An official system of weights and measures was established in the ancient

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

under the Achaemenid dynasty (550-350 BCE). 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. The talent was a measure of weight used for large amounts of coinage. Some related units were used in Persia in the 19th century, and are still used in contemporary Iran.

Ancient Persian units

Length

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

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...

n talents equalled ten Attic talents, according to a list of the revenues of Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II of Persia) recorded in

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

. 𐎣𐎼𐏁 (karša) or 𐎣𐎼𐏁𐎹𐎠 (karšayā) is a unit of weight equal to 10 Babylonian ''shekels'' or Babylonian ''mina'' weighing approximately .British Museum No. 91117 Inscribed weight; http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=367895&partId=1

Units used in modern Persia (Iran)

Some related units were used in Persia in the 19th century, and are still used in contemporary

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Length

: 1 ''arsani'' or ''ulna'' = 52-64 cm. : 1 ''arish'' = : 1 ''chebel'' = 40 ''arsani'' = 21-25 meters or 23-30 yards. : 1 ''farsang'' (parasang) = 6.23 km in 19th century Persia. : 1 ''farsang'' = 10 kilometers in modern Iran and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Volume

: 1 ''chenica'' = 1.32 liters.

References

Obsolete units of measurement Human-based units of measurement Systems of units Units of measurement by country {{measurement-stub