Could it have done so? The asiest way might be for the Islamic Spaniards to maintain their position in Spain-but would that be enough for the Arab's to remain the supreme civilisation of Western Eurasia?
There is a serious economic problem in that the regions ruled by the Arabs, with the exception of Egypt, were extremely ecologically fragile. A lot of the irrigation infrastructure built up over millenia was laid waste in the Byzantine-Persian Wars. What survived was very vulnerable to destruction, like Mesopotamia vs. the Mongols. Europe, on the other hand, with its regular and abundant rainfall, was much richer and more secure. Arab power was largely dependent upon income from trade. If the New World is not discovered, perhaps the Arabs could remain a large power, although you'd need an earlier POD. No Mongols would be a plus, too.
It's actually a lot harder than you might believe. Western Europe was going to come out of the dark age sooner or later, even without stagnation of Islam/Mongol invasion etc.Could it have done so? The asiest way might be for the Islamic Spaniards to maintain their position in Spain-but would that be enough for the Arab's to remain the supreme civilisation of Western Eurasia?
A simpler path might be to save the Ottomans - after all, they had similar heights, being more moderate than their neighbors. And, they had enough turf to do it, unlike Spain. But that's not so easy, as the Ottomans had got pretty corrupt.
Hmm, the more I think about it, still another successor state seems more likely, based somewhere other than Istanbul (big-country capitals seem to get stale). It'd have to adopt democracy either immediately, or soon after the British Empire showed promise, to keep up with the Jones'. Yeah, they'd have to get into the colony game.
Abdul Hadi Pasha, trade almost always makes more money than farming, and then traders buy all those relatively cheap crops to have plenty to eat. In fact, farming generally makes less money, is harder on bodies, takes more work, and is less reliable than just about anything, really, except, of course, early hunter/gathering. Notice that the Ottomans stayed successful until they grew fatally corrupt and also failed to keep up with the world.
Really, no mention of the Printing Press? The device that propelled a backward and dead last Europe to being the dominant region of the world via the newly educated masses?
Cut the printing press out of Europe, Arabia remains unchallenged by all except the Chinese.
There is a serious economic problem in that the regions ruled by the Arabs, with the exception of Egypt, were extremely ecologically fragile. A lot of the irrigation infrastructure built up over millenia was laid waste in the Byzantine-Persian Wars. What survived was very vulnerable to destruction, like Mesopotamia vs. the Mongols. Europe, on the other hand, with its regular and abundant rainfall, was much richer and more secure. Arab power was largely dependent upon income from trade. If the New World is not discovered, perhaps the Arabs could remain a large power, although you'd need an earlier POD. No Mongols would be a plus, too.
On top of that, Europe, being far agriculturally richer, could support a much higher population. The Ottoman Empire at it's height, stretching from Persia to Morocco, from Hungary to the Sudan, has a population not much greater than France, and over those kinds of distances couldn't utilize it as well.
This is probably just a stupid thought, but could the Crimean/Ukranian area have been turned into a thriving agricultural center for the Ottomans(like it was in the Greek and Roman Eras)? Or had some fundamental environmental change taken place there?On top of that, Europe, being far agriculturally richer, could support a much higher population. The Ottoman Empire at it's height, stretching from Persia to Morocco, from Hungary to the Sudan, has a population not much greater than France, and over those kinds of distances couldn't utilize it as well.
This is probably just a stupid thought, but could the Crimean/Ukranian area have been turned into a thriving agricultural center for the Ottomans(like it was in the Greek and Roman Eras)? Or had some fundamental environmental change taken place there?