Monday, 9 March 2026

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)


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