{{Short description|Currency denomination in Arab countries and a coin in Umayyad Caliphate}} {{About|the currency denomination and coin|other uses|Fils (disambiguation){{!}}Fils}} thumb|300px|right|A fals minted in Damascus between 696 and 750. On one side it reads, "There is no god but God"; on the other, "Minted in Damascus". [[Image:Abbasid copper coin from Jerusalem, AH 219.jpg|thumb|300px|Fals of al-Ma'mun, AH 219 (834/5 CE), al-Quds (Jerusalem). Under the Umayyads Jerusalem was known by its Roman name Iliya Filastin ("Aelia Palaestina"), but from the time of Caliph al-Ma'mun, it was given the Islamic religious name al-Quds (meaning «holiness» or «sanctity»).]] [[Image:MansurISamanidCoinHistoryofIran.jpg|thumb|300px|Fals of Mansur ibn Nuh, minted in Bukhara, AH 353 (964 CE), commemorating the Abbasid caliph al-Muti]] The '''fils''' (Arabic: فلس) is a subdivision of currency used in some Arab countries, such as, in modern times, Iraq and Bahrain. The term is a modern retranscription of '''fals''', an early medieval Arab copper coin first produced by the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) beginning in the late 7th century and used throughout the region under its rule.

"Fils" is the singular form in Arabic, not plural (as its final consonant might indicate to an English speaker). The plural form of fils is ''fulūs'' {{Plural abbr|'''''fulus'''''}} which can also refer to small amounts of money or to money in general in contemporary dialects of Arabic (eg. Egyptian, Iraqi, Levantine and many other varieties of Arabic).<ref>Stephen Album, ''Checklist of Islamic Coins'', Santa Rosa, CA, 2011, third edition, p. 7</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stevealbum.com/pdfs/ChecklistOfIslamicCoins3rdEdition2011Free.pdf |title=Checklist of Islamic Coins |access-date=2024-12-01 |archive-date=2020-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529223238/https://www.stevealbum.com/pdfs/ChecklistOfIslamicCoins3rdEdition2011Free.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The plural form closely resembles the Greek ''follis'' from which the Arabic is derived. The French term ''flouze'' is borrowed from Arabic. It is also absorbed into Malay language through the word ''fulus'' {{lang|ar|فولوس}}.<ref>{{Cite dictionary|last=|first=|date=|title=fulus|url=http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/cari1?keyword=fulus|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=6 September 2020|website=|publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia|via=Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu|edition=4th|dictionary=Kamus Dewan}}</ref>

{{Coin image box 1 double | header = 100 Fils (Bahrain). | image = File:100 Fils (1965).jpg | caption_left = '''Obverse''': A palm tree with lettering "حكومة البحرين" (Government of Bahrain) and year of minting in Gregorian and Islamic years (1965-1385) inscribed in Arabic. | caption_right = '''Reverse''': Face-value and country name. | width = 250 | footer = 8,312,000 coins minted in 1965 | position = right | margin = 0 }}

* 1 Bahraini dinar = 1000 fulūs * 1 Emirati dirham = 100 fulus * 1 Iraqi dinar = 1000 fulūs * 1 Jordanian dinar = 1000 fulūs<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.globalexchange.com.jo/en/currencies-of-the-world/jordanian-dinar |website=Global Exchange |title=Currencies of the world: Jordanian Dinar |access-date=2024-12-01 |archive-date=2024-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240912101057/https://www.globalexchange.com.jo/en/currencies-of-the-world/jordanian-dinar |url-status=live }}</ref> * 1 Kuwaiti dinar = 1000 fulūs * 1 Yemeni rial = 100 fulūs<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/rial |title=Rial |website=Britannica}}</ref>

==History== The term ''fils'' appears on the earliest coins produced in the area of Greater Syria during the transition from Byzantine imperial rule to that of Umayyad Caliphate.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/5623977/A_Jund_Al_Urdun_Arab_Byzantine_coin_bearing_the_term_FILS_in_Arabic|title=A Jund Al-Urdun Arab-Byzantine coin bearing the term "FILS" in Arabic|author=Tareq A. Ramadan|journal=Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society|date=Spring 2010|issue=202}}</ref> The earliest examples of these Byzantine-Arab coins were bilingual and they are appear in both Jund Filastin and Jund al-Urdunn with the producing mints undeclared in the 7th century.<ref name=Goodwin>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/byzantine-and-modern-greek-studies/article/abs/arabbyzantine-coinage-of-jund-filastin-a-potential-historical-source1/E6D68A367EE860A66F8B39F05DDF083F|title=The Arab-Byzantine coinage of Jund Filastin – a potential historical source|journal=Byzantine ans Modern Greek Studies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=22 January 2016|author=Tony Goodwin|pages=1-12}}</ref> The term {{langx|ar|فلس|fils}} comes from the Byzantine Greek: ''follis'', a Roman and later Byzantine copper coin.<ref>{{cite book |title=Urban network evolutions : towards a high-definition archaeology |date=31 December 2018 |publisher=Aarhus University Press |location=Aarhus |isbn=9788771846386 |page=118}}</ref> As with most Islamic coinage, the fals was aniconic and usually featured ornate Arabic script on both sides. Various copper fals were produced until the 19th century. Their weight varied, from one gram to ten grams or more.

==In popular culture==

* The Malay derivant ''fulus'' was used as the basis for naming the fictional setting of Metrofulus in the 2006 Malaysian superhero film ''Cicakman''.

==See also== {{Portal|Money|Numismatics}} *Falus, coin of Morocco (1672–1901)

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Islamic banking and finance}} Category:Coins Category:Coins of the medieval Islamic world Category:Denominations (currency) Category:Umayyad Caliphate Category:Islamic banking Category:Islamic banking and finance terminology {{DEFAULTSORT:Fils (Currency)}}