The fals (Arabic: فلس, romanizedfals, plural fulus) was a medieval copper coin first produced by the Umayyad caliphate (661–750) beginning in the late 7th century. The name of the coin is derived from the follis, a Roman and later Byzantine copper coin.[1] The fals usually featured ornate Arabic script on both sides. Various copper fals were produced until the 19th century. Their weight varied, from one gram to ten grams or more.

A fals minted in Damascus between 696 and 750
Fals of al-Ma'mun, AH 219 (834/5 CE), al-Quds (Jerusalem). Under the Umayyads Jerusalem was known by its Roman name Iliya Filastin ("Aelia Palaestina"), but from the time of Caliph al-Ma'mun, it was given the Islamic religious name al-Quds (meaning «holiness» or «sanctity»).
Fals of Mansur ibn Nuh, minted in Bukhara, AH 353 (964 CE), commemorating the Abbasid caliph al-Muti

The term is still used in modern spoken Arabic for money, but pronounced 'fils'.[2] The plural form fulus فلوس is used in contemporary dialects of Arabic (e.g. Egyptian, Iraqi) as a general term for "money". The French term flouze is borrowed from Arabic. It is also absorbed into Malay language through the word fulus فولوس.[3]

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  • The Malay derivant fulus was used as basis for naming the fictional setting of Metrofulus in the 2006 Malaysian superhero film Cicakman.

See also

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Daughter currencies:

  • Fils, a subdivision of the dinar, dirham or rial
  • Falus, coin of Morocco (1672–1901)

References

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  1. ^ Urban network evolutions : towards a high-definition archaeology. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press. 31 December 2018. p. 118. ISBN 9788771846386.
  2. ^ Stephen Album, Checklist of Islamic Coins, Santa Rosa, CA, 2011, third edition, p. 7
  3. ^ "fulus". Kamus Dewan (4th ed.). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia. Retrieved 6 September 2020 – via Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu.