Fals

High school (ages 12+)
Mathematics & Numbers

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fals

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who wrote Fals?Umayyad Caliphate, late 7th century CE
2. What is the monetary denomination?Medieval copper coin, primarily used for everyday transactions
3. What is the period of production?Late 7th century to the 19th century, with variable weights
4. What was a Fals coin?A Fals was a small copper coin that people used for everyday buying and selling. It was made in the Islamic world from the 7th to the 19th century.
5. Why didn't Fals coins have pictures on them?Islamic tradition discourages showing people or animals on money. So the Fals had beautiful Arabic writing instead of pictures.

Aniconism in Islamic Art: The religious prohibition against depicting sentient beings, leading to an emphasis on geometric patterns and calligraphy in Islamic art and coinage.
Umayyad Monetary Reforms: The standardization and introduction of new coinage, including the Fals, by the Umayyad Caliphate to unify economic systems across their vast empire.
Linguistic Borrowing: The process by which words from one language are adopted into another, as seen with 'Fals' influencing French and Malay terms for money.