 In 698/99, similar changes were made to the silver dirhams issued by the Muslims in the former Sasanian Persian lands in the eastern Caliphate.Depictions of the Sasanian king were consequently removed from the coinage, though Abd al-Malik's new dirham retained its characteristically Sasanian silver fabric and wide flan.Shortly after the overhaul of the Caliphate's currency, in circa 700, Abd al-Malik is generally credited with the replacement of Greek with Arabic as the language of the "dīwān" in Syria.