The list of traditional Turkish units of measurement, a.k.a. Ottoman units of measurement, is given below.
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]
| Local name | In English | Equivalence | In modern units [2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish: nokta | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: نقطه | point | 0.219mm | ||
| Turkish: hat | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: خط | line | 12 Turkish: nokta | 2.63mm | |
| Turkish: parmak | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: پرمق | finger | 12 Turkish: hat | 31.57mm | |
| Turkish: kerrab or Turkish: kirab | 42.5mm | |||||
| Turkish: rubu or Turkish: urup | 2 Turkish: kerrab | 85mm | ||||
| Turkish: ayak or Turkish: [[kadem]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: آیاق | foot | 12 Turkish: parmak | 378.87mm | |
| Turkish: [[endaze]] | ell | 650mm | ||||
| Turkish: [[arşın]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: آرشين or Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: آرشون | ell | 68cm (27inches) | ||
| Turkish: zirai | agricultural/yard | 2 Turkish: ayak | 757.74mm | |||
| Turkish: kulaç | fathom | 1.8288m (06feet) | ||||
| Turkish: berid or Turkish: menzil | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: بريد or Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: منزل | range | 600 Turkish: ayak | 227m (745feet) | |
| Turkish: eski mil | nautical mile | 5,000 Turkish: ayak | 1894.35m (6,215.06feet) | |||
| Turkish: [[parasang|fersah]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: فرسخ | league | 3 Turkish: eski mil | 5685m (18,652feet) | |
| Turkish: [[merhale]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: مرحلة | stage, phase | 200 Turkish: berid | 45.48km (28.26miles) | |
| Local name | In English | In modern units | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: eski dönüm | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: اسكی دونوم | old dunam | 919m2 | |
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: büyük dönüm | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: بیوك دونوم | big dunam | 2720m2 | |
| Local name | In English | Equivalence | In modern units | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: [[şinik (unit)|şinik]] | peck | 9.25L | ||||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: [[kile (unit)|kile]] (Istanbul) | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: كيله | bushel | 4 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: şinik | 37L | |
| Local name | In English | Equivalence | In modern units | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: kırat | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: قيراط | carat | 0.2004g | ||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: dirhem | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: درهم | (Turkish)dram | 16 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: kırat | 3.207g | |
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: [[oka (mass)|okka]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: اوقه | oka | 400 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: dirhem | 1.282kg (02.826lb) | |
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: miskal | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: مثقال | 1.5 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: dirhem | 4.25g | ||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: [[batman (unit)|batman]] | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: بطمان | 6 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: okka | 7.697kg (16.969lb) | ||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: kantar | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: قنطار | weighbridge | 56.449kg (124.449lb) | ||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: çeki | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: چكی | 4 Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: kantar | 225.789kg (497.78lb) | ||
| Local name | In modern units | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: hilal | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: هلال | 0.6526 L/min [3] | |
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: çuvaldız | 1.125 L/min | |||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: masura | 4.5 L/min | |||
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: kamış | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: قامش | 9 L/min | |
| Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: lüle | align=right | Turkish, Ottoman (1500-1928);: لوله | 36 L/min[4] | |
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.