page_title: Dirham
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dirham / History
context_page_description: Dirham, dirhem or dirhm; in the Ottoman Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The name derives from the name of the ancient Greek currency, drachma.
context_section_description: The word "dirham" ultimately comes from drachma (δραχμή), the Greek coin. The Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia, circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward. It was this currency which was initially adopted as a Persian word (Middle Persian drahm or dram); then near the end of the 7th century the coin became an Islamic currency bearing the name of the sovereign and a religious verse. The "dirham" was the coin of the Persians. The Arabs tried to introduced their own coin however, due to the lack of trust of the currency the persian Dirham was kept as the currency . The dirham was struck in many Mediterranean countries, including Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain) and the Byzantine Empire (miliaresion), and could be used as currency in Europe between the 10th and 12th centuries, notably in areas with Viking connections, such as Viking York and Dublin.
caption: Silver hoard from Lublin-Czechów, comprising 214 silver dirhams issued between 711/712 and 882/883 AD, Lublin Museum.
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