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Southern Italy, Tari

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Southern Italy, Tari (obverse) Southern Italy, Tari (reverse)

The Arabs landed in Sicily in the early 9th century, and in the following decades brought the entire island under their control. It was the Fatimid family who ultimately gained power; it turned the island into an Emirate, introduced Islamic law and customs, and then began to mint its own coins. From Sicily, Fatimid troops landed in Italy and established bases there. The Fatimid coins soon made their way to the Italic mainland too; people called them "taris," a Latin form of the Arabic word "fresh" in the sense of "freshly minted." The local authorities soon started to copy the taris; this is such an imitation.

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