Examine the decline of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Eastern Roman Empire in Byzantium.

The Western Roman Empire fell in the fifth century CE. However, the Eastern Roman Empire known as the Byzantine empire continued to survive until its defeat by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. The fall of the Western Roman Empire is marked as the end of the Ancient Period and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Historians such as Petrarch regard the Middle Ages as Dark Ages.