Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Distinguish Template:Use list-defined references Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term cubit is found in the Bible regarding Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, and Solomon's Temple. The common cubit was divided into 6 palms × 4 fingers = 24 digits.<ref>Vitruvian Man.</ref> Royal cubits added a palm for 7 palms × 4 fingers = 28 digits.<ref>Stephen Skinner, Sacred Geometry – Deciphering The Code (Sterling, 2009) & many other sources.</ref> These lengths typically ranged from Template:Convert, with an ancient Roman cubit being as long as Template:Convert.
Cubits of various lengths were employed in many parts of the world in antiquity, during the Middle Ages and as recently as early modern times. The term is still used in hedgelaying, the length of the forearm being frequently used to determine the interval between stakes placed within the hedge.<ref name="green man">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EtymologyEdit
The English word "cubit" comes from the Latin noun {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "elbow", from the verb {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} "to lie down",<ref>Cassell's Latin Dictionary</ref> from which also comes the adjective "recumbent".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition, 1989; online version September 2011. s.v. "cubit"</ref>
Ancient Egyptian royal cubitEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The ancient Egyptian royal cubit (Template:Transliteration) is the earliest attested standard measure. Cubit rods were used for the measurement of length. A number of these rods have survived: two are known from the tomb of Maya, the treasurer of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun, in Saqqara; another was found in the tomb of Kha (TT8) in Thebes. Fourteen such rods, including one double cubit rod, were described and compared by Lepsius in 1865.<ref name="lepsius" /> These cubit rods range from Template:Convert in length and are divided into seven palms; each palm is divided into four fingers, and the fingers are further subdivided.<ref name="clagett" /><ref name="lepsius" /><ref name="arnold" />
| <hiero>M23-t:n-D42</hiero>
Hieroglyph of the royal cubit, Template:Transliteration |
Early evidence for the use of this royal cubit comes from the Early Dynastic Period: on the Palermo Stone, the flood level of the Nile river during the reign of the Pharaoh Djer is given as measuring 6 cubits and 1 palm.<ref name="clagett" /> Use of the royal cubit is also known from Old Kingdom architecture, from at least as early as the construction of the Step Pyramid of Djoser designed by Imhotep in around 2700 BC.<ref name="lauer" />
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurementEdit
Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. Each city, kingdom and trade guild had its own standards until the formation of the Akkadian Empire when Sargon of Akkad issued a common standard. This standard was improved by Naram-Sin, but fell into disuse after the Akkadian Empire dissolved. The standard of Naram-Sin was readopted in the Ur III period by the Nanše Hymn which reduced a plethora of multiple standards to a few agreed upon common groupings. Successors to Sumerian civilization including the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians continued to use these groupings.
The Classical Mesopotamian system formed the basis for Elamite, Hebrew, Urartian, Hurrian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian, Arabic, and Islamic metrologies.<ref>Conder 1908, p. 87.</ref>Template:Full citation needed The Classical Mesopotamian System also has a proportional relationship, by virtue of standardized commerce, to Bronze Age Harappan and Egyptian metrologies.
In 1916, during the last years of the Ottoman Empire and in the middle of World War I, the German assyriologist Eckhard Unger found a copper-alloy bar while excavating at Nippur. The bar dates from Template:Circa and Unger claimed it was used as a measurement standard. This irregularly formed and irregularly marked graduated rule supposedly defined the Sumerian cubit as about Template:Convert.<ref name=acta/>
There is some evidence that cubits were used to measure angular separation. The Babylonian Astronomical Diary for 568–567 BCE refers to Jupiter being one cubit behind the elbow of Sagittarius. One cubit measures about 2 degrees.<ref>Steele, John M., A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East (SAQI, 2008), pp. 41–42. Steele does not elaborate on the relationship between the cubit as a unit of length and a unit of angular separation.</ref>
Late Assyrian cubitsEdit
Ancient Assyrian units of measure appear to exhibit significant variability. However, based on analysis of careful measurement of sculptured slabs and figures from Khorsabad, dating to the time of Sargon II, now held in Western museums, it appears that standard measures did exist.<ref>Template:Cite journal </ref> This analysis, together with information from cuneiform documents from the period, confirm the existence of three Late Assyrian cubits or "kus" as the measure was called in Assyrian literature:
- The standard cubit (approximately Template:Cvt), used in most normal situations.
- The big cubit (Template:Cvt) is believed to have been reserved for representations of religious and mythological beings.
- The rare cubit of the king (Template:Cvt) is believed to have been used for representations of the king.
Biblical cubitEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The standard of the cubit (Template:Langx) in different countries and in different ages has varied. This realization led the rabbis of the 2nd century CE to clarify the length of their cubit, saying that the measure of the cubit of which they have spoken "applies to the cubit of middle-size".<ref name="MishnahMaimonides1967">Mishnah with Maimonides' Commentary (ed. Yosef Qafih), vol. 3, Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem 1967, Middot 3:1 [p. 291] (Hebrew).</ref> In this case, the requirement is to make use of a standard 6 handbreadths to each cubit,<ref>Mishnah (Kelim 17:9–10, pp. 629, note 14 – 630). In the Tosefta (Kelim Baba-Metsia 6:12–13), however, it brings down a second opinion, namely, that of Rabbi Meir, who distinguishes between a medium-sized cubit of 5 handbreadths, used principally for rabbinic measurements in measuring the bare and untilled ground near a vineyard and where there is a prohibition to grow therein seed plants under the laws of Diverse Kinds, and a larger cubit of 6 handbreadths used to measure therewith the altar. Cf. Saul Lieberman, Tosefet Rishonim (part 3), Jerusalem 1939, p. 54, s.v. איזו היא אמה בינונית, where he brings down a variant reading of the same Tosefta and where it has 6 handbreadths, instead of 5 handbreadths, for the medium size cubit.</ref><ref>Cf. Template:Cite book</ref> and which handbreadth was not to be confused with an outstretched palm, but rather one that was clenched and which handbreadth has the standard width of 4 fingerbreadths (each fingerbreadth being equivalent to the width of a thumb, about 2.25 cm).<ref>Tosefta (Kelim Baba-Metsia 6:12–13)</ref><ref>Mishnah with Maimonides' Commentary (ed. Yosef Qafih), vol. 1, Mossad Harav Kook: Jerusalem 1963, Kila'im 6:6 [p. 127] (Hebrew).</ref> This puts the handbreadth at roughly Template:Convert, and 6 handbreadths (1 cubit) at Template:Convert. Epiphanius of Salamis, in his treatise On Weights and Measures, describes how it was customary, in his day, to take the measurement of the biblical cubit: "The cubit is a measure, but it is taken from the measure of the forearm. For the part from the elbow to the wrist and the palm of the hand is called the cubit, the middle finger of the cubit measure being also extended at the same time and there being added below (it) the span, that is, of the hand, taken all together."<ref>Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures – the Syriac Version (ed. James Elmer Dean, The University of Chicago Press: Chicago 1935, p. 69.</ref>
Rabbi Avraham Chaim Naeh put the linear measurement of a cubit at Template:Convert.<ref>Abraham Haim Noe, Sefer Ḳuntres ha-Shiʻurim (Abridged edition from Shiʻurei Torah), Jerusalem 1943, p. 17 (section 20).</ref> Avrohom Yeshaya Karelitz (the "Chazon Ish"), dissenting, put the length of a cubit at Template:Convert.<ref>Chazon Ish, Orach Chaim 39:14.</ref>
Rabbi and philosopher Maimonides, following the Talmud, makes a distinction between the cubit of 6 handbreadths used in ordinary measurements, and the cubit of 5 handbreadths used in measuring the Golden Altar, the base of the altar of burnt offerings, its circuit and the horns of the altar.<ref name="MishnahMaimonides1967" />
Ancient GreeceEdit
In ancient Greek units of measurement, the standard forearm cubit Template:Nowrap measured approximately Template:Nowrap The short forearm cubit Template:Nowrap from the knuckle of the middle finger (i.e., fist clenched) to the elbow, measured approximately Template:Nowrap.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
Ancient RomeEdit
In ancient Rome, according to Vitruvius, a cubit was equal to Template:Frac Roman feet or 6 palm widths (approximately Template:Convert).<ref name="klein">H. Arthur Klein (1974). The Science of Measurement: A Historical Survey. New York: Dover. Template:ISBN. p. 68.</ref> A 120-centimetre cubit (approximately four feet long), called the Roman ulna, was common in the Roman empire, which cubit was measured from the fingers of the outstretched arm opposite the man's hip.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>; also, <ref>Template:Cite book</ref>with<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Islamic worldEdit
In the Islamic world, the cubit (Template:Transliteration) had a similar origin, being originally defined as the arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.<ref name="EI2">Template:EI2</ref> Several different cubit lengths were current in the medieval Islamic world for the unit of length, ranging from Template:Convert, and in turn the Template:Transliteration was commonly subdivided into six handsbreadths (Template:Transliteration), and each handsbreadth into four fingerbreadths (Template:Transliteration).<ref name="EI2"/> The most commonly used definitions were:
