Two great centuries of civilization under the Roman Empire were Rome itself in the West and Byzantium ( Present -day Istanbul ) in the East. The arts had reached supreme heights in the first century BC. But when Rome fell to invading barbarian's acts and the Dark Ages submerged most of Europe for hundreds of years. A large part of the Empire was gradually restored under King Charlemagne in the late and early ninth centuries, and the culture of Byzantium, which had continued to flourish, began to filter through to the west.