Part 12/15:
Europe, uniquely, was not permanently destroyed by the Mongols or Turks, partly because it was geographically less accessible to these nomadic forces. European society, heavily influenced by Roman legal traditions, Christianity, and urban cultures, was better defended by its geographic position and institutional resilience.
In contrast, Asia’s civilizations, particularly China and Persia, suffered repeated invasions and destructions—depleting their capacity for innovation and vitality. The eventual rise of Europe in the Age of Discovery and the subsequent Western dominance can be seen as a product of this historical resilience, as Europeans emerged from their more stable and internally coherent societies to conquer and colonize the world.