Persian units of measurement

Ancient Persian units

An official system of weights and measures was established in the ancient Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty (550-350 BCE).

Length

Persian unit	Persian name	Relation to previous unit	Metric Value	Imperial Value
finger	aiwas		≈ 20 mm	≈ 0.8 in
hand	dva	5 aiwas	≈ 100 mm	≈ 4 in
foot	trayas	3 dva	≈ 300 mm	≈ 1 foot
four-hands	remen	4 dva	≈ 400 mm	≈ 16 in
cubit (five-hands)	pank'a dva	5 dva	≈ 500 mm	≈ 20 in
great cubit (six-hands)	(k)swacsh dva	6 dva	≈ 600 mm	≈ 2 ft
pace	pank'a	5 trayas	≈ 1.5 m	≈ 5 ft
ten-foot	daca trayas	pank'a	≈ 3 m	≈ 10 ft
hundred-foot	chebel	8 daca trayas	≈ 24 m	≈ 80 ft
league, the distance a horse could walk in one hour.	parasang	250 chebel	≈ 6 km	≈ 3.75 miles
mansion, one day's march on the Royal Road.	(Greek stathmos)	4 or 5 parasang	≈ 24–30 km	≈ 14–18 miles
Asparsa	Asparsa[1][2][3]		≈ 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.^[4][5]

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 = 38.27 inches (97.21 cm)^[6]

1 chebel = 40 arsani = 21-25 meters

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

1 farsang = 10 km in modern Iran and Turkey.

Volume

1 chenica = 1.32 liters.

References

1. http://www.smithlifescience.com/AncientMeasurements.htm
2. http://www.loghatnaameh.org/dehkhodaworddetail-08b73cdcf25247689c183b1eaeec389f-fa.html
3. Measures from Antiquity and the Bible; http://users.aol.com/jackproot/met/antbible.html
4. Herodotus, Book III, 90-96
5. Burn, Andrew R. (1984). Persia and the Greeks: the defence of the West, c. 546-478 BC. [London]: Duckworth. pp. 123–126. ISBN 0-7156-1765-6.
6. Rose, Joshua (1900). Pattern Makers Assistant (9th ed.). New York: D. van Nostrand Co. p. 264.