Jerib

The jerib or djerib is a traditional unit of land measurement in the Middle East and southwestern Asia. It is a unit of area used to measure land holdings (real property) in much the way that an acre or hectare are. Like most traditional units of measure, the jerib originally varied substantially from one location to another. However, in the twentieth century, the jerib has been regionally, if not uniformly defined. In many countries where it was traditionally used, it is equated with the hectare, for example in Turkey and Iran.[1][2] In Afghanistan, however, it is standardized at 2,000 square metres (0.49 acres).[2][3]

Comparison of Area units jerib to metric/English jerib m-ft ha-acre 1 jerib (Iran) 10,000 m² 1 hectare 1 jerib (Iran) 107,639 ft² 2.4711 acre 1 jerib (Afghan) 2,000 m² 0.2 hectare 1 jerib (Afghan) 21,760 ft² 0.4942 acre metric/English to jerib units jerib (Iran) jerib (Afghan) 1 ha 1 jerib (I) 5 jerib (A) 1 acre 0.4049 jerib (I) 2.0234 jerib (A) 10,000 sq yd 0.8361 jerib (I) 4.1806 jerib (A)

The jerib was roughly equivalent to the other customary land measures in south Asia and the Middle East, the Indian bigha and the Sumerian iku, varying between 1,600 and 3,600 square metres (0.40 and 0.89 acres). The word is probably derived from Arabic.[4]

Historical

The royal enclosure at Isfahan in Iran was named Hazar Jerib for the expanse of irrigated acreage, namely 1000 jeribs.[5][6]

Notes

1. "hectare" Britannica Online Encyclopedia, accessed 9 December 2008
2. Rowlett, Russ (1999) "J: jerib or djerib" How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement R. Rowlett, Chapel Hill, N.C., URL: <http://www.ibiblio.org/units/> OCLC 41069434
3. Grace, Jo (2005) "Glossary: jerib" Who Owns the Farm? Rural Women’s Access to Land and Livestock The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), accessed 9 December 2008
4. Miller, Norman N. ; Spitzer, Manon L. and Appleton, Sheldon (1978) Faces of Change: Five Rural Societies in Transition: Bolivia, Kenya, Afghanistan, Taiwan, China Coast American Universities Field Staff, Wheelock Educational Resources, Lebanon, N.H., page 202, ISBN 0-88333-005-9
5. de Bode, Clement Augustus (1856) "On the Races of the Southern Shores of the Caspian Sea" Journal of the Ethnological Society of London (1848–1856), Vol. 4, pp. 155–175, page 160
6. Curzon, George Nathaniel (1892) Persia and the Persian Question Volume 2, Longmans, Green and Co., London, page 47, OCLC 64845134

See also

• bigha, roughly equivalent land measure in Nepal and northern India