Armenia introduced the Armenian dram on 22 November 1993 to replace the Soviet ruble. The dram became the country’s national currency after Armenia regained independence in 1991.
The word “dram” comes from the Greek drachma and is related to the Arabic dirham. Armenia had used various forms of currency across earlier historical periods, but the modern dram was created for the independent republic.
The Central Bank of Armenia is responsible for issuing the dram. Its subdivisions are called luma, although luma coins have generally had little practical use because of inflation and changing price levels.
The dram is sometimes confused with the Georgian lari or Azerbaijani manat, two other modern currencies introduced in the South Caucasus after the Soviet Union dissolved. Its ISO 4217 code is AMD, and its symbol is commonly written as ֏.