- the legal cubit (Template:Transliteration), also known as the hand cubit (Template:Transliteration), cubit of Yusuf (Template:Transliteration, named after the 8th-century Template:Transliteration Abu Yusuf), postal cubit (Template:Transliteration), "freed" cubit (Template:Transliteration) and thread cubit (Template:Transliteration). It measured Template:Convert, although in the Abbasid Caliphate it measured Template:Convert, possibly as a result of reforms of Caliph al-Ma'mun (Template:Reign).<ref name="EI2"/>
- the black cubit (Template:Transliteration), adopted in the Abbasid period and fixed by the measure used in the Nilometer on Rawda Island at Template:Convert. It is also known as the common cubit (Template:Transliteration), sack-cloth cubit (Template:Transliteration), and was the most commonly used in the Maghreb and Islamic Spain under the name Template:Transliteration.<ref name="EI2"/>
- the king's cubit (Template:Transliteration), inherited from the Sassanid Persians. It measured eight Template:Transliteration for a total of Template:Convert on average. It was this measure used by Ziyad ibn Abihi for his survey of Iraq, and is hence also known as Ziyadi cubit (Template:Transliteration) or survey cubit (Template:Transliteration). From Caliph al-Mansur (Template:Reign) it was also known as the Hashemite cubit (Template:Transliteration). Other identical measures were the work cubit (Template:Transliteration) and likely also the Template:Transliteration, which measures Template:Convert.<ref name="EI2"/>
- the cloth cubit, which fluctuated widely according to region: the Egyptian cubit (Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration) measured Template:Convert, that of Damascus Template:Convert, that of Aleppo Template:Convert, that of Baghdad Template:Convert, and that of Istanbul Template:Convert.<ref name="EI2"/>
A variety of more local or specific cubit measures were developed over time: the "small" Hashemite cubit of Template:Convert, also known as the cubit of Bilal (Template:Transliteration, named after the 8th-century Basran Template:Transliteration Bilal ibn Abi Burda); the Egyptian carpenter's cubit (Template:Transliteration) or architect's cubit (Template:Transliteration) of Template:Circa, reduced and standardized to Template:Convert in the 19th century; the house cubit (Template:Transliteration) of Template:Convert, introduced by the Abbasid-era Template:Transliteration Ibn Abi Layla; the cubit of Umar (Template:Transliteration) of Template:Convert and its double, the scale cubit (Template:Transliteration) established by al-Ma'mun and used mainly for measuring canals.<ref name="EI2"/>
In medieval and early modern Persia, the cubit (usually known as Template:Transliteration) was either the legal cubit of Template:Cvt, or the Isfahan cubit of Template:Convert.<ref name="EI2"/> A royal cubit (Template:Transliteration) appeared in the 17th century with Template:Convert, while a "shortened" cubit (Template:Transliteration) of Template:Convert (likely derived from the widely used cloth cubit of Aleppo) was used for cloth.<ref name="EI2"/> The measure survived into the 20th century, with 1 Template:Transliteration equal to Template:Convert.<ref name="EI2"/> Mughal India also had its own royal cubit (Template:Transliteration) of Template:Convert.<ref name="EI2"/>
Other systemsEdit
Other measurements based on the length of the forearm include some lengths of ell, the Russian lokot ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), the Indian {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Thai {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Malay {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Tamil {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Telugu Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), the Khmer Template:Transliteration, and the Tibetan Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref>Rigpa Wiki, accessed January 2022, "[1]"</ref>
Cubit arm in heraldryEdit
A cubit arm in heraldry may be dexter or sinister. It may be vested (with a sleeve) and may be shown in various positions, most commonly erect, but also fesswise (horizontal), bendwise (diagonal) and is often shown grasping objects.<ref name=Heraldic>Template:Cite book</ref> It is most often used erect as a crest, for example by the families of Poyntz of Iron Acton, Rolle of Stevenstone and Turton.
See alsoEdit
- History of measurement
- List of obsolete units of measurement
- System of measurement
- Unit of measurement
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Citation.
- Petrie, Sir Flinders (1881). Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.
- Stone, Mark H., "The Cubit: A History and Measurement Commentary", Journal of Anthropology {{#invoke:doi|main}}, 2014