Byzantine

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the origin of this term in our Dictionary of Allusions.
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The Word of the Day for March 27 is: 

Byzantine   \BIZ-un-teen\   adjective
     1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient city 
of Byzantium or the Eastern Roman Empire
     2 : of or relating to the Eastern Orthodox Church
    *3 often not capitalized : intricately involved and often 
devious 

Example sentence:
     Rosa's novels vividly depict a Byzantine world of scheming 
and intrigue.

Did you know?
     Today, the city that lies on the Bosporus Strait in Turkey 
is named Istanbul, but it was once known as Constantinople (a 
name given to it when it became capital of the Eastern Roman, 
or Byzantine, Empire), and in ancient times, it was called 
Byzantium. Its history is exotic -- filled with mystics, wars, 
and political infighting -- and the word Byzantine (from Late 
Latin "Byzantinus," for "native of Byzantium") became 
synonymous with anything characteristic of the city or empire, 
from architecture to intrigue. The figurative sense of 
labyrinthine deviousness first appeared in the late 1930s. It 
was popularized by its frequent use in reference to the Soviet 
Union, whose secrecy and despotism were equated by Westerners 
with what went on in the old Byzantine Empire.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.