In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages.
The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previous century left Europe fractured into many small Germanic kingdoms competing fiercely for land and wealth.
From the upheaval the Franks rose to prominence and carved out a sizeable domain covering much of modern France and Germany.
Owing in part to the collapse of the Roman Empire along with its literature and civilization, the sixth century is generally considered to be the least known about in the Dark Ages.
[3] The classical Gupta Empire of Northern India, largely overrun by the Huna, ended in the mid-6th century.