Dirham

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Silver dirham of the caliph Sulaimān minted in AD 716 (97 AH) in Wasit in what is now Iraq. Front inside: There is no god but Allah. Front margin: In the name of Allah this dirham was minted in Wasit, year 97. Back inside: Allah is the only one, Allah is the Eternal. Reverse margin inscription: Sura 9-33: It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and true religion, so that He might let them conquer all (other) religions; it may be repugnant to the heathen. Weight 2.8 g / diameter: 27 mm

The dirham ( Arabic درهم, DMG dirham ; Pl.دراهم / Darāhim ,) in European representations also dirhams (and Derham called), is an Arab currency unit in today Arab countries Morocco , Qatar , Libya , the Sudan and the United Arab Emirates is in circulation. Historically, the dirham was the silver unit of the Arabic coin system, which was introduced by the caliph Abd al-Malik in 698/699. The Arabic word goes back to the Greek word drachme (δραχμή) via Persian .

history

The dirham was the silver unit of the Arabic coin system (10 dirham = 1 dinar ) and was used throughout the Umayyad Empire with an average weight of 2.97 g as part of the coin reform of the caliph Abd al-Malik in the year 79 (AD 698/9) introduced. Before that, Byzantine and Persian coins, which often still contained Christian or Zoroastrian images and symbols, such as heads of rulers, crosses or fire altars , were in circulation, some with short Arabic coins on the edge.

The dirham is based on the somewhat heavier Sassanid drachma (3.9 g) that the Arabs used as currency after the conquest of Persia ( Battle of Kadesia AD 636) through the addition of religious sayings and names of the Arab governors (first in Pahlavi, later in Arabic) Persia used.

Under the Abbasids , the dirham spread as a trading currency as far as Scandinavia and England and was also used by the Mongols after the conquest of Baghdad (1258) , albeit in varying weight variants, until the introduction of the tanka (tenka) in the 14th century . The coin name Dirham was only then reintroduced by the Sultan of Morocco Mulai al-Hassan I (1873 to 1894).

Arabo-Sasanian drachma from 661 with the portrait of the last great king of Persia Yazdegerd III. ; minted in Darabjird in what is now Iran; Weight 4.06 g. On the front, in the 2nd quadrant of the edge, it says "bism Allah" (In the name of Allah). On the back is a Zoroastrian fire altar between two Zoroastrian priests.

As a unit of weight

According to Islamic law , the ratio of mithqāl and weight dirham (dirham al-kail) is 10: 7, but in practice it is 3: 2. The weight of the standard dirham is 3.125 grams. The weight dirham had this value throughout Iraq. However, depending on the time and place, a large number of different dirham weights have emerged. The weight of the Syrian dirham was 3.14 grams and the Ottoman dirham was 3.086 grams. In North Africa and in al-Andalus the dirham was 3.3 grams.

As a coin unit

786 Dirham minted in Baghdad by the famous Abbasid caliph Hārūn ar-Raschīd

Since the 7th century, the dirhem has been the most important currency unit in the Islamic world, alongside the dinar (made of gold ) and the fils (made of copper ) . It mainly bore inscriptions of a religious nature (such as the Shahada and Koran quotations ) and those in which the place of minting, the year of minting, and often the names and titles of rulers are mentioned. It also came to Europe via Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean , where it spread (as coin finds show) above all between the 10th and 12th centuries.

As today's currency

Currently valid currencies named Dirham or similar:

literature

Notes and evidence

  1. ↑ This meant a gold-silver price ratio of around 1: 7 in contrast to 1:75 as the average value from 2015 to 2018.
  2. ↑ Helmut Kahnt: The great coin lexicon. 2005, p. 93.
  3. ^ Friedrich von Schrötter : Dictionary of coinage. 1970, pp. 145-148.
  4. ↑ Heiko Steuer : Coin minting, silver flows and mining around the year 1000 in Europe - economic awakening and technical innovation 2004.
  5. ↑ Helmut Kahnt: The great coin lexicon. 2005, p. 93.
  6. ^ Friedrich von Schrötter : Dictionary of coinage. 1970, pp. 145-148.
  7. ↑ Hinz: Islamic Measures and Weights . 1970, p. 1.
  8. ↑ Hinz: Islamic Measures and Weights . 1970, p. 3.
  9. ↑ a b Hinz: Islamic mass and weights . 1970, p. 5.
  10. ↑ Hinz: Islamic Measures and Weights . 1970, p. 4.
  11. ↑ Hinz: Islamic Measures and Weights . 1970, p. 8.

Web links

Commons : Dirham  - collection of images, videos, and audio files
Wiktionary: Dirham  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations