No, let's not. Talking about the Dark Ages and failing to mention the Eastern Roman Empire is like talking about the Cold War and failing to mention the USA.

No, let's not. Talking about the Dark Ages and failing to mention the Eastern Roman Empire is like talking about the Cold War and failing to mention the USA. It means that the article is a kaleidoscope of mismatched, unconnected memes instead of something holistic and grounded in reality. Some reality-based facts: a) The western part of the Roman Empire collapsed a few centuries prior to the fifth century. b) The southern shore of the Mediterranean and the Middle East collapsed during the Muslim invasions. (And never recovered, even to this day.) c) The eastern part of the Roman Empire only started collapsing during the 13th century, give or take. d) The flow of civilization from the eastern part to the western parts of the Roman Empire was blocked by Muslim piracy. (There is no overland route between Italy and Greece.) e) The German-speaking parts of Europe were never any part of any Roman Empire, and saw no collapse. (Only improvement.) f) Spain has its own history and its own historical cycles.