Dark Ages: 476-918

The Dark Ages covers the period of European history spanning from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the rise of Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance, otherwise known as the early Middle Ages. It was a time of chaos, where the old Roman order was shattered and new kingdoms arose to contend for supremacy. The Dark Ages is the historical equivalent of George Martin's Game of Thrones, with all of the intrigue, deception, and carnage, as rival factions attempted to solidify their legacy and assert their claim to power over anarchic Europe. Oman brilliantly describes the triumph of the Goths over the decadent Romans in the West, the military reconquest of the western dominions by the lethargic Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the establishment of the Gothic kingdoms, the rise of Islam in the East, the growth and strengthening of the Papacy as it moved towards temporal power, the sudden onslaught of the Vikings from the north, and the final supremacy of Charlemagne and the Frankish kingdom to found a new Holy Roman Empire. The Dark Ages by Charles Oman transcends the time it was written, with the author instantly immersing the reader in his beautiful, lyric, easy to read narrative.