Hey guys, history noob here. Forgive me if this is an ignorant

>>3326416
The Arabs had access to resources, they just had to import it or migrate to someplace that did. The Congo's problem isn't that it lacks resources, it's that it's much more isolated.

>>3326416
Arabs were situated at the crossroads of Western and Eastern civilization. They produced very valuable incense and perfumes and made a lot of wealth through these rare resources as well as facilitating trade between India and the Mediterranean.

Jungles are notoriously piss poor when it comes to raising crops or maintaining an agrarian lifestyle.

Most Arabs didn't live in the fucking desert outside of bedouins, they lived along the perimeter of the peninsula. It was actually quite fertile 2000+ years ago, climate change and desertification have altered that over the last centuries. They also had access to the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean empires, so trading was a viable option.