Byzantium
Pre-Ottoman imperial capital
Byzantium is the ancient Greek city that became Constantinople and later Istanbul.
The name survives in *Byzantine*, describing the Eastern Roman Empire centered there, and in figurative uses suggesting elaborate complexity or intrigue: byzantine bureaucracy, byzantine plotting.
The adjective implies systems so layered and convoluted they seem designed to confuse.
- ConstantinopleHistoric Turkish metropolis
- themesMain ideas throughout
- cataphractFully armored horse soldier
- TheodoraFeminine name, Greek origin
Marked by costly elegance
- sumptuousSplendidly rich and costly
- gildedOverlaid with gold leaf
- ornateElaborately decorated
- splendidImpressively beautiful or fine
magnificent · resplendent · bejeweled · gold · ceremonial · palatial · lavish · grandeur
Male head of family
- iconoclasmAttacking revered traditions
- schismFormal organizational fracture
- iconsRepresentative small images
- mosaicsPictures made from fragments
monasticism · theotokos · liturgy · hagiography · ecumenical · typikon · anathema · veneration
Pictures made from fragments
- illuminationProvision of light
- codicesBound handwritten volumes
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
- silkFine woven insect fiber
purple · enamel · ivories · frescoes · cloisonné · scriptorium · hippodrome · Blues
Dependent territorial settlement
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
- DelphiGreek prophetic sanctuary
- BosphorusStrait linking two seas
- ThraciansAncient Balkan inhabitants
Hellespont · Greek · polis · acropolis · agora · founding · strategic · harbor
Crafty and calculating
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
- complexHaving many interconnected parts
- plottingDevising a secret plan
- duplicitousDeliberately deceptive in nature
machinations · court · eunuchs · conspiracy · blinding · usurpation · poison · exile
Justinian
- ConstantinopleHistoric Turkish metropolis
- themesMain ideas throughout
- cataphractFully armored horse soldier
luxurious
Marked by costly elegance
splendid · magnificent · resplendent · bejeweled · gold · ceremonial · palatial · lavish · grandeur · regalia
patriarch
Male head of family
- iconoclasmAttacking revered traditions
- schismFormal organizational fracture
- iconsRepresentative small images
mosaics · monasticism · theotokos · liturgy · hagiography · ecumenical · typikon · anathema · veneration
mosaics
Pictures made from fragments
- illuminationProvision of light
- codicesBound handwritten volumes
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
silk · purple · enamel · ivories · frescoes · cloisonné · scriptorium · hippodrome · Blues · Greens
colony
Dependent territorial settlement
Thracians · Hellespont · Greek · polis · acropolis · agora · founding · strategic · harbor · fisheries
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- labyrinthineExtremely complex and winding
- complexHaving many interconnected parts
- plottingDevising a secret plan
duplicitous · machinations · court · eunuchs · conspiracy · blinding · usurpation · poison · exile · treachery
- ancient civilizationsAncient Egypt, Sumer, Ancient Greece, Aztecs, Egypt
- ancient worldancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, pyramids, pyramid
- civilizationempires, empire, civilizations, dynasty, kingdoms
- European HistoryFrench Revolution, Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Industrial Revolution, Napoleonic Wars
- Greek cultureGreece, Greek mythology, Greek history, Greek cuisine, Greek gods
- place namesplace names, Peking, Beijing, place name, city names
ByzantiumWestern Roman Empire
Ancient Mediterranean superpower's declining half
Rome · Ravenna · Carolingian Empire · Holy Roman Empire · Avignon
- Byzantine EmpireMedieval eastern Roman state
- Byzantine politicsConvoluted governmental scheming
- Byzantine GreekEastern Empire's literary language
- Byzantine artMedieval eastern imperial aesthetic
- Byzantine architectureEastern empire construction tradition
- Byzantine aristocracyElite of medieval Constantinople
byzantine, Byzantine, Byzantine Empire, Byzantines, Byzantine architecture