Traditionally the beginning of the "modern" world, the Reinaissance (literally meaning "rebirth," with the implication of a rebirth of intellectual and artistic life after the long dark which had followed the fall of Rome) was actually the tail-end of the Middle Ages. One can argue as to when it began, but certainly as early as the 13th century intellectual and artistic life in Italy had reached levels unheard of since before the fall of Rome, and the great discovery of ancient learning was well under way. There had been a mini-Renaissance under Charlemagne, but it had not survived him long. It was a combination of the Crusades (which brought the West into contact with the far more learned Byzantines and the Arabs), the revival of trade (which stimulated an increase in wealth), and the rise of the independent city-states in northern Italy (which fostered greater independence of thought), which sparked the Renaissance, which was probably given a boost by the Plague (which promoted even greater free thinking).