1 Dirhem – Aleppo Eyalet

In 1622, Aleppo Eyalet, a vast and prosperous Ottoman province encompassing much of northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia, operated within a complex and strained monetary system. The empire's currency, the silver akçe, was the official unit of account, but its value had been severely eroded by decades of debasement and the global "Price Revolution" of silver influx from the Americas. This chronic depreciation created significant instability, as tax assessments and official salaries fixed in akçe lost real value, while local markets increasingly relied on a mosaic of foreign and large-denomination coins for substantial transactions.

The city of Aleppo itself, as a terminal hub of the Silk Road and the Levant trade, functioned on a dual currency system. While the debased akçe serviced small-scale local trade, high-value commerce with European merchants (primarily English, Dutch, and French) and regional wholesalers was conducted in sound foreign silver coins, especially the Spanish real de a ocho (piece of eight) and the Dutch leeuwendaalder. These coins, valued by weight and purity, provided the stability needed for international contracts. Furthermore, the Ottoman gold sultani remained a trusted high-value store of wealth, but its circulation was limited to elite and large-scale financial operations.

This period was one of acute monetary crisis for the empire. The costly wars with Safavid Persia (the ongoing Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 was imminent) and internal rebellions placed immense fiscal pressure on the central treasury. In response, the Istanbul government frequently resorted to severe debasements, notably the "Great Debasement" of 1585–86, the effects of which lingered, and further reductions in the silver content of the akçe were a constant threat. For the merchants, artisans, and officials of Aleppo Eyalet in 1622, this meant navigating daily economic life amidst unreliable official coinage, a reliance on foreign currency for serious business, and the pervasive anxiety of sudden imperial monetary interventions that could wipe out savings and disrupt trade.