Money Changing and Monetary Values in the United Arab Emirates during the Early Islamic Period: Evidence from Archaeological Discoveries

Abstract

Since ancient times, the strategic location of land of the UAE along major international maritime and overland trade routes has granted them a distinctive position within the region. The ports and coastal cities of the Emirates, overlooking the Arabian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, played a vital role in global trade networks. These cities flourished commercially and culturally, fulfilling their function within international trade. Likewise, inland cities and regions were equally significant, as they were situated along overland trade routes leading into the Arabian Peninsula, serving as major commercial hubs for the movement of goods at local, regional, and international levels.

Coinage was treated as an economic instrument and a medium of exchange. During the Islamic period, the territory of the Emirates functioned as an open market for all internationally circulating currencies, which were accepted in both global and local trade alike. This situation necessitated the existence of a system of money-changing and currency exchange across the markets, leading to the presence of money changers therein to facilitate monetary transactions and to determine exchange rates as well as the nominal and weight-based values of coins.

This is clearly evidenced by the archaeological discoveries in the Emirates, in addition to what historical sources indicate regarding the existence of an integrated and well-established system of money exchange in the region during the early Islamic period—an issue that this study will examine in detail.

Key words

Exchange – Monetary Values ​​– Weights – Money Changers – Markets – Coins Circulation – Sharjah – Al Madam – Hoard