Historically , the word `` dirham '' is comes from ` dirhem ' which comes from the name of a Greek coin , the Drachm ; the Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia , circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward . Historically , the word `` dirham '' is derived from the name of a Greek coin , the Drachma ( Î Ï Î Ï Î 1\/4 Î ) ; the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire controlled the Levant and traded with Arabia , circulating the coin there in pre-Islamic times and afterward .