Page "Dirham" Paragraph 15

Historically, the word " dirham " is derived from the name of a Greek coin, the Drachma ( δραχμή ); the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia, circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward.

It was this currency which was initially adopted as an Arab word ; then near the end of the 7th century the coin became an Islamic currency bearing the name of the sovereign and a religious verse.

The dirham was struck in many Mediterranean countries, including Al-Andalus ( Moorish Spain ) and the Byzantine Empire ( miliaresion ), and could be used as currency in Europe between the 10th and 12th centuries, notably in areas with Viking connections, such as Viking York and Dublin.