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Dirham or dirhem (درهم) is a unit of currency in several Arabic-speaking nations, and formerly the related unit of mass (the Ottoman dram) in the Ottoman Empire.

Currency units

The currency units include:

• The Moroccan dirham
• The United Arab Emirates dirham
• 1/1000 of the Libyan dinar
• 1/100 of the Qatari riyal
• 1/10 of the Jordanian dinar
• The dirham, spelt 'diram,' is 1/100 of the Tajikistani somoni.

Unit of mass

The dirhem was a unit of weight used across North Africa, the Middle East, and Persia, with varying values. It was based on the Roman drachm.

In the late Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish درهم), the standard dirhem was 3.207 g; 400 dirhem equal one oka. The unit was also used in the former Ottoman countries: Greek δράμι (Greece); δραχμή (Cyprus).

In Egypt in 1895, it was equivalent to 47.661 troy grains (3.088 g).

History

Historically, the word "dirham" is derived from 'dirhem', itself coming from the name of a Greek coin, the Drachm; the 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 an Arab word; 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 struck in many Mediterranean countries, including Spain, and could be used as currency in Europe between the 10th and 12 centuries.

Compare the Armenian dram for a currency whose name bears a similar origin. Also compare dinar for another currency circulated in the Muslim world but originating with the Romans.

References

1. based on an oka of 1.2828 kg; Diran Kélékian gives 3.21 g (Dictionnaire Turc-Français, Constantinople: Imprimerie Mihran, 1911) ; Γ. Μπαμπινιώτης gives 3.203 g (Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens, 1998)
2. OED

• Currency
• Units of mass
• Obsolete units of measure