In Medieval Numismatics, is it silver 'dirhams' or 'dirhems'?

The correct term in English is silver dirhams. The word comes from the Arabic dirham (Arabic: dirham, plural darāhim), a silver coin widely used in the medieval Islamic world. In English historical and archaeological writing (singular: dirham, plural: dirhams). You sometimes see dirhems as a transliteration variant, usually reflecting:

• French or older European scholarship

• attempts to reflect pronunciation differently

• inconsistent transliteration from Arabic

However, in modern English-language scholarship, especially in archaeology and numismatics, dirhams is overwhelmingly preferred.Quick rule

• Use: dirham / dirhams ✔

• Avoid in English: dirhem / dirhems (unless quoting a source)