Mile

The XXIX myliary of Via XVIII, which connected Bracara Augusta to Asturica Augusta.

The mile is an ancient unit of length that has been used in many countries since the Roman mile, which was equivalent to 1000 paces (each step measuring 5 Roman feet). Long after most countries adopted the metric system, the United Kingdom and the United States continued to maintain the Anglo-Saxon system of units that included the mile among its units. It is still used in the United States with a value of 1,609.344 meters. In the United Kingdom it is used for reference only, for example road speeds are stated in miles per hour.

The Roman mile measured about 1,481 meters, and therefore a simple step was about 74 cm. As a Roman heritage (before the metric system was established), the mile was one of the main measures of length in the Western world (although its length differed from country to country). With the introduction of the metric system, the Latin countries and many others began to use the meter and its multiples to measure terrestrial distances, and it is currently used throughout the world, except in the Anglo-Saxon countries and those in its sphere of influence, where they still use the mile (although the International System of Units is already officially implemented).

Although several abbreviations are used for its symbol (mi, ml, m, M), in In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology recommends the use of mi, although in common use for other units that use it, at least in Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom, it is abbreviated as m instead of my; such as miles per hour (mph instead of mi/h).

the golden Milestone in the center of Rome. In the photo, milestone XXIX of Via XVIII, which connected Bracara Augusta to Asturica Augusta

English Mile

Call simply mileor more precisely statutory mile, is still used in Anglo-Saxon countries and is equivalent to exactly 1609.344 meters (2514615625{displaystyle {tfrac {25146}{156}}}}}}km, expressed in fraction). In English it is called Statute Mile. In countries using the metric system, the mile usually appears on the scale of the maps so that they can also be studied by Anglo-Saxons. Similarly, Anglo-Saxon countries gradually incorporate the kilometer as additional data in their cartography.

Equivalences

• 1 Roman mile (1481 meters) = ¹/₃ Roman league (4443 meters)
• 1 mile statutory = 1609,344 meters
• 1 mile statutory = 8 furlongs
• 1 mile statutory = 80 chains
• 1 mile statutory = 320 rods
• 1 mile statutory = 1760 yards
• 1 mile statutory = 5280 feet

Surveyor Mile

Called Survey Mile in English, it is used by the Public Land Survey System of the United States; equals 5,280 survey feet, approximately 1,609 meters.

Nautical mile

It was introduced to navigation centuries ago, and was adopted (with very slight variations) by all Western countries, being defined as the length of an arc of one minute (1') of terrestrial meridian. One nautical mile is equal to 1852 meters.

Historical

The remains of the golden milestone, the marker of the zero mile of the Roman road network, at the Roman Forum.

Roman

The Roman mile (mille passus, lit. "a thousand steps"; abbr. m.p. ; also milia passuum and mille) consisted of a thousand steps, measured for every two steps, as the total distance of the left foot striking the ground 1000 times. The ancient Romans, when marching their armies through uncharted territory, would often stick a carved stick into the ground after every 1,000 steps. Well-fed and led Roman legions in good weather thus created longer miles. The distance was indirectly standardized with Agrippa's establishment of a standard Roman foot (Agrippa's own) in 29 BC, (Soren, 1999, p. 184) and the definition of a step as 5 feet. A Roman imperial mile thus denoted 5,000 Roman feet. Surveyors and specialized equipment, such as the decempeda and the dioptra, spread their use.

In modern times, Agrippa's imperial Roman mile was empirically estimated to be about 1,618 yards in length, slightly less than the modern international mile's 1,760 yards.(Smith, 1875, p. 762)

In the Hellenic areas of the Empire, the Roman mile (Greek: μίλιον, mílion) was used alongside native Greek units as equivalent to 8 stades of 600 Greek feet. The mílion continued to be used as a Byzantine unit and was also used as the name for the Byzantine Empire's zero kilometer marker, the Milion, located at the head of the Mese near Hagia Sophia.

The Roman mile also spread throughout Europe, with its local variations giving rise to the different units below.

The milestone also arises from the Roman mile. All roads led from the Roman Forum throughout the Empire: 50,000 (Roman) miles of cobblestone roads. A shaped stone was placed at each mile. Originally these were obelisks made of granite, marble, or whatever local stone was available. On these was carved a Roman numeral, indicating the number of miles from the center of Rome (the Forum). Therefore, one always knew how far one was from Rome.

Italian

The Italian mile (miglio, pl. miglia) was traditionally considered a direct continuation of the Roman mile, equal to 1000 paces, although its actual length over time or between regions could vary greatly. (Zupko, 1981, "Miglio") It was often used in international contexts since the Early Middle to the 17th century. and is therefore also known as the "geographic mile", although today the geographic mile is a different standard unit.

