The Institutes of Akbar 24: AIN 11. · THE DIRHAM AND THE DINAR.

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Having given some account of the currency of the empire, I shall add a few particulars regarding these two ancient coins, and remark on the value of ancient coinage.
The Dirham, or Dirham, as the word is sometimes given, is a silver coin, the shape of which resembled that of a date stone. During the califate of Omar, it was changed to a circular form; and in the time of Zubair, it was impressed with the words Alláhu (God), barakat (blessing). Hajjáj stamped upon it the chapter of the Qorán called Ikhlás; and others say that he imprinted it with his own name. Others assert, that Omar was the first who stamped an impression on dirhams; whilst, according to some, Greek, Khusravite, and Himyarite dirhams were in circulation at the time of Abdulmalik, the son Marwan, by whose order Hajjáj, the son of Yusuf, had struck dirhams. Some say that Hajjáj refined the base dirhams, and coined them with the words Alláhu ahad (God is one), and Alláhu samad (God is eternal); and these dirhams were called makrúhah (abominable), because God’s holy name was thereby dishonoured; unless this term be a corruption of some other name. After Hajjáj, at the time of the reign of Yazid ibn i Abdulmalik, Omar ibn Hubairah coined in the kingdom of ’Iraq better dirhams than Hajjaj had made; and afterwards Khalid ibn Abdullah Qasri, when governor of ’Iráq, made them still finer, but they were brought to the highest degree of purity by Yusuf ibn Omar. Again, it has been said that Mus’ab ibn Zubair was the first who struck dirhams. Various accounts are given of their weights; some saying that they were of ten or nine, or six or five misqáls; whilst others give the weights of twenty, twelve and ten qiráts, asserting at the same time that Omar had taken a dirham of each kind, and formed a coin of fourteen qirats, being the third part of the aggregate sum. It is likewise said that at the time of ’Omar there were current several kinds of dirhams: first, some of eight dángs, which were called baghlí, after Rás baghl who was an assay-master, and who struck dirhams by the command of ’Omar; but others call them baghallí, from baghal, which is the name of a village; secondly, some of four dangs, which were called tabrí; thirdly, some of three dángs, which were known as maghribí; and lastly, some of one dang, named yamaní, the half of which four kinds ’Omar is said to have taken as a uniform average weight. Fazil of Khujand says that in former days dirhams had been of two kinds, first:—full ones of eight and six dangs (1 dang of his = 2 qiráts; 1 qirát = 2 tassúj; 1 tassúj = 2 habbah); and secondly, deficient ones of four dangs and a fraction. Some hold different opinions on this subject.
The Dínár is a gold coin, weighing one misqál, i. e., 1 3/7 dirhams, as they put 1 misqál = 6 dángs; 1 dáng = 4 tassúj; 1 tassúj = 2 habbahs; 1 habbah = 2 jaus (barley grains); 1 jaw = 6 khardals (mustard-grain); 1 khardal = 12 fals; 1 fal = 6 fatíls; 1 fatíl = 6 naqírs; 1 naqír = 6 qitmírs; and 1 qitmír = 12 zarrahs. One misqál, by this calculation, would be equal to 96 barley grains. Misqál is a weight, used in weighing gold; and it is also the name of the coin. From some ancient writings it appears that the Greek misqál is out of use, and weighs two qiráts less than this; and that the Greek dirham differs likewise from others, being less in weight by 1/4 or 1/3 of a misqál.