>>21437878Let me give you a hot take...
It was good for the West that Rome fell.
They were never going to industrialize or go through a scientific enlightenment. They followed the ancient Greek philosophy that the entire universe can be figured out by logic alone without experimentation, which is simply not true.
It took the post-Western Roman Middle Ages for science to get invented. Metallurgy, engineering, and chemistry started to improve almost immediately after Rome fell. The average person's life improved as slaves became serfs, health care improved as devices like glasses and processes like distillation were invented.
Besides, the Byzantines kept going for another 1500 years.
