According to historian William Lecky, behind the Byzantine court’s glittering facade, there was woven “a monotonous story of the intrigues of priests, eunuchs, and women, of poisonings, of conspiracies, of uniform ingratitude, of perpetual fratricides. ”
Menurut sejarawan William Lecky, di balik wajah istana Bizantium yang gemerlapan, terdapat ” kisah membosankan tentang intrik para imam, kasim, dan wanita, tentang peracunan, persekongkolan, sifat tidak tahu bersyukur, pembunuhan antarkeluarga ”.