I have two points in history to compare. 2,000 BCE nd 2,000 CE.
In doing research on the history of money I looked at the earliest uses of money that are known. Apparently, the first uses were as bills of lading for furniture shipped from Damascus to Baghdad about four millenia ago.
One of my relatives spent a week in Damascus, not long ago, visiting friends and family. I asked about all the markets and buildings and food and life in Damascus.
It looks to me like Damascus only produces food and furniture as productive output.
It looks to me like Damascus is an example of the whole Arab world where the only productive output is directed at food and furniture. The food is the same throughout the Arab world but the furniture is a little different because the rest of the world also sells furniture to Arabs.
Somehow, there are academics and ideologues who think that the Arab world will be able to join the modern world easily. I don't. It is tribal and it is very stable over time.