Why wasn’t Europe the most powerful region in the world between 1200 and 1500? Your answer must focus on one reason, which should not discuss the (offstage) “discoveries” of Columbus and/or Da Gama in the last decade of the 1400s. In other words, your answer must present a specific reason for the dominance of Middle Eastern and Asian societies between 1200 and 1500. If your answer only states that the Middle East and Asia were close to the Indian Ocean commercial zone, your answer won’t earn many points.