Byzantine

Byzantine

1. of, characteristic of, or relating to Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire

2. of, relating to, or characterizing the Orthodox Church or its rites and liturgy

3. of or relating to the highly coloured stylized form of religious art developed in the Byzantine Empire

4. of or relating to the style of architecture developed in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by massive domes with square bases, rounded arches, spires and minarets, and the extensive use of mosaics

5. denoting the Medieval Greek spoken in the Byzantine Empire
www.archaeolink.com/byzantine_civilization.htm
www.metmuseum.org/explore/Byzantium/art.html
http://historymedren.about.com/cs/byzantinestudies

---

(jargon, architecture)

Byzantine - A term describing any system that has so many labyrinthine internal interconnections that it would be impossible to simplify by separation into loosely coupled or linked components. The city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople and then Istanbul, and the Byzantine Empire were vitiated by a bureaucratic overelaboration bordering on lunacy: quadruple banked agencies, dozens or even scores of superfluous levels and officials with high flown titles unrelated to their actual function, if any. Access to the Emperor and his council was controlled by powerful and inscrutable eunuchs and by rival sports factions. [Edward Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"].