The Byzantine Empire<span> had a complex system of </span>aristocracy<span> and </span>bureaucracy<span>, which was inherited from the </span>Roman Empire<span>. At the apex of the hierarchy stood the </span>emperor<span>, yet "Byzantium was a republican monarchy and not primarily a monarchy by </span>divine right".<span> Beneath the emperor, a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the complex administrative machinery that was necessary to run the empire.</span>
