Circulation of Arab Silver in Medieval Afro‐Eurasia: Preliminary Observations

Abstract

AbstractDirhams or medieval Islamic silver coins offer a unique and indispensable primary source for the study of many fundamental issues pertaining to Afro‐Eurasian history during the Middle Ages that cannot be studied using any other evidence. When found in hoards, or deposits of five or more dirhams, they are especially useful, since historical numismatists can study the profiles of the contents of the hoards to discern numerous questions. Thus, the 1656 hoards, containing almost half a million dirhams, recorded to date show that close to three quarters of them were deposited not in the Muslim world, but in northern Europe from c.800 to c.1100 and that they were brought there mostly via Russia. This finding brings many questions that need answering in the future. One of the key conclusions of the present study is that this silver gravitated to silver‐scarce northern Europe and was exchanged for items in great demand in the ‘House of Islam’– furs and slaves.