If you like cities and great poetry, then the Dark Ages were indeed pretty dark in Europe. But if, like me, your two favorite things are not dying from wars and not dying from anything else, then the Dark Ages actually weren't that bad, at least until the plague came in the 14th century. And meanwhile, outside of Europe, the Dark Ages were truly an age of enlightenment. But we'll get boring Europe out of the way first. Let's go to the Thought Bubble. Medieval Europe had less trade, fewer cities, and less cultural output than the original Roman Empire. London and Paris were fetid fire traps with none of the planning or sewage management of places 5,000 years older, like Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley civilization, let alone Rome.