Publisher's Synopsis
Andrew Ehrenkreutz is one of the scholars who have placed the study of monetary history of the medieval Middle East on a new footing, integrating numismatic research into the study of economic history. The present volume brings together all his major contributions to this subject. It opens with three essays presenting an overview of economic and monetary changes in the region, then continues with a series of detailed studies on its gold and silver coinages; in these Ehrenkreutz's work on standards of fineness broke new ground. The chronological focus of the volume is from the Umayyad period up to the Ayyubids, but particular emphasis is given to Egypt and to the impact of the Crusades on the monetary history of the Near East. A further set of articles investigates aspects of fiscal administration and the operation of the Cairo mint.
