Milestone·Umayyad
Abd al-Malik Reforms the Islamic Coinage
- Date
- 697 CE78 AH1,329 years ago
- Place
- Damascus, Umayyad Caliphate
- People
- Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
Caliph Abd al-Malik began issuing coins with Arabic religious inscriptions and no human figures, around 696 to 697. Earlier coins had used images of rulers and designs borrowed from Byzantine and Sasanian coinage. The new gold dinar and silver dirham were standardized in weight. The reform gave the caliphate a unified currency across its territories.
Why it matters
Coins with Arabic religious inscriptions became the standard currency of the Islamic world for centuries.