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Despite the nice position astride the world's trade routes, why didn't we see medieval Arab merchant republics in similar model to Venice, Genoa, etc?

The Arab Caliphate and successor states didn't lack for naval potential vis-a-vis European competitors, and presumably they could pursue similar opportunities in trade or finance.

Is it possible for such a state to emerge from a relatively simple and elegant POD, or is this a fairly difficult and complex problem?
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