ABSTRACT
Assign every matter its proper place and do every job at the appropriate time. (‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, fourth caliph of Islam)
The period from the third to the sixth centuries AD was one of geopolitical shift and transformation across much of Europe and Asia. Under pressure from Germanic and Slavic peoples migrating west, the western half of the Roman Empire gradually dissolved and became a series of independent states. The eastern half, which historians later named the Byzantine Empire, survived but was challenged for dominance in the Middle East by a new Persian dynasty, the Sassanids. In India the Mauryan Empire was followed by others such as the Kushan Empire and the Gupta Empire, but although these were politically strong and culturally brilliant, they did not succeed in unifying India to the same extent. The Han dynasty, which had succeeded the Qin in China, collapsed in AD 220, and lasting reunification of the country came only with the advent of the Tang dynasty in 618.
