5 Para – Baghdad Eyalet

In 1825, the currency situation in Baghdad Eyalet, a vast Ottoman province encompassing much of modern-day Iraq, was characterized by profound monetary chaos and fragmentation. The official Ottoman currency system, based on the kuruş (piastre) and the gold lira, was theoretically in place, but in practice, it competed with a bewildering array of foreign and obsolete coins. Spanish and Mexican silver dollars (riyals), Persian krans, old Venetian sequins, and even Indian rupees circulated widely, their values fluctuating wildly based on weight, metal purity, and local demand. The Ottoman central mint in Baghdad struggled to assert authority, and much of the "Ottoman" coinage in circulation was often debased or counterfeit, leading to a severe lack of trust in standardized value.

This monetary anarchy was exacerbated by the eyalet's isolation and the weak control of the Ottoman governor, Da'ud Pasha. The economy was heavily reliant on traditional caravan trade and agriculture, with transactions often conducted via barter or weighed bullion rather than formal coinage. Furthermore, the practice of "money cutting," where coins were physically cut into pieces for small change (like the para), added to the confusion. Different cities and even market quarters within Baghdad itself could have varying exchange rates, making commerce cumbersome and risky. This environment empowered local money-changers (sarrafs) as essential but exploitative intermediaries who profited from the complex exchange calculations.

The instability had deep economic consequences. It hindered revenue collection for the provincial treasury, as taxes collected in a miscellany of coins had to be constantly assayed and converted. It also discouraged larger-scale commercial investment and integration with the wider Ottoman economy. Ultimately, the currency disorder in 1825 was a symptom of the erosion of central Ottoman power and the region's transition from a imperial province toward a more autonomous, but internally fractured, polity. This chaotic system would persist until more forceful administrative and monetary reforms were implemented later in the 19th century under the Tanzimat period.