From Byzantium, the ancient city refounded as Constantinople — figurative 'excessively complex' from Western stereotypes.
Excessively complicated, typically involving a great deal of administrative detail; characterized by elaborate scheming and intrigue. Also: of or relating to the Byzantine Empire.
From Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον, Byzántion), the ancient Greek city on the Bosphorus that Constantine I refounded as Constantinople in 330 CE, which became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The city name 'Byzantium' is traditionally attributed to a legendary founder named Byzas (Βύζας), a Greek colonist from Megara, though the name may be of Thracian origin. The figurative sense of 'byzantine' — meaning excessively complex, devious, or labyrinthine — emerged in the 19th century, reflecting Western European stereotypes
The people of the 'Byzantine' Empire never called themselves Byzantine — they called themselves Romans (Rhōmaîoi, Ῥωμαῖοι). The term 'Byzantine Empire' was invented by German historians in the 16th century, decades after Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453. The figurative sense of 'byzantine' says more about Western European condescension toward the East than about the actual complexity
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