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The "Medieval Age" or Middle ages, is a term for an historical period with no exact beginning. There's no true consensus on when exactly do the Middle ages begin, but the fall of the Western Roman empire during Late Antiquity is usually accepted as its starting point. Often, albeit erroneously, the Middle ages are referred to as the "Dark Ages", based on the assumptions of Western scholars from the Modern Period that after the fall of Rome, the world devolved into chaos, and that the arts, sciences and technology went into a sharp decline for several centuries. Even though this reputation persists, nowadays it's well known that the matter was quite different, if not opposite.

The era is well known for the great social, economic, and political changes that changed most of the world. In the onset of the Middle Ages, Europe had been experiencing a a deep transformation. A series of mass migrations both from within and without the continent had been going since since the 1st century CE, and by the 3rd century these would escalate to the point of shifting the European political landscape forever after. Though the reasons for these migrations are still a complex matter of debate, their consecuences are hardly so. Several tribes and peoples beyond the vast borders of a decaying Western Roman empire, swept down on the rich and fertile Roman lands, and quickly gained dominion over much of Western Europe. During this period, Rome was sacked three of the six times it suffered such fate throughout history. These sackings, and most invasions during the period, were by diverse Germanic peoples, such as the Vandals, Goths, Suebi Gepids and several others. There was also migrations from steppe nomads, such as the Iranic Alans and Sarmatians; not to mention the famed Huns under Attila and Bleda, which formed a vast empire, subduing most of the aforementioned peoples, and also bringing many fellow Turkic peoples into Europe. The constant conflict that this period brought, along with an economy already in decline, in the end made the empire of the Caesars' crumble at a steady pace.

After centuries of Roman dominion came to an end, the peoples now fell under the rule of the "barbarian" polities that sprung for it, and the victors that brought Rome down would face as many, if not more, changes as they themselves caused. These polities were to transform, through warfare and diplomacy, into proper kingdoms. Many of the tribes adopted Christianity and adopted several elements of Roman culture. The urban society of Roman times gave way to the dominance of rural life, and eventually, European feudalism.

In Eastern Europe, after centuries of Scythian, Sarmatian and Alan migrations and incursions, the Huns were to defeat and absorb these nomadic populations, and form a great empire that would become the harbinger of Rome's fall. the Eastern Roman Empire to the South would endure much of the onslaught suffered in the West, and last well into the Late Middle Ages. in fact, the end of the Medieval period is usually considered to be the fall of the Eastern Roman capital, Constantinople, in 1453.

In the Near East and Central Asia, the early Medieval Age also saw the Persian Empire under the Sasanian dynasty increasing its power and influence after overthrowing the Parthian Arsacids. and continued to increase its power through most of the period. The region was left in a standoff between the Persians and the Romans, Persia also had to face the Huns, and fended them off, in fact, Attila and Bleda only led the Hunnic forces to the West after their crushing defeat. But Persia had more aggresive invasion to face; the Kidarites in the late 4th century and the powerful Hephthalite, or "White Hun" Empire in the middle of the 5th century, which, were the only ones to have ever captured a Persian emperor in battle, held Persia under tribute, and even overran the Gupta Empire in India. The Romans themselves, everlasting enemies of the Persians, were worried for their fate, for a frontier shared with the Hephthalites would be a greater threat! In the end of the 6th century, the Persians requested aid form the newly arrived Turks to dismantle the Hephthalite Empire, and after this was done, the Turks took their place as invaders, while the life-draining wars with Rome continued. Not much later would the Muslim Arabs invade from the south, completely overrunning the Persian Empire and taking much of the Eastern Roman Empire, changing history in an abrupt and decisive way; the creation of a huge Arabian empire stretching from Iberia to Khwarazm followed suit. At its height, Islam was close to engulfing France as well, and the "Islamic" culture that developed, would be at the vanguard of technological and scientific development for almost the entire period, heavily borrowing from the pools of knowledge the Persians and Greeks had amassed earlier. The rise of Islam also shaped Europe indirectly, for it brought the now-dominant Christian peoples in Western Europe together against a perceived common enemy, paving the path for long-lasting conflicts that changed the face of the world even further: Christian Spain reconquered Iberia after a centuries-long conflict. The Seljuk occupation of Jerusalem sparked the Crusades, a conflict spanning three centuries which, in the end, severely weakened the Eastern Roman, or "Byzantine" Empire, instead of attaining any significant material gain in Muslim-held lands.

The Chinese empire also flourished in this age, and continued to spread out politically, culturally and economically. Confucian ideals became ever more rooted in state matters, while Bhuddism spread impetuously through the contact with India. Japan also starting its ascension to great military and economic power, specially after the attempted Mongol invasions.

Later on, the domination of Eurasia by the Mongol horde, the largest empire in mankind's history, followed.