View source for Schoenus

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{{hiero|Schoenus|<hiero>M17-X1:D21-G43-N35B-N36:N21*Z1</hiero>|align=right}}
'''Schoenus''' ({{langx|la|schœnus}}; {{langx|grc|σχοίνος}}, ''schoinos'', {{abbr|lit.|literally}}&nbsp;"[[Juncaceae|rush]] rope"; {{langx|egy|[[i͗]]trw}}, {{abbr|lit.|literally}}{{nbsp}}"river-measure") was an ancient [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|Egyptian]], [[Greek units|Greek]] and [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|Roman unit]] of [[Unit of length|length]] and [[Area#Units|area]] based on the [[knotted cord]]s first used in [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[Surveying#History|surveying]].

==Length==
The [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], who adopted it from the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], generally considered the schoinos equal to 40 [[Stadion (unit)|stades]], but neither the schoinos nor the stadion had an absolute value, and there were several regional variants of each. [[Strabo]] noted that it also varied with terrain, and that when he "ascended the hills, the measures of these schoeni were not everywhere uniform, so that the same number sometimes designated a greater, sometimes a less actual extent of road, a variation which dates from the earliest time and exists in our days." [[Herodotus]] ([https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/2A*.html#6 2.6] and [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/2B*.html#149 2.149]) says, that schoenus is 60 stadia or about {{convert|10.5|km}}.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Or5CKl1ObX4C&pg=PA592|title=The Histories|date=March 5, 1998|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-158955-3|via=Google Books}}</ref> This agrees with the distance implied by the [[Triacontaschoenus]] stretching south of the [[First Cataract]] in Roman-era [[Nubia]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fage |first1=J. D. |last2=Clark |first2=John Desmond |last3=Oliver |first3=Roland Anthony |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |date=1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-21592-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jjBYQCpfCNkC&pg=PA258 |language=en}}</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D11 5.11] that is 30 stadia. Strabo  [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/17A2*.html#1.24 17.1.24]: according to the place, between 30 and 120 stadia. [[Isidore of Charax]]'s schoenus—used in his ''Parthian Stations''—has been given values between {{cvt|4.7 and 5.5|km|mi}}, but the precise value remains controversial given the known errors in some of his distances.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edwell |first1=Peter |title=Between Rome and Persia: The Middle Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Palmyra Under Roman Control |date=December 2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-09573-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DQgmOZlsEWcC&pg=PA228 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bell |first1=Gertrude |last2=Mason |first2=Fergus |title=Amurath to Amurath: Includes Biography of Gertrude Bell |date=2 June 2014 |publisher=BookCaps Study Guides |isbn=978-1-62917-285-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41-0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT105 |language=en}}</ref>

{{anchor|Schoinion}}<!--linked-->
The Byzantine '''schoinion''' or "little schoenus" ({{lang|grc|σχοινιον}}, ''skhoinion'') was {{nowrap|20{{thinsp}}000 [[pous|Greek feet]]}} or 33⅓&nbsp;stades.<ref>[http://www.anistor.gr/history/Byzantine_Units.pdf Byzantine Measures].</ref>

==Area==
The Romans also used the schoenus as a unit of area, equivalent to the ''actus quadratus'' or half-[[jugerum]] ({{convert|2523|m2|sqft|abbr=on}}) formed by a square with sides of 120 [[Roman feet]]. The [[Heraclean Tables]] admonished that each schoenus should be planted with 4 [[olive tree]]s and some [[grape vine]]s, upon penalty of fines.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ridgeway |first1=William |title=The Origin of Metallic Currency and Weight Standards |date=1892 |publisher=CUP Archive |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7U8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA365 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ancient Egyptian units of measurement|Egyptian]], [[Ancient Greek units of measurement|Greek]], and [[Ancient Roman units of measurement|Roman units]]
* [[Rope (unit)|Rope]] and [[Knot (unit)|knot]], related units
* [[Knotted cord]], the surveying tool initially responsible for the schoenus

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Hellenic measurement}}

[[Category:Obsolete units of measurement]]
[[Category:Units of length]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek units of measurement]]


{{Measurement-stub}}