But nothing had more to do with making the Byzantines successful in world trade than the sound Byzantine money. Their gold coin, known to us as the bezant, was one of the four most widely accepted pieces of money the world has ever known. The other three are the Florentine florin, which made the Medici bankers so rich, the English pound sterling, and now the United States dollar. Any one of these would be accepted anywhere in the world during the time it was in use. [Illustration: GOLD BEZANT] The reason the Byzantine coin was stable is that no one ever tampered with the bezant. In the old days, kings used to clip their coins (that is, use a little less gold in them), but no emperor ever clipped the bezant. It was always kept at its full value. An old Byzantine writer tells a story which shows both how valuable the bezant was and how it traveled. A Greek merchant was in Ceylon when he got into an argument with a Persian merchant as to whose ruler was the more powerful. “Mine,” said the Persian. “He is King of Kings.” “Why argue?” asked the Greek. “They are both in the room. Compare them.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I have some bezants, and you have some dirhams. Put them beside each other.” There was no need for further discussion. The portrait of the _basileus_ of the Romans was on the bezant, and the bezant was the much more valuable coin. I, myself, had an experience which proves the same thing. On my desk in front of me is a real Byzantine gold piece. It was coined in the reign of Basil I and his son Constantine, and cannot be a day less than 1,090 years old. But I was able to buy it at a price that I could afford. I asked the coin dealer why. “Bezants were used all over the world, and so you find them everywhere!” he answered. Because the Byzantine emperors made their gold coins so stable in value that everybody wanted them, I am able to own one today! [Illustration: Two women] THE BYZANTINE WAY OF LIFE What did the Byzantine Empire do for itself, and for the world, and even for us, during the eleven long centuries when it was almost always—but not _always_—so rich and powerful? You would not really know about the Byzantines unless you had the answer. First of all, it defended a large part of the warm, civilized Mediterranean lands from the Asiatic barbarians. The word “Asiatic” is important, but maybe “barbarians from the Asiatic steppes” would be better, for these were barbarians of a special kind.