Byzantine complexity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 connotes that it is not worth understanding.
[edit] History
The Byzantine Empire was the end result of centuries of Roman rule and bureaucratic growth. During this era combination of growth of the aristocratic class[citation needed], 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 government used the term 'Byzantine complexity' to refer to it[citation needed]. Over time, 'Byzantine Complexity' became a general term used to describe any overly complex system.
