Dinar

For other uses, see Dinar (disambiguation).
Nations in dark green currently use a currency known as the dinar. Nations in light green previously used a dinar. States of former Yugoslavia appear in the inset to the lower left.

The dinar (/dɪˈnɑːr/) is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (dīnār), which was borrowed via the Syriac dīnarā from the Latin dēnārius.[1][2]

The modern gold dinar is a projected bullion gold coin, and as of 2019 is not issued as an official currency by any state.

History

Silver dinar from the reign of Serbian king Stefan Uroš I (1243–1255).

The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of the medieval Islamic empires, first issued in AH 77 (696–697 AD) (Late Antiquity) by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The word "dinar" derives from the Latin word "dēnārius," a silver coin of ancient Rome, which was first minted about c. 211 BC.

The Kushan Empire introduced a gold coin known as the dīnāra in India in the 1st century AD; the Gupta Empire and its successors up to the 6th century adopted the coin.[3][4]

The 8th century English king Offa of Mercia minted copies of Abbasid dinars struck in 774 by Caliph Al-Mansur with "Offa Rex" centred on the reverse.[5][6] The moneyer likely had no understanding of Arabic as the Arabic text contains many errors. Such coins may have been produced for trade with Islamic Spain. These coins are called a Mancus, which is also derived from the Arabic language.[7]

Countries with current usage

Countries currently using a currency called "dinar" or similar:

Umayyad Caliphate golden dinar.
Countries Currency ISO 4217 code
 Algeria Algerian dinar DZD
 Bahrain Bahraini dinar BHD
 Iraq Iraqi dinar IQD
 Jordan Jordanian dinar JOD
 Kuwait Kuwaiti dinar KWD
 Libya Libyan dinar LYD
 North Macedonia Macedonian denar MKN (1992–1993)
MKD (1993−present)
 Serbia Serbian dinar RSD
CSD (2003–2006)
 Tunisia Tunisian dinar TND

As a subunit

  • 1⁄100 of the Iranian rial

Countries with former usage

Countries and regions which have previously used a currency called "dinar" in the 20th century:

Countries Currency ISO 4217 code Used Replaced by
 Abu Dhabi Bahraini dinar BHD 1966–1973 United Arab Emirates Dirham
 Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar BAD 1992–1998 Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
 Cornwall Cornish Dynar CD 900 – 1960: GBP
 Croatia Croatian dinar HRD 1991–1994 Croatian kuna
 Iran Iranian rial was divided into at first 1250 and then 100 dinars
 South Yemen Yemeni dinar YDD 1965–1990 Yemeni rial
 Yemen 1990–1996
 Sudan Sudanese dinar SDD 1992–2007 Sudanese pound
 Kingdom of Yugoslavia
 SFR Yugoslavia
 FR Yugoslavia 		Yugoslav dinar YUF (1945–1965)
YUD (1965–1989)
YUN (1990–1992)
YUR (1992–1993)
YUO (1993)
YUG (1994)
YUM (1994–2003)		 1918–2003 Serbian dinar

See also

References

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition, 1989, s.v. "dinar"; online version November 2010
  2. ^ Versteegh, C. H. M.; Versteegh, Kees (2001). The Arabic Language. Edinburgh University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-7486-1436-3.
  3. ^ Friedberg, Arthur L.; Friedberg, Ira S. (2009). Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present. Coin & Currency Institute. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-87184-308-1.
  4. ^ Mookerji, Radhakumud (2007). The Gupta Empire. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-81-208-0440-1.
  5. ^ "Coin | British Museum".
  6. ^ Medieval European Coinage Archived 2023-08-12 at the Wayback Machine by Philip Grierson, p. 330.
  7. ^ "THE GOLD "MANCUS" - jstor". JSTOR 42680243.
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