Some people refer to this time as the dark ages, but historical records show us that this term implies that there wasn't anything going on in the world of astronomy and science, which is not true. Not even in Europe where this term applies. The Chinese, Mayans/Aztecs, Egyptians, native Americans, and Arabs all were doing extensive study and application of astronomy during this time.
Now, the collapse of the Roman Empire. Yes the Romans had quite a little empire going on during their hay day, but the "dark ages" were more of a result of the massive plagues that killed 1/3rd of the European population and then the encroachment of religion that discouraged scientific discovery then the result of the end of the Roman Empire, which then evolved into the Holy Roman Empire. This made for a few hundred years of intellectual darkness.
