Dinar
Monetary currency unit of some countries
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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
The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the Eastern Roman silver denarius (Greek δηνάριο - "dinario"), and the gold dinar and silver dirham, the main coin of the medieval Islamic empires, first issued in AH 77 (696–697 AD) (Late Antiquity) by Ummayad 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 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.
The 8th-century English king Offa of Mercia minted imitations of Abbasid dinars struck in 774 by Caliph al-Mansur with "Offa Rex" centred on the reverse. 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.
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Legal tender
Countries with current usage
Countries currently using a currency called "dinar" or similar:
As a subunit
- 1⁄100 of the Iranian rial, although functionally obsolete due to inflation. Coins in the subunit were last minted in 1979.
Non-circulating
- Arab Accounting Dinar used by the Arab Monetary Fund
Countries with former usage in the 20th century
Countries and regions which have previously used a currency called "dinar" in the 20th century:
Countries with historical usage before the 20th century
Historical countries and empires which used a currency or coin called "dinar" prior to the 20th century: