Besants

A unit of money. 1,100,000 besants was estimated to have been worth about 25,000 pounds sterling at the time it was spent rebuilding Chastel Safad in 1240.  This is said to have been about 5/6 of the annual revenue of an English King.  A whole lot of money for the Knights Templar to spend rebuilding a castle. See "The Knights Templar and their Myth" page 182 note #13)

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Besant \Be*sant"\, n.
   See Bezant.

Bezant \Be*zant"\, n. [See Byzant.]
   1. A gold coin of Byzantium or Constantinople, varying in
      weight and value, usually (those current in England)
      between a sovereign and a half sovereign. There were also
      white or silver bezants. [Written also besant, byzant,
      etc.]

   2. (Her.) A circle in or, i. e., gold, representing the gold
      coin called bezant. --Burke.

   3. A decoration of a flat surface, as of a band or belt,
      representing circular disks lapping one upon another.

From http://dict.die.net/besant/ on 20 December 2007

From WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) (link)

  bezant
      n 1: a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire; widely circulated in
           Europe in the Middle Ages [syn: bezant, bezzant,
           byzant, solidus]

From English Etymology Dictionary (link)

  bezant
  
  "gold coin," c.1200, from O.Fr. besant, from L. byzantius, short for
  Byzantius nummus "coin of Byzantium."
  
  

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) (link)

  bezant noun
   Etymology: Middle English besant, from Anglo-French, from
   Medieval Latin Byzantius Byzantine, from Byzantium, ancient
   name of Istanbul Date: 13th century 1.  solidus 1 2.
   a flat disk used in architectural ornament
  
  

From Oxford English Reference Dictionary (link)

bezant
n.
1 hist. a gold or silver coin orig. minted at Byzantium.
2 Heraldry a gold roundel.
Etymology: ME f. OF besanz -ant f. L Byzantius Byzantine

From WordNet (r) 2.0 (link)

  bezant
       n : a gold coin of the Byzantine Empire; widely circulated in
           Europe in the Middle Ages [syn: bezzant, byzant, solidus]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (link)

  Bezant \Be*zant"\, n. [See Byzant.]
     1. A gold coin of Byzantium or Constantinople, varying in
        weight and value, usually (those current in England)
        between a sovereign and a half sovereign. There were also
        white or silver bezants. [Written also besant, byzant,
        etc.]
  
     2. (Her.) A circle in or, i. e., gold, representing the gold
        coin called bezant. --Burke.
  
     3. A decoration of a flat surface, as of a band or belt,
        representing circular disks lapping one upon another.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 (link)

  Bezant \Be*zant"\, n. [See Byzant.]
     1. A gold coin of Byzantium or Constantinople, varying in
        weight and value, usually (those current in England)
        between a sovereign and a half sovereign. There were also
        white or silver bezants. [Written also besant, byzant,
        etc.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Her.) A circle in or, i. e., gold, representing the gold
        coin called bezant. --Burke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A decoration of a flat surface, as of a band or belt,
        representing circular disks lapping one upon another.
        [1913 Webster]

From http://www.sorabji.com/d/dictionary/bezant/ on 20 December 2007