Arabic

The Arabic Mile (الميل, al-mīl) was not the common Arabic unit of length; instead, the Arabs and Persians traditionally used the longer parasang or 'Arab garter'. The Arabian mile was, however, used by medieval geographers and scientists and was a kind of precursor to the nautical or geographical mile. He extended the Roman mile to fit an astronomical approximation of 1 arcminute of latitude measured directly from north to south along a meridian. Although the exact value of the approximation is still disputed, it was between 1.8 and 2.0 km.

English

The "Old English Mile" of the medieval and early modern periods varied, but seems to have measured around 1.3 international miles (2.1 km).(Andrews, 2003, p. 70)(Evans, 1975, p. 259) The Old English Mile it varied over time and location within England. (Evans, 1975, p. 259) The old English mile has also been defined as 79,200 or 79,320 inches (1.25 or 1.2519 statute miles).(Chaney, 1911, p.484) The English long continued the Roman calculations of the mile as 5,000 feet, 1,000 paces, or 8 divisions longer, which they equated with the length of its "groove" or furlong.(Klein, 1988, p. 69)

The origins of the English units are "extremely vague and uncertain,"(Chisholm, 1864, p. 8) but it appears to have been a combination of the Roman system with the British and Germanic systems, both derived from of multiples of the grain of barley (circa 1300). Composition of yards and hangers, a statute of uncertain date generally regarded as an enactment of Edward I or II, (Chisholm, 1864, p. 8) theoretically continued to derive English units of three "dry and round"grains of barley. 3. 4; to the inch and this statute remained in force until the Law of Weights and Measures of 1824 that established the Imperial System. In practice, official measurements were verified using the standards in the Treasury or were simply ignored. (Chisholm, 1864, p. 37) Probably during the reign of Edward in the X, the nominal physical standard prototype of English length was an iron rod the length of an arm (a yardstick) in the king's possession at Winchester;(Chisholm, 1864, p. 8) the foot was a third of this length. Henry I is said to have made a new standard in 1101 based on his own arm. (Chisholm, 1864, p. 8) Following the issuance of Magna Carta, John Lackland and his son were ordered by the barons of Parliament to maintain the standard measure of the king (Mensura Domini Regis) and weight in the Exchequer,(Chisholm, 1864, p. 8) that it subsequently verified local standards until their abolition in the 19th century. New brass standards are known to have been built under Henry VII and Elizabeth I. (Chisholm, 1864, p. 4)

Arnold's Customs of London (c. 1500) gives an account of a shorter mile than the previous ones, equivalent to 0.947 international miles (5000 feet) or 1,524 km.(Klein, 1988, p.69)

Statutory

The English statute mile was enacted by an Act of Parliament of Weights and Measures in 1593 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Composition of Yards and Perches act > had shortened the length of the foot and its associated measurements, causing the two methods of determining the mile to diverge. (Zupko, 1977, pp. 10–11, 20–21) Because of the importance of the surveyor's rod in and surveys made during the reign of Henry VIII,(Burke, 1978, Ch. 9) the reduction of the length of the rod by ¹⁄₁₁ would have resulted in a significant increase in land taxes. Instead, Parliament chose to keep the 8 furlong mile (which was derived from the rod) and increase the number of feet per mile from the old Roman value. (Adams, 1990) The applicable passage of the statute reads: " A mile will contain eight furlongs, each furlong forty Poles, ('Pole' is another way of referring to the staff) and each Pole must contain sixteen and a half feet." The statute mile therefore it contained 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards. (Klein, 1988, p. 69) The distance was not uniformly adopted. Robert Morden had multiple scales in his 17th century maps that included continuous local values: his map of Hampshire, for example, had two "miles" different with a ratio of 1 : 1.23(Norgate, 1998) and their map of Dorset had three scales with a ratio of 1 : 1.23 : 1.41.(Morden, 1695) In both cases, the traditional local units remained longer than the statute mile. The English statute mile was replaced in 1959 by the international mile by international agreement.

Welsh

The Welsh mile (milltir or milldir) measured 3 international miles and 1,470 yards long (6.17 km). It consisted of 9,000 rhythms (cam), each 3 Welsh feet (troedfedd) 9 inch (modfeddi).(Owen, 1841) (The Welsh inch is generally considered to be equivalent to the English inch.) Along with other Welsh units, it was said to have been codified by Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent and held unchanged by Hywel the Good. (Owen, 1841) Along with other Welsh units, it was discontinued after the Conquest of Wales by the English under Edward I in the XIII century.

