Byzantinism

This article is about the philosophical and political term. For architecture, see Byzantine architecture.

Byzantinism, or Byzantism, is the political system and culture of the Byzantine Empire, and its spiritual successors the Orthodox Christian Balkan countries of Greece and Bulgaria especially, and to a lesser extent Serbia and some other Orthodox countries in Eastern Europe like Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.[1][2] The term Byzantinism itself was coined in the 19th century.[3] The term has primarily negative associations, implying complexity and autocracy.[citation needed]

This negative reputation stressed the confusing complexities of the Empire's ministries and the elaborateness of its court ceremonies. Likewise, the "Byzantine system" also suggests a penchant for intrigue, plots and assassinations and an overall unstable political state of affairs.[how?] The term has been criticized by modern scholars for being a generalization that is not very representative of the reality of the Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy.[4][5]

  1. ^ Dimiter G. Angelov, Byzantinism: The Imaginary and Real Heritage of Byzantium in Southeastern Europe, in Dimitris Keridis, Ellen Elias-Bursać, Nicholas Yatromanolakis, New approaches to Balkan studies, Brassey's, 2003, ISBN 1-57488-724-6, Google Print, p.3
  2. ^ Angelov 2003, p.11
  3. ^ Angelov 2003, p.8
  4. ^ Angelov 2003, p.6
  5. ^ Angelov 2003, pp.17–18