Ratl

Middle Eastern unit of measurement

A ratl (رطل ) is a medieval Middle Eastern unit of measurement found in several historic recipes. The term was used to measure both liquid and weight (around a pound and a pint in 10th century Baghdad, but anywhere from 8 ounces to 8 pounds depending on the time period and region).[1]

While there were a variety of names for different shapes of cups and mugs in use at the time, the ratl seems to have had a position roughly equivalent to a British pint in that the name of the drinking-vessel also implied a standardized measurement as opposed to merely the object's shape, in both 10th century Baghdad[1] and 13th century Andalusia.[2] However, those standardized measures varied both by region and by purpose: the spice-measuring ratl, the flax-measuring ratl, the oil-measuring ratl, and the quicksilver-measuring ratl all differed from each other.[3]

The ratl was a part of a sequence of measurements ranging from a grain of barley through the dirham (used as a common point of reference in both medieval European and Middle Eastern regions)[3] on up to the Sa (Islamic measure).

## measurement

[edit]

1 Mudd = 8/6 ratl.

1 Sá = 4 mudd = 5+1/3 ratl.

1 Ratl = 128+4/7 dirham or 128 dirham or 130 dirham.

1 Uqiyyah = 40 dirham.

1 Nashsh = 20 dirham.

7 mithqal = 10 dirham.

1 mithqal = 72 grains of average barely both edges cut.

1 mithqal = 20 qirat قِيراط of makkah = 21+3/7 qirat of Damascus.

1 Dirham = 0.7 mithqal =14 qirat of makkah = 15 qirat of Damascus.

1 mil = 4000 zira.

1 wasq = 60 sá.

In al-Warraq's tenth-century cookbook, different regions used some of the same terms to mean different units of measurement and the relationships between them. Some of those relationships are described below.

Unit name  | Weight [1] | Weight in dirham [1][3]

|
|

Dirham | 8 daniq  | 7 mithqal (dinar)=10 dirham
Uqiyyah | 40 dirhams  |
Ratl misri or fulfuli / spice measure  | 8 uqiyyahs  | 144 to 150 dirhams[3]

(Between 413 and 436 g)

Jarwi ratl / oil measure  |  | 312 dirhams

(Between .9 and .95 kg)

Ratl shami  | 8 Baghdadi ratls (about 8 lb)  |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d al-Warrāq, al-Muẓaffar Ibn Naṣr Ibn Sayyār (2007-11-26). Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayyār Al-Warrāq's Tenth-Century Baghdadi Cookbook. BRILL. ISBN 9789004158672.
2. ^ "Andalusian Cookbook: Table of Contents". www.daviddfriedman.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
3. ^ a b c d Ashtor, E. (1982). "Levantine Weights and Standard Parcels: A Contribution to the Metrology of the Later Middle Ages". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 45 (3): 471–488\. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00041525. ISSN 0041-977X. JSTOR 614920. S2CID 140561646.

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