During the period after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of medieval Europe, which was once commonly referred to as the Dark Ages, many different tribes migrated across Europe, feeding on what was left of Rome and attempting to establish new kingdoms in the vacuum. Most of these tribes were Germanic in ethnicity and language and shared the same goals of either entering Roman territory to become Roman citizens or tearing down Rome completely. These tribes caused havoc on the edge of Roman territory in Europe, and Rome's cultural and political power gradually transferred to Constantinople, which became the seat of the Byzantine Empire. The Germanic tribes eventually coalesced into kingdoms and laid the foundation for the Middle Ages in Western Europe, while the Byzantine Empire carried on many Roman traditions and extended its influence into Eastern Europe. The road to the Middle Ages, though, was uneven and often quite violent. Many peoples and kingdoms collapsed a...