Tarì
{{Short description|Currency}}
File:Roger II tari gold coin Palermo with Arabic inscriptions.jpg, with Arabic inscriptions, minted in Palermo. Now in the British Museum.]]
File:Caliph Al Mustansir Sicilian coin.jpg. British Museum.]]
File:Caliph Al Hakim Sicily 1005.jpg, 1005. British Museum.]]
Tarì (from Arabic طري ṭarī, lit. "fresh" or "newly minted money")Cardini, p. 26 was the Christian designation of a type of gold coin of Islamic origin minted in Sicily, Malta and Southern Italy from about 913 to the 13th century.{{Cite web|url=https://www.deamoneta.com/auctions/search/389?q=kufic|title = ACR Numismatic Auction 19 (Page: 1) - en}}
History
{{see also|History of coins in Italy}}
In the Islamic world, this type of coin was designated under the name ruba'i, or quarter-dinar, as it weighed {{cvt|1.05|g|ozt}} of gold. The ruba'i had been minted by the Muslims in Sicily, unlike the Muslim rulers of North Africa, who preferred the larger dinar.Matthew, p. 240 It became highly popular as it was smaller and therefore more convenient than the large-sized {{cvt|4.25|g|ozt}} dinar.Grierson, p. 3
The tarì were so widespread that imitations were made in Southern Italy (Amalfi and Salerno) from the mid-tenth century, which only used illegible "pseudo-Kufic" imitations of Arabic. When the Normans invaded Sicily in the 11th century, they issued tarì coins bearing legends in Arabic and Latin.British Museum, Islamic Art room Roger II of Sicily issued such coins, becoming the only Western ruler at that time to mint gold coins. Their composition was 16{{frac|1|3}} carat gold (0.681 fineness) with some adjunction of silver and copper. The tarì were also produced by the Hohenstaufens and the early Angevins.Blanchard, p. 196
The tarì coins were generally minted from African gold obtained from Misrata or Tunis in Northern Africa in exchange for grain.
Nowadays, the tari is a subunit (1/12) of the scudo, souvenir coins issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
See also
References
=Citations=
{{reflist|2}}
= Works cited =
- Blanchard, Ian. Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2001. {{ISBN|978-3-515-07958-7}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zo2UVs_Sr68C&pg=PA196&dq=tari+coins Mining, Metallurgy and Minting in the Middle Ages: Asiatic supremacy, 425-1125]
- Cardini, Franco. Europe and Islam. Blackwell Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-631-22637-6}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=pePPvGkGZDQC&pg=PA26&dq=kharruba+coin&lr= Europe and Islam]
- Grierson, Philip. Medieval European Coinage. Cambridge University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-521-58231-5}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=jgSNmsXG1jwC&pg=PA63&dq=kharruba+coin#PPA3,M1 Medieval European Coinage: Volume 14, South Italy, Sicily, Sardinia: With a Catalogue of the Coins in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge]
- Matthew, Donald, The Norman kingdom of Sicily Cambridge University Press, 1992 {{ISBN|978-0-521-26911-7}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=CQfub3l_ejkC&pg=PA240&dq=Tar%C3%AC+Arabic#PPA240,M1 The Norman Kingdom of Sicily]
External links
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{{Historic Italian currency and coinage}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Obsolete Italian currencies