"The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century through the 10th century."
Also known as the Dark Ages, this period began with the fall of the Roman Empire and was characterized by political instability, invasions, and limited cultural progress.
The Fall of the Western Roman Empire: The decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE marked the beginning of the Middle Ages.
Barbarian Invasions: The Barbarian invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries contributed largely to the downfall of the Western Roman Empire.
Merovingian Dynasty: The Merovingian Dynasty dominated the Franks from the 5th to the 8th centuries, and was the precursor to the Carolingian Dynasty.
Carolingian Dynasty: The Carolingian Dynasty under Charlemagne was arguably the most powerful European Dynasty during the Early Middle Ages.
Viking Raids: The Viking invasions of Europe in the 8th to the 11th centuries contributed to the spread of Norse culture and the establishment of new societies such as Normandy.
The Christian Church: The Church was the dominant institution of the Middle Ages and played a major role in shaping medieval politics and culture.
Feudalism: Feudalism was a social and political system that dominated medieval Europe, and was based on the exchange of land for military service.
Crusades: The Crusades were a series of religious wars fought between Christians and Muslims that occurred throughout the 11th to the 13th centuries.
Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE.
Islamic Expansion: The Islamic Empire expanded rapidly during the 7th and 8th centuries, conquering much of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain.
Migration period (5th-7th century): A period marked by mass migration and movement of the Germanic tribes, Huns, and Slavs into Europe, resulting in the formation of new kingdoms and ethnic groups.
Merovingian period (5th-8th century): The era when the Frankish kings governed much of Western Europe, and the Franks eventually consolidated their power with Charlemagne's coronation as emperor in 800 AD.
Anglo-Saxon period (5th-11th century): A period of English history associated with the Germanic peoples who settled in England after the collapse of Roman rule.
Viking Age (8th-11th century): A period of Scandinavian expansion and exploration throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
Carolingian period (8th-9th century): A period of Frankish historical development under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty, notably Charlemagne (768-814) and his successors.
Islamic Golden Age (8th-13th century): A period marked by significant advances in science, philosophy, mathematics, art, and medicine in the Islamic world.
Byzantine Empire (4th-15th century): The Eastern Roman Empire that emerged after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century and survived for another thousand years.
Magyar period (9th-10th century): The period of cultural, artistic, and intellectual flowering in Hungary that occurred during the reign of the Magyar chieftains.
"The alternative term late antiquity, for the early part of the period, emphasizes elements of continuity with the Roman Empire."
"Early Middle Ages is used to emphasize developments characteristic of the earlier medieval period."
"The period in between the 8th and 11th centuries (c. 800–1000) is assigned to the Early Middle Ages quite generally, even by those who extend (late) antiquity to a time well after the 5th century."
"The period saw a continuation of trends evident since late classical antiquity, including population decline, especially in urban centres, a decline in trade, a small rise in average temperatures in the North Atlantic region, and increased migration."
"In the 19th century, the Early Middle Ages were often labelled the Dark Ages, a characterization based on the relative scarcity of literary and cultural output from this time."
"The Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, continued to survive, though in the 7th century the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate conquered the southern part of the Roman territory."
"In 800, the title of Emperor was revived in Western Europe with Charlemagne, whose Carolingian Empire greatly affected later European social structure and history."
"Europe experienced a return to systematic agriculture in the form of the feudal system, which adopted such innovations as three-field planting and the heavy plough."
"Barbarian migration stabilized in much of Europe, although the Viking expansion greatly affected Northern Europe."