- Ahmet Hamdi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 300 kuruş
- Ahmet Hulusi Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 700 kuruş
- Ahmet Murat Efendiborn 1871/72 (AH 1288); highest salary 220 kuruş
First annual entry in the same year
Of the 189 officials whose first annual entry is for 1892/93 (AH 1310), Ahmet Cevdet Efendi had the 16th highest salary.
- Ahmet Rıfat Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 610 kuruş
- Mehmet Naci Efendifirst entry in Izmir (İzmir); highest salary 350 kuruş
- Ali Rıza Efendifirst entry in Merzifon; highest salary 600 kuruş
- İsmail Hakkı Efendifirst entry in Istanbul; highest salary 350 kuruş
- İsmail Zühtü Efendifirst entry in Ordu; highest salary 525 kuruş
Full record
Annual entries (12)
| Year | Title | Place | Kuruş a month | Institution | Source | Archive reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892/93AH 1310 | Muhabere Memuru | Izmir (İzmir) | 500 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1893/94AH 1311 | 3. Müdür | Bebek | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1894/95AH 1312 | 3. Müdür | Bebek | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1895/96AH 1313 | 3. Müdür | Bebek | 600 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1896/97AH 1314 | 3. Müdür | Bebek | 540 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1897/98AH 1315 | 2. Müdür | Zliten | 900 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1898/99AH 1316 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1899/1900AH 1317 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1900/01AH 1318 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1901/02AH 1319 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1902/03AH 1320 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
| 1903/04AH 1321 | Muhabere Memuru | Beyoğlu | 440 | Post and Telegraph (Posta ve Telgraf) | Recovered annual personnel extract | 69_145; 287 |
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 (15)
| Field | Recorded value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Name | Ahmet Cevdet Efendi | Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Birth year (AH) | 1288 | 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) | 3 | 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) | 500 | Recovered annual personnel extract; Personnel attributes extract; Earlier annual personnel extract |
| Status | ||
| Death recorded under the year (AH) | 1322 | Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy); Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy) |
What the sources named in this table are
- Earlier annual personnel extract (original copy)
- A copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read for the title wording of each year. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death.
- Earlier annual personnel extract (parallel copy)
- A second copy of the earlier annual personnel file, read in the same way. A death taken from it is the status word Vefat in the title field of one annual list: the year is the year of that list, not a date of death. Two copies that agree are one piece of evidence, not two.
- 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.
- 12 annual entries of 12 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 Cevdet Efendi
- Communications official (Muhabere Memuru)
- Beyoğlu
- 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)