Just how "byzantine" was the Byzantine Empire? Just

It's complex in the sense of:
>Effective
>Organised
>Relies on ability and wages instead of 'inherit this'
>Some nepotism but needs ability to go with it
>maintains taxation and census abilities

Of course, this just made Latins confused. Heck, after the 4th Crusade they dismantled most of the Greek administration because they couldn't understand the concept.

>>2210068
Not very. Buttblast three-meme-arrow landers can't follow a system more complex than a straight line from 'my lord is my better and the king is my lord's better'

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>be Crusader
>pass through Constantinople on way to Holy Land
>see the Greeks administrating their lands with "bereaucrats," "governors" and "offices"
>too much for my simple, feudalism accustomed brain to understand

And that's why today Byzantine means something very complex

>>2210068
The thematic system of the early Byzantine Empire was mind numbingly complicated compared to practices going on in the sub-Roman west at the same time. The myriad of dozens of different type of office, the layers of bureaucracy, the massive emphasis placed on a functioning legal system, these were all the markers of the most "civilized" nation in the world at that time. That being said, there was a lot of systematised corruption and neptosim though that had been there from the very beginning. Roman and later Byzantine culture placed an emphasis on getting to the top by any means necessary.

>>2210093
>>2210154
>A land of infrastructure, law and intricate state processes.
>HREboos will still defend the meme empire was the true successor of Rome.

>>2210068
Simultaneously very and not at all. Court was confusing as fuck at times because of all the "princes" and the billion fucking ranks given to foreigners, but the state itself ran relatively efficiently, and the "byzantine" nature of things was actually a great tool to keep foreigners on the backfoot and give the empire a LOT of low cost diplomatic tools that worked on almost every culture they encountered.

Actual state offices were straightforward. You knew who your boss was, you knew what your job was, and you either did it, or took part in a revolt, as was tradition.

>>2210068
Its government was incredibly bloated for the era, but far simpler and more sensible than the hellish nightmare world of bureaucracy we live in now.