British currency in the Middle East already risen in value against the pound sterling as a result of sterling's devaluation in 1967, and so the new Omani rial was not equal in value to the dinars in the nearby territories. The currency units that are used in Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and the Yemen are all descended from the pound sterling unit, while the currency units that are used in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are all descended from the Maria Theresa Thaler. This largely explains the factor of ten difference in value on average between Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman on
Pound (currency) Pound (currency) The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in the Frankish Empire as a result of Charlemagne's currency reform ("pound" from Latin "pondus", a unity of weight) and was subsequently taken to Great Britain as the value of a pound (weight) of silver. The English word "pound" is cognate with, among others, German "Pfund", Dutch "pond", and Swedish "pund". All ultimately derive from a borrowing into Proto-Germanic of the Latin expression "lībra pondō" ("a pound by weight"), in which the word "pondō" is the ablative case of the Latin noun "pondus" ("weight"). The