The early history of Islam is marked by considerable political will to consolidate the fragmented tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. As a result, a unified political and administrative system emerged, first under the prophet Muhammad and then the first caliph Abu Bakr, which laid the foundation for the first Arab conquests. Conquests continued unabated during the reigns of the caliphs Omar and Othman, and then by the Umayyads, Abbasids, and other Muslim dynasties who established strong centers of power around the world. In the 11th century AD, Islamic society could boast numerous cultural and technical training centers with eminent scholars of all disciplines known at the time. Thus, when Arab-Islamic armies invaded distant lands, they brought with them the rich cultural, political, and economic heritage of their expanding civilization and created conditions that established deep roots and brought about lasting geopolitical change. Western Europe of the medieval period was no exception to this phenomenon. The Middle Ages fall between the period when the Roman Empire disintegrated (476 AD) and the emergence of the Renaissance movement (1400 AD). With the fall of the Roman Empire, European civilization suffered a fatal blow under barbarian rule. The period between 500 and 1000 AD saw chaotic conditions in most of Western Europe. