qantar

See also: kantar.

Various units of mass in the Middle East, descended from the Islamic kintar or qintar, which in turn comes from the Roman centarius, the root meaning of both being 100 of a smaller unit.

1

[Maltese] In Malta opens maps showing location of Malta, 20ᵗʰ century (UN 1966), a unit of mass = 100 rtal = 175 pounds (approximately 79.379 kilograms). link to a table showing relationships between units of mass in Malta

Like many Maltese units, the qantar shows traces of both the Arabic and British periods in the island’s history. The value comes from assimilating British weights.

2

[Arabic] In Egypt, 20ᵗʰ century, a unit of mass = 45 kilograms.

In the 19ᵗʰ century, = 100 rtal or rottolo = 45.35 kilograms. link to a chart showing relationships between Egyptian units of mass According to Doursther, in Alexandria the qantar was already simply 45 kilograms and the same value was often used in Cairo as well.

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Last revised: 5 January 2008.