Ottoman units of measurement

Short description: Measurement units used in the Ottoman Empire

The list of traditional Turkish units of measurement, a.k.a. Ottoman units of measurement, is given below.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 List of units
* 2.1 Length
* 2.2 Area
* 2.3 Volume
* 2.4 Weight
* 2.5 Volumetric flow
* 3 Time
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 References

## History

The Ottoman Empire (1299-1923), the predecessor of modern Turkey was one of the 17 signatories of the Metre Convention in 1875. For 58 years both the international and the traditional units were in use, but after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, the traditional units became obsolete. In 1931 by Act No. 1782, international units became compulsory and the traditional units were banned from use starting 1 January 1933.[1]

## List of units

### Length

Local name  | In English  | Equivalence  | In modern units [2]

|
|
|

nokta | نقطه | point  |  | 0.219 mm (0.0086 in)
hat | خط‎ | line  | 12 nokta | 2.63 mm (0.104 in)
parmak | پرمق | finger  | 12 hat | 31.57 mm (1.243 in)
kerrab or kirab |  |  |  | 42.5 mm (1.67 in)
rubu or urup |  |  | 2 kerrab | 85 mm (3.3 in)
ayak or kadem | آیاق | foot  | 12 parmak | 378.87 mm (1.2430 ft)
endaze |  | ell |  | 650 mm (2.13 ft)
arşın | آرشين or آرشون | ell  |  | 68 cm (2.23 ft)
zirai |  | agricultural/yard  | 2 ayak | 757.74 mm (2.4860 ft)
kulaç |  | fathom |  | 1.8288 m (6.000 ft)
berid or menzil | بريد or منزل | range  | 600 ayak | 227 m (745 ft)
eski mil |  | nautical mile  | 5,000 ayak | 1,894.35 m (1.02287 nmi)
fersah | فرسخ | league | 3 eski mil | 5,685 m (3.532 mi)
merhale | مرحلة | stage, phase  | 200 berid | 45.48 km (28.26 mi)

### Area

Local name  | In English  | In modern units

|
|

eski dönüm | اسكی دونوم | old dunam | 919 m2 (9,890 sq ft)
büyük dönüm | بیوك دونوم | big dunam  | 2,720 m2 (29,300 sq ft)

### Volume

Local name  | In English  | Equivalence  | In modern units

|
|
|

şinik |  | peck |  | 9.25 L (2.44 US gal)
kile (Istanbul)  | كيله‎ | bushel | 4 şinik | 37 L (9.8 US gal)

### Weight

Local name  | In English  | Equivalence  | In modern units

|
|
|

kırat | قيراط | carat |  | 0.2004 g (1.002 carats)[lower-alpha 1]
dirhem | درهم | (Turkish) dram  | 16 kırat | 3.207 g (0.1131 oz)
okka | اوقه | oka  | 400 dirhem | 1.282 kg (2.83 lb)
miskal | مثقال |  | 1.5 dirhem | 4.25 g (0.150 oz)
batman | بطمان |  | 6 okka | 7.697 kg (16.97 lb)
kantar | قنطار | weighbridge  |  | 56.449 kg (124.45 lb)
çeki | چكی |  | 4 kantar | 225.789 kg (497.78 lb)

### Volumetric flow

Local name  | In modern units

|

hilal | هلال | 0.6526 L/min [3]
çuvaldız |  | 1.125 L/min
masura |  | 4.5 L/min
kamış | قامش | 9 L/min
lüle | لوله | 36 L/min[4]

## Time

The traditional calendar of the Ottoman Empire was, like in most Muslim countries, the Islamic calendar. Its era begins from the Hijra in 622 CE and each year is calculated using the 12 Arabian lunar months, approximately eleven days shorter than a Gregorian solar year. In 1839, however, a second calendar was put in use for official matters. The new calendar, which was called the Rumi also began by 622, but with an annual duration equal to a solar year after 1840. In modern Turkey, the Gregorian calendar was adopted as the legal calendar, beginning by the end of 1925. But the Islamic calendar is still used when discussing dates in an Islamic context.

## See also

* Measurement

## Notes

1. ↑ In this and following weight units, kg and g mean technically kg-weight or g-weight.

## References

1. ↑ Türkiye’nin 75 yılı, Tempo yayınları, Istanbul, 1998, p. 53
2. ↑ Fethi Yücel: Pratik Matematik,Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür yayınları, Ankara, 1963,p.15
3. ↑ "Facts On File History Database Center". http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=ESCMW612&DataType=Ancient&WinType=Free.
4. ↑ Zeus. "Nedir - Osmanlı Ölçüleri". toplumdusmani.net. http://www.toplumdusmani.net/modules/wordbook/entry.php?entryID=6788.

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