What Does "Two Dirhams One Seed" Mean?
27 Jan 2025, 02:02
The weight of the carob seed is 200 mg and this weight never changes. For centuries, the Arabs, Seljuks and Ottomans have used the carob seed to measure the weight of diamonds and precious stones. For this reason, the "carat" unit used in jewelry today is derived from the Latin name for the carob "Ceratonia" and the Arabic name "Carrat". In addition, 16 seeds make "1 dirham". During the Ottoman period, the weight of one gold coin was determined as 33 seeds, or 2 dirhams + 1 seed. In the Ottoman Empire, the analogy of "Two Dirhams One Seed" was made in the sense of "like gold" for rich and attractive people who dressed very stylishly and ostentatiously.
