6. Kāmilī Dirham, post-1225 CE
On a legal historical level this document illuminates an instance of jurisdictional overlap in which a delinquent debtor, whose contract was initially recorded at a Jewish court, could be taken before a state judicial venue to enforce monthly payments. The designation of the dirhams as Kāmilī makes it possible to estimate the dating of this draft as no earlier than 1225 CE, during the reign of the Ayyubid sultan al-Kāmil Nāṣr ad-Dīn Muḥammad (r. 1218-1238 CE). Kāmilī dirhams had a relatively low silver content (roughly 33%) and were minted in order to replace black dirhams, whose production ceased in 1225 CE as part of al-Kāmil's currency reforms [1].
[1] Warren R. Schultz, "The Circulation of Dirhams in the Bahri Period," in The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society, eds. Michael Winter and Amalia Levanoni (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 232-233; Bresc, "Quseir al-Qadim," 410-411.
"Acknowledgement of Debt," JTS ENA NS 19.17r, post-1225 CE , Judaeo-Arabic.
Images provided the Jewish Theological Seminary Library (JTSL)
1 We testify that Sulaymān owes | נשהד עלי סלימאן אן ענדה
2 a debt to Luṭfallāh | ופי דמתה לשיך לטף אללה
3 of two hundred eighty-eight | מאיתין תמאניה ותמאנין
4 and ½ Kāmilī dirhams to be paid | דרהם ונצף כאמליה מקצטה
5 in monthly installments of twelve nuqra (high-value silver coinage) | כל שהר אתני עשר נקרה
6 the installments due at each month's | יקום לה קסט כל שהר פי
7 conclusion. And if he misses | סלכה ואנה אדא אעאק ענה
8 two months of payments, he will be obligated to pay | קסט שהרין לה אן ידפעה
9 in gentile courts... | ...לדיני גויים בגיר משאורה
(ed. Alan Elbaum)
Kāmilī Dirham from the Princeton Numismatic Collection (Coin: 16484)
Denomination: dirham
Metal: Billon
Region: Syria
State: Jund Al-Jazira
City: Harran
Date: 1226 to 1227
Obverse Figure Description: Square-in-circle
Obverse Legend: center, الملك الكامل الملك الكامل محمد بن ابو بكر ,margin segments, ضرب بحران / سنة اربع / و عشرين / و ستة مائة
Reverse Figure Description: Square-in-circle
Reverse Legend: center, الامام المستنصر / بامر الله امير المؤمنين ,margin segments, لا اله / الا الله / و محمد / رسول الله
References: Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean 6 1040 - BMC IV 410 - Album 815.4 - Mitchiner 815.4
Size: 22 mm
Die Axis: 6
Weight: 4.05 in grams
Shape: round
Statement on language in description: Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. Read more...