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led across China to Rome. It was a 4000-mile trip. At one end was China. At the other end was Rome. 

Rome had gold and silver and precious gems. China had silk and spices and ivory. 

Ideas also traveled along the Silk Road, ideas that affected everyone.

Generally, the Middle Ages, or Medieval Era (means the same thing), runs from the fall of Rome to the fall of Constantinople. There's considerable disagreement about the "Dark Ages": almost every reputable modern history book rejects this term. With new research, scholars have shown that the popular mythos built up regarding the so-called Dark Ages is completely false. Most of the common people had decent living standards, including sanitation and bathing (which did not go out of fashion until after the Black Death), science and scientific discoveries, and even today studies are proving that many of the old herbals were correct in their observations.

Rome was engaged in border skirmishes with the tribes north of the great European rivers

Strong emperors occasionally extended the empire over the rivers while weak emperors tended to lose those land

The largest organised rival of the Romans was the Persian Empire to the east, occupying modern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Persians were the political descendants of the Parthians who had revolted away from Greek rule following Alexander's conquests and, thereafter, successfully resisted Roman invasions.