 In the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire there was an official called the "wāzārbed", meaning "market overseer", "market inspector", or "master of the bazaar", who supervised weights and measures in the market.In the reign of the Sultan Barqūq, for example, the duties of the muḥtasib of Cairo included "the regulation of weights, money, prices, public morals, and the cleanliness of public places, as well as the supervision of schools, instruction, teachers, and students, and attention to public baths, general public safety, and the circulation of traffic.