The currencies of the Islamic world

Mahoma and the unit of the Arab world

Mahoma was born between years 570-580, in an aristocratic family, in Mecca, city santa for the Arabs, then pagans andpoliteístas. It exerted many offices, and during its life errabundo, typical of the local reality of that time, had occasion to know abottom not only to the Bedouins and his afflicted existence, but also the religions of Jews and Christians, of whom it included/understood the value ofits monotheism. After its wedding with a well-off widow called Jad-i to, Mahoma initiated a period of meditation, after which it undertook hispreaching: the true and only God of the Arab was Wing (that means @), to which there was to be put under of unconditional way(the term @, isiam means indeed, , probably a meteorite, that the traditionit maintained that it had been blackened because of the sins of the men.Along with the Kaaba, in Mecca numerous ídolos were adored that, then, were in the base of the Arab religion. Due to the open one andviolent hostility of the powerful priests, who saw be in danger their privileges because of the new religion monotheist, Mahoma wasforced to flee to Medina (Yatrib, that is, the city of profeta@,). Year 622 ran, and in the date of that fled (that takes the name from@@hégira, begins the Muslim era, like the birth of Christ constitutes for the Christians the year, O@ the datum pointfor all chronological indication. Mahoma, that appeared like the prophet of Wing, consiió in year 630 to enter encedor Mecca, andto destroy the ídolos guarded in the temple, of cubical form, axis of the Arab religion and that lodged the Kaaba.Victorious and acclaimed by its followers like religious head, Mahoma did not take in also assuming the political power, initiating the work ofunification and concentration that to the Arabs always they had needed, deficiency this one that constituted the main cause of its weakness. Thus it is as Mahoma gave life to one of the most solid and lasting theocratic regimes of the Christian era.

An unstoppable dominion

Doubtlessly, to the success of the Arabs it contributed in nondespicable measurement the weakness of the bordering Empires, like the Persian andbizantino. Thanks also to a policy of notable toreligious lerancia and to the possibility of continuing the enterprise activities andcommercial without having to become slaves of the cosappers, the submissive populations collaborated to the success of the expansionMuslim: between centuries VIII and X, the territory into the hands of the Arabs extended from Spain to Morocco, of Sici to a leaves fromSouthern Italy, and of Egypt until India.Only thanks to the battle of Poitiers (city of centrooccidental France), gained by merovingio Carlos Martel in year 732,it was able to block the penetration of Islam in the West. Very intense it was the industrial activity and craftswoman of the Arabs (production ofweaves and silks, leather shop, manufacture of arms), thanks to an extraordinary commercial organization by earth and sea. They werenumerous the ports of the Arab coasts, and were essential the installation throughout the routes from called stations of stagecaravanserrallos. Here the animals could replace after the fatigosas passages of impassable and often desert territories, andthey could interchange the merchandize. Therefore, the currency soon began to circulate between the Arabs, but during the Vile century the typesadopted monetales were mainly those of the conquered countries (currencies Arab-sasánidas and Arab-bizantinas). Only towards year 700,with the caliph Abd-el Meiik (the word caliph means vicar of prophet and designates a political authority and religious), a beganto coin a properly Arab numerario. In year 696 (76 of hégira) it appeared the first currency of gold, dinar of 4.6 g. Three yearslater it was born, dirhem of silver, 2.9 g. The names of these currencies derive from @dracma Greek, andfulus Arab of copper derives from foilis romanobizantino. All of them are currencies of ample module, and rather thin. Followingdictations of the Islamic religion, lack the reproduction of the human figure. The iconography of these currencies is because reduced to briefphrases taken from the Corán. The first inscriptions went in cúficos characters, very square and geometric. Towards 1200, in the currenciesthey appear the inscriptions with modern Arab grafismos. The year of emission (that in the West does not appear in the currencies until end ofcentury Xv) is expressed already with all clarity in letters from the first mintings. In addition, in the Islamic currencies they are the indicationof the mint and the noun. The date in numbers appears single as of 1300. !>