13. Weights and Measures

Modern equivalents of medieval weights and measures are approximate. Some of the medieval weights had different values in different parts of the Islamic world. In giving modern equivalents, ounces and pounds are used. Small weights measuring less than an ounce are more conveniently given in grams. Liquid measurements are given in terms of a pint (= 2 cups), and a cup (= 16 tablespoons). The following guideline for modern equivalents of small weights is approximate because ingredients vary slightly in weight when measured by spoons.

1 ounce = 30 grams = 6 teaspoons = 2 tablespoons ½ ounce = 15 grams = 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon 2½ grams = ½ teaspoon 1¼ grams = ¼ teaspoon 1 gram = 1/5 teaspoon ¾ gram = ⅛ teaspoon ½ gram = 1/10 teaspoon ⅓ gram = 1/15 teaspoon ¼ gram = 1/20 teaspoon

Weight Measures literally ‘a carob seed’ = 1/16 dirham = approx. 0.20 gram (خروبة) kharrūba 1 literally, ‘a grain’ = 1/12 gram1 (حبّة) ḥabba 1 gram ¼ = (قيراط) qīrāṭ 1 gram ½ = (دانق) dānaq 1 grams = ½ teaspoon 3 = (درهم) dirham 1 grams = ⅔ teaspoon ½4 = (مثقال) mithqāl 1 grams = ⅔ teaspoon ½4 = (دينار) dīnār 1 Baghdādī) 11 dirhams = 34 grams = 2 tablespoons2) = (أوقيّة) ūqiyya 1 Egyptian) 12 dirhams = 37 grams = approx. 2 tablespoons) = (أوقيّة) ūqiyya 1

1 It also designates a small piece of anything such as a lump of salt or musk. 2 I base my calculations in the following weight measures on Shayzarī, Nihāyat al-Rutba 15–6, who explains that the commonly used qinṭār is 100 raṭls. The Damascene raṭl is 600 dirhams, and its ūqiyya has 50 dirhams. The Egyptian raṭl has 144 dirhams, and its ūqiyya has 12 dirhams. The Baghdadi raṭl equals ½ mann, which has 132 dirhams.

lit. large ūqiyya, could be the Levantine/Damascene ūqiyya (أوقية كبيرة) ūqiyya kabīra 1 known to be larger than the Egyptian and Baghdādī ūqiyya.3 It is equal (اوقية دمشق) to 200 grams = 7 ounces. (Egyptian = 144 dirhams = 450 grams = approx. 1 pound (0.99 (رطل مصري) raṭl Miṣrī 1 = Iraqi/Baghdadi = 132 dirhams = 408 grams (رطل عراقي/بغدادي) raṭl ʿIrāqī/Baghdādī 1 approx. 1 pound (0.90 pound).4 approx. 2 pounds.5 = (رطل جروي) raṭl jarwī 1 = Levantine/Damascene = 600 dirhams (رطل شامي و دمشقي) raṭl Shāmī/Dimashqī 1 1.85 kg. = 4.1 pounds 1 raṭl (liquid) = 1 pint = 2 cups6 ūqiyyas = 1½ pounds = 3 cups 24 = (قسط) qisṭ 1 raṭls = 2 pounds 2 = (من) mann 1 raṭls = 2 pounds7 2 = (مد) mudd 1 Egyptian raṭls = 10 pounds8 10 = (مد شامي) mudd Shāmī 1 pounds9 ¼2 = (قدح) qadaḥ 1 pounds10 ¾8 = (ربع) rubʿ 1 approx. 7 pounds = 14 cups = (غمر) ghumr 1 .Egyptian = 100 raṭls11 = Approx. 99 pounds = approx (قنطار مصري) qinṭār Miṣrī 1 11½ gallons (of milk) half an eighth = 1/16 (نصف ثمن) niṣf thumn ¾ = ’lit. ‘half and a quarter (نصف وربع) niṣf wa rubʿ

3 The ūqiyya even weighs more in other Syrian regions, like Aleppo, Ḥimṣ and Ḥamāt. 4 The difference between the Egyptian and the Iraqi raṭl is 42 grams (approx. 1½ ounces). 5 The name jarwī could have originated from the practice of using an earthenware jar called jarra (pl. jarr and jirār) in weighing olive oil, during the time of the Crusades. Later, its use extended to weigh other commodities, such as rosewater, honey, dried fruits, nuts, cheese, onion, and garlic. See Ibn Mammātī, Qawānīn 361; and Ashtor, Levantine weights and standard parcels 473. 6 Raṭl is also a mug (1-pint capacity) used for serving wine. 7 It is said to be a capacity measurement (mikyāl), which equals what both hands, put together, would hold. 8 Based on Kanz, recipe 557. .is approx. 1½ pounds (قدح صغير) The small qadaḥ 9 -which is 16 kilo ,ويبة) Lit. ‘quarter,’ calculated as a quarter of the weight measure wayba 10 grams). Al-Suyūṭī, Ḥusn al-Muḥāḍara 323, mentions that rubʿ equals 4 qadaḥs, and that each qadaḥ equals 232 dirhams. 11 See n. 2 above.