Persian units of measurement

An official system of weights and measures was establishedTemplate:Citation needed in the ancient Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (550-350 BCE). The shekel and mina ("profane" or "sacred") were units of both weight and volume. A shekel or mina weight was equal to the weight of that volume of water. The talent was a measure of weight used for large amounts of coinage. Some related units were used in Persia in the 19th century, and are still used in contemporary Iran.

Ancient Persian units

Length

Persian unit	Persian name	Relation to previous unit	Metric Value	Imperial Value
digit finger	{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (angosht)<ref name="c709">Template:Cite book</ref>		≈ 20 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 0.8 in
hand	dva	5 aiwas	≈ 100 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 4 in
foot	trayas	3 dva	≈ 300 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 1 foot
four-hands	remen	4 dva	≈ 400 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 16 in
cubit (five-hands)	pank'a dva	5 dva	≈ 500 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 20 in
great cubit (six-hands)	(k)swacsh dva	6 dva	≈ 600 mmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 2 ft
pace	pank'a	5 trayas	≈ 1.5 mTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 5 ftTemplate:Citation needed
ten-foot	daca trayas	2 pank'a	≈ 3 mTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 10 ft
hundred-foot	chebel	8 daca trayas	≈ 24 mTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 80 ft
league, the distance a horse could walk in one hour.Template:Citation needed	parasang	250 chebel	≈ 6 kmTemplate:Citation needed	≈ 3.75 milesTemplate:Citation needed
mansion, one day's march on the Royal Road.	(Greek stathmos)	4 or 5 parasang	≈ 24–30 km	≈ 14–18 miles
Asparsa	Asparsa<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>		≈ 187–195 m and = 360 cubits

Volume

The shekel and mina ("profane" or "sacred") were units of both weight and volume. A shekel or mina weight was equal to the weight of that volume of water. Note that the values given for the mina do not match the definitions.

1 shekel = 8.3 ml (approximately 1 cubic aiwas).

1 profane mina = 50 shekel = 500 ml (approximately 27 cubic aiwas).

1 sacred mina = 60 shekel = 600 ml (approximately 1 cubic dva).

1 talent (volume) = 60 profane mina = 25 liters (approximately 1 cubic trayas).

Weight

The talent was a measure of weight used for large amounts of coinage (bullion, bulk coin), rather than an individual coin. Seven Babylonian talents equalled ten Attic talents, according to a list of the revenues of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) recorded in Herodotus.<ref>Herodotus, Book III, 90-96</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

𐎣𐎼𐏁 (karša) or 𐎣𐎼𐏁𐎹𐎠 (karšayā) is a unit of weight equal to 10 Babylonian shekels or Template:Frac Babylonian mina weighing approximately Template:Cvt.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Units used in modern Persia (Iran)

Some related units were used in Persia in the 19th century, and are still used in contemporary Iran.

Length

1 arsani or ulna = 52-64 cm.

1 arish = Template:Convert<ref name=rose>Template:Cite book</ref>

1 chebel = 40 arsani = 21-25 meters or 23-30 yards.

1 farsang (parasang) = 6.23 km in 19th century Persia.

1 farsang = 10 kilometers in modern Iran and Turkey.

Volume

1 chenica = 1.32 liters.

References

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