Scottish

Edinburgh's Royal Milla—which went from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Abbey—is approximately the length of a Scottish mile.

The Scottish mile was longer than the English mile, as mentioned by Robert Burns in the first line of his poem 'Tam o' Shanter". It represented 8 Scottish furlongs divided into 320 falls or faws (Scottish rods). It varied from place to place, but the most accepted equivalences are 1,976 imperial yards (1,123 statute miles or 1.81 km).

It was legally abolished three times: first by a 1685 Act of the Scottish Parliament, again by the 1707 Treaty of Union with England, and finally by the Weights and Measures Act 1824. It continued in use as a customary unit during the 18th century century, but became obsolete by its final abolition.

Irish

Hito on Mountbellew Bridge, erected c. 1760. The distances are given in Irish miles.

The Irish mile (míle or míle Gaelach) was 2,240 yards long: approximately 1.27 statute miles or 2,048 kilometers.(Rowlett, 2018, "Irish mile") It was used in Ireland from the plantations of the 16th century to the XIX, with residual use in the early XX century. Units were based on "English measure" but they used a linear perch that measured 7 yards as opposed to the English rod of 5.5 yards.

Dutch

Climb bar on a map of the centuryXVI by Mercator. The scale bar is expressed in "Horas Walking or Common Flemish Miles", and includes three real scales: small, medium and large Flemish miles.

The Dutch mile (mijl) has had different definitions throughout history. One of the older definitions was 5,600 ells. But the length of an ell (cubit) was not standardized, so the length of a mile could range from 3,280 to 4,280 meters. The Dutch mile has also had historical definitions of an hour's walk (uur gaans), which meant about 5 km, or 20,000 feet of Amsterdam or the Rhineland (respectively 5,660 m or 6,280 m). In addition to the common Dutch mile, there is also the geographical mile. 15 geographic Dutch miles equals one degree of longitude at the equator. Its value changed as the circumference of the earth was estimated more accurately. But at the time of its use, it was around 7,157 m. The metric system was introduced to the Netherlands in 1816, and the metric mile became synonymous with the kilometer, being exactly 1000 m. From 1870, the term mijl was replaced by the equivalent kilometer. Today the word mijl is no longer used, except as part of certain proverbs and compound terms such as mijlenver ("miles away ").

German

Several miles and historical leagues of a German textbook of 1848, expressed in feet, meters, and fractions of a "degree of meridian"

The German mile (Meile) measured 24,000 German feet. The standardized Austrian mile used in southern Germany and the Austrian Empire measured 7,586 km; the Prussian mile used in northern Germany measured 7.5325 km. After its standardization by Ole Rømer at the end of the 17th century, the Danish mile (mil) was precisely equal to the Prussian mile and also divided into 24,000 feet.(Rowlett, 2018, "thousand 4") were sometimes treated as equivalent to 7.5 km. Previous values had varied: the Sjællandske miil, for example, had been 11.13 km. The Germans also used a longer version of the geographical mile.

Breslau

The Breslau mile, used in Breslau, and since 1630 officially throughout Silesia, equals 11,250 ells, or about 6,700 meters. This mile was equivalent to the distance from the Piaskowa Gate to the Psie Pole (Hundsfeld). The Breslau standard mile was determined by drawing a circle with a radius of 5 ells through Piaskowa Island, Ostrów Tumski and suburban trails, and through eight bridges.

Saxon

The Saxon postal mile (kursächsische Postmeile or Polizeimeile, introduced for a survey of Saxon roads in 1700, corresponded to 2,000 Dresden yards, equivalent to 9,062 kilometres.

Hungarian

The Hungarian mile (mérföld or magyar mérföld) ranged from 8.3790 km to 8.9374 km before being standardized as 8.3536 km.

Portuguese

The Portuguese mile (milha) used in Portugal and Brazil was 2.0873 km before using the metric system.(Rowlett, 2018, "milha")

Russian

The Russian mile (миля or русская миля, russkaya milya) was equivalent to 7,468 km, and was made up of by 7 versta.

Croatian

The Croatian mile (hrvatska milja), first devised by the Jesuit Stjepan Glavač on a 1673 map, is the arc length of the equator subtended by 1/ 10° or 11, 13 km exactly. The former Croatian mile, now known as the "ban mile" (banska milja), had been the aforementioned Austrian mile.

Ottoman

The Ottoman mile measured 1894.35 m (1.17709 mi), which was equal to 5000 Ottoman feet. After 1933, the Ottoman mile was replaced by the modern Turkish mile (1853.181 m).