Tarì
A tarì (طري lit. "fresh" or "newly minted money" in Arabic)[1] was the Christian designation of a type of gold coin of Islamic origin minted in Sicily, Malta and Southern Italy from about 913 to 1859.[citation needed]
History
In the Islamic world, this type of coin was designated under the name ruba'i, or quarter-dinar, as it weighed 1.05g of gold.[2] The ruba'i had been minted by the Muslims in Sicily, unlike the Muslim rulers of North Africa, who preferred the larger dinar.[3] It became highly popular as it was smaller and therefore more convenient than the large-sized 4.25g dinar.[4]
The tarì were so widespread that imitations were made in southern Italy (Amalfi and Salerno) from the mid-tenth century, which only used illegible "pseudo-Kufic" imitations of Arabic.[5][6][7] When the Normans invaded Sicily in the 12th century, they issued tarì coins bearing legends in Arabic and Latin.[8] Roger II of Sicily issued such coins, becoming the only Western ruler at that time to mint gold coins. Their title was 161⁄3 carat, with some adjunction of silver and copper.[9] The tarì were also produced by the Hohenstaufens and the early Angevins.[10]
The tarì coins were generally minted from African gold obtained from Misrata or Tunis in Northern Africa in exchange for grain.[11]
References
Citations
Works cited
- Blanchard, Ian. Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2001. ISBN 978-3-515-07958-7 [1]
- Cardini, Franco. Europe and Islam. Blackwell Publishing, 2001. ISBN 978-0-631-22637-6 [2]
- Grierson, Philip. Medieval European Coinage. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-521-58231-5 [3]
- Matthew, Donald, The Norman kingdom of Sicily Cambridge University Press, 1992 ISBN 978-0-521-26911-7 [4]
See also
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