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Mamlūk Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence

Mamlūk Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence Al-Masa ¯q, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 2003 Mamlu ¯k Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence WARREN C. SCHULTZ The striking feature of the metrological systems of the mediaeval Arab countries was their diversity. E. Ashtor Introduction Metrology (the study of weights and measures) and numismatics (the study of coins and coin-like objects) are separate yet obviously related fields of inquiry. When it comes to the study of the money of the medieval Islamic world, an awareness of the former is necessary to understand the latter. This is especially true for the precious metal coinages of gold (dı ¯na ¯rs) and silver (dirhams), for they “were usually paid by weight and not by count”. Thus an awareness of the smaller metrological units linked to a certain coinage is often essential to grasping how that coinage circulated and was valued. Islamic metrology is a complex subject in its own right. It was not always and everywhere the same, as medieval Muslim authors themselves were aware. This complexity is further complicated by the terminology used in the medieval Islamic sources. It is overlapping and inconsistent; a single term may have multiple meanings depending on the context in which it is encountered. The http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean Taylor & Francis

Mamlūk Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence

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Mamlūk Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence

Abstract

Al-Masa ¯q, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 2003 Mamlu ¯k Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence WARREN C. SCHULTZ The striking feature of the metrological systems of the mediaeval Arab countries was their diversity. E. Ashtor Introduction Metrology (the study of weights and measures) and numismatics (the study of coins and coin-like objects) are separate yet obviously related fields of inquiry. When it comes to the study of the money of the medieval Islamic world, an awareness of the...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
1473-348X
eISSN
0950-3110
DOI
10.1080/0950311032000057130
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Abstract

Al-Masa ¯q, Vol. 15, No. 1, March 2003 Mamlu ¯k Metrology and the Numismatic Evidence WARREN C. SCHULTZ The striking feature of the metrological systems of the mediaeval Arab countries was their diversity. E. Ashtor Introduction Metrology (the study of weights and measures) and numismatics (the study of coins and coin-like objects) are separate yet obviously related fields of inquiry. When it comes to the study of the money of the medieval Islamic world, an awareness of the former is necessary to understand the latter. This is especially true for the precious metal coinages of gold (dı ¯na ¯rs) and silver (dirhams), for they “were usually paid by weight and not by count”. Thus an awareness of the smaller metrological units linked to a certain coinage is often essential to grasping how that coinage circulated and was valued. Islamic metrology is a complex subject in its own right. It was not always and everywhere the same, as medieval Muslim authors themselves were aware. This complexity is further complicated by the terminology used in the medieval Islamic sources. It is overlapping and inconsistent; a single term may have multiple meanings depending on the context in which it is encountered. The

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Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean – Taylor & Francis

Published: Mar 1, 2003

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