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One of the key factors in the fall of the west was a lacking tax base. If I heard correctly the west was dominated by large farming estates and bureaucratic cities with very little economic productivity compared to the Eastern Empire.

Where would the POD need to be for the west to develop the needed economic infrastructure to survive, more or less, into the modern era? Would they be a strong ally to the East against the rise of Islam which spanked the Eastern empire and the Persian empire (who fought a long war just before the Arabs showed up)?

Would the German invaders be assimilated or would they alter the face of the empire?

Also, with the "Dark ages" came a technological innovation wave as peoples were forced to re-evaluate how they lived, worked, and governed themselves. Assuming that no similar innovation wave happens in this TL who, if anyone, would take the leadership role in world politics by the 17th and 18th centuries?
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