An Arabian Nights tale from Poland - Medieval Arab coins found in Poland
WillieBoyd2
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Medieval Arab coins found near Viking trading centre in Poland
Six early medieval Arab silver coins and two coin fragments have been discovered in northern Poland, potentially offering new evidence for the trading networks connected with the Viking-Age settlement of Truso.
The coins were provisionally dated to the first half of the ninth century.
Arab dirhams circulated in enormous numbers across northern and eastern Europe during the Viking Age. Their distribution provides archaeological evidence for the extensive commercial networks that linked Scandinavia and the Baltic with eastern Europe, Byzantium and the Islamic world.
Original article:
https://www.medievalists.net/2026/09/medieval-arab-coins-found-near-viking-trading-centre-in-poland
Another article on the find:
https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/77056
Arabic Coins found in Poland
The photograph shows only one side of each coin
I attempted to identify the coins, all silver dirhams:
- Caliph Al-Madhi (AD 775-785)
- Caliph Al-Rashid (AD 786-809), Harun Al-Rashid was the caliph of the "Arabian Nights".
- Caliph Al-Rashid (AD 786-809)
- Caliph Al-Rashid (AD 786-809)
- Caliph Al-Rashid (AD 786-809)
- Caliph Al-Mamun (AD 813-833)
It will be interesting to see what the coin experts come up with.
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Comments
Poland, and the Baltic regions around Poland, had something that virtually nowhere else in the ancient and mediaeval world had: amber. This trade good could be worth its weight in gold, so it's not surprising that trade coins from all over the world turn up there.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.
Nice clean coin for being around that long, i like 👍