Byzantine Dark Ages is a historiographical term for the period in the history of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, from around c. 630 to the 760s, which marks the transition between the late antique early Byzantine period and the "medieval" middle Byzantine era. The "Dark Ages" are characterized by widespread upheavals and transformation of the Byzantine state and society, resulting in a paucity of primary historical sources.
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Byzantine Dark Ages in the context of Later Roman Empire
In historiography, the Late or Later Roman Empire, traditionally covering the period from 284 CE to 641 CE, was a time of significant transformation in Roman governance, society, and religion. Diocletian's reforms, including the establishment of the tetrarchy, aimed to address the vastness of the empire and internal instability. The rise of Christianity, legalized by Constantine the Great in 313 CE, profoundly changed the religious landscape, becoming a central force in Roman life. Simultaneously, barbarian invasions, particularly by the Goths and the Huns, weakened the Western Roman Empire, which collapsed in 476 CE. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire endured, evolving into the Byzantine Empire and laying the foundations for medieval Europe.
This article ends with the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 CE and the beginning of the Byzantine Dark Ages.
Byzantine Dark Ages in the context of Macedonian Renaissance
Macedonian Renaissance (Greek: Μακεδονική Αναγέννηση) is a historiographical term used for the blossoming of Byzantine culture in the 9th–11th centuries, under the eponymous Macedonian dynasty (867–1056), following the upheavals and transformations of the 7th–8th centuries, also known as the "Byzantine Dark Ages". The period is also known as the era of Byzantine encyclopedism, because of the attempts to systematically organize and codify knowledge, exemplified by the works of the scholar-emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos.