'''Byzantine complexity''' is a phrase used to refer to anything overly and unnecessarily complex; so complex as to be completely beyond understanding. This term often also [[connotation | connotes]] that it a is not ''worth'' understanding.
== History ==
The [[Byzantine Empire]] was the end result of centuries of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rule and [[Bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] growth. During this era combination of growth of the [[aristocracy | aristocratic class]]{{fact}}<!--need evidence to show why this cause Byzantism-->, the difficulties of administering an increasingly expanding [[Roman republic]] led to a complex and opaque system of [[government]] that no one who had not grown up inside it had much hope of understanding.
In fact, it was ''so'' complex that governments that had to deal with the Roman governement used the term 'Byzantine complexity' to refer to it{{fact}}.<!--need to show that this isn't a just a modern development, e.g. coined by historians--> Over time, 'Byzantine Complexity' became a general term used to describe any overly complex system.
