Everybody remembers the Crusades
But nobody remembers the muslim conquest of some of the best parts of the Roman Empire. Without its connection to the east, western Europe was left to wither under those same Franks, Lombards and Goths that later laid waste Palestine. With a little foresight those conquering califs might have left Spain, Sicily, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, (and why not, Palestine too) to the Romans and saved their descendents a lot of trouble... Were Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, North India, Central Asia, Indonesia not enough?
Giovanni
