bezant
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.6|Crusader coins of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Denier in European style with [[Holy Sepulchre (1162–1175); Kufic gold bezant, imitation of the Fatimid dinar (1140–1180); gold bezant with Christian symbol (1250s) (British Museum). Gold coins were first copied dinars and bore Kufic script, but after 1250 Christian symbols were added following Papal complaints.]] thumb|upright=1.6|County of Tripoli gold bezant in Arabic (1270–1300), and Tripoli silver gros (1275–1287). [[British Museum.]]
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Medieval history
- {{anchor|Heraldry}}Bezants in heraldry
- References
- External links
thumb|upright=1.6|Crusader coins of the Kingdom of Jerusalem: Denier in European style with [[Holy Sepulchre (1162–1175); Kufic gold bezant, imitation of the Fatimid dinar (1140–1180); gold bezant with Christian symbol (1250s) (British Museum). Gold coins were first copied dinars and bore Kufic script, but after 1250 Christian symbols were added following Papal complaints.]] thumb|upright=1.6|County of Tripoli gold bezant in Arabic (1270–1300), and Tripoli silver gros (1275–1287). [[British Museum.]]
In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (, from Latin ) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman . The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.