The darkness and the light

Beginning in 3700 BCE a dark age swept over the Arabian Empire. With Mecca struggling to rise to prominence and the populace frightened by what happened to their initial war party, the Arabs regressed into an inwardly focused, hermit-like existence. 200 years passed with little sign of progress or inspiration. However, around 3500 BCE, people began to question the limitations of their native pagan religions. The Great Religious Debates began within the Empire between the proponents of monotheism - the belief in only one God - and polytheism - the belief in multiple Gods. For 100 years this ideological war raged until finally, in 3400 BCE, a compromise was reached. Control of the government was given to the followers of polytheism, while the Arabian Empire as a whole founded a new monotheistic religion - Judaism - and declared it the Empire's only true religion. While seemingly unlikely, this compromise actually worked and would prove to serve the Arabs for literally thousands of years. Finally, after centuries of darkness, the centering point of religion provided great light.