Stremma

The stremma (pl. stremmata; Greek: στρέμμα, strémma) is a Greek unit of land area equal to 1,000 square metres. Historically, stremmata were not standardized, and may have been anywhere from 900–1,900 m² (9,700–20,500 sq ft).

History

The ancient Greek equivalent was the square plethron, which served as the Greeks' form of the acre. It was originally defined as the distance plowed by a team of oxen in a day[1] but was nominally standardized as the area enclosed by a square 100 Greek feet (pous) to a side. It was the size of a Greek wrestling square.

The Byzantine or Morean stremma continued to vary depending on the period and the quality of the land, but usually enclosed an area between 900–1,900 m² (9,700–20,500 sq ft).[2] It was originally also known as the "plethron" but this was eventually replaced by "stremma", derived from the verb for "turning" the ground with a Byzantine plow.[3]

The Ottoman stremma, often called the Turkish stremma, is the Greek (and occasionally English) name for the dunam, which in turn is probably derived from the Byzantine unit.[4] Again, this varied by region: some values include 1,270 m² (13,700 sq ft),[5] and 1,600 m².[6]

Conversions

One modern stremma is equivalent to:

Metric

Imperial

10,763.9 square feet
0.247 105 38 acres
0.000 386 102 square miles

Bibliography

Pryce, Frederick Norman; et al. (2012), "measures", The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 917, ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8.
Siriol Davis, "Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: administration and settlement in Venetian Navarino", Hesperia, Winter, 2004
Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής (Dictionary of Modern Greek), Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1998. ISBN 960-231-085-5
V.L. Ménage, Review of Speros Vryonis, Jr. The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the process of islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century, Berkeley, 1971; in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 36:3 (1973), pp. 659-661. at JSTOR (subscription required); see also Erich Schilbach, Byzantinische Metrologie.
The Dictionary of Modern Greek Λεξικό, 1998
Costas Lapavitsas, "Social and Economic Underpinning of Industrial Development: Evidence from Ottoman Macedonia" (PDF). Ηλεκτρονικό Δελτίο Οικονομικής Ιστορίας. Retrieved 2012-08-29.

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[1] Pryce, Frederick Norman; et al. (2012), "measures", The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 917, ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8.

[2] Siriol Davis, "Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: administration and settlement in Venetian Navarino", Hesperia, Winter, 2004

[3] Λεξικό της κοινής Νεοελληνικής (Dictionary of Modern Greek), Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών, Θεσσαλονίκη, 1998. ISBN 960-231-085-5

[4] V.L. Ménage, Review of Speros Vryonis, Jr. The decline of medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the process of islamization from the eleventh through the fifteenth century, Berkeley, 1971; in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) 36:3 (1973), pp. 659-661. at JSTOR (subscription required); see also Erich Schilbach, Byzantinische Metrologie.

[5] The Dictionary of Modern Greek Λεξικό, 1998

[6] Costas Lapavitsas, "Social and Economic Underpinning of Industrial Development: Evidence from Ottoman Macedonia" (PDF). Ηλεκτρονικό Δελτίο Οικονομικής Ιστορίας. Retrieved 2012-08-29.