[Heyworth]

Unfortunately for them, that's when they peaked, and they've been trying to get back to that level ever since. They were rich, powerful, produced great art, and were the center of world learning. Even then, of course, it was largely because they had preserved and built on the knowledge of the Greece and Rome which were lost to Europe in the Dark Ages. Once that knowledge came back to Europe during the Renaissance, Islam's importance began it's long slide.

[DeFault User]

Exactly, Islam never had a Martin Luther or a Copernicus or a Magna Carta that broke them free of theocracy. It's interesting that the early, more enlightened sultans who kept learning alive in Europe did not prevail against the inherent ignorance of such a narrow minded religion. While Christian Europe was coming out of the Dark Ages, the Islamic world descended into them and has yet to emerge.