Dirham

Dirham or dirhem or "Dirhm" (درهم) is a unit of currency in several Arab states and formerly, the related unit of mass (the Ottoman dram) in the Ottoman Empire and Persian states. The name derives from the Greek currency drachma or didrachm (2 drachmae).

Currency units

Present-day dirhams include:

Unit of mass

Known to the Romans as a drachm, the dirhem was a unit of weight used across North Africa, the Middle East, and Persia, with varying values.

In the late Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Turkish درهم), the standard dirhem was 3.207 g; 400 dirhem equal one oka.

In Egypt in 1895, it was equivalent to 47.661 troy grains (3.088 g).

There is currently a movement within the Islamic world to revive the Dirham as a unit of mass for measuring silver, although the exact value is disputed (either 3 grams or 2.975 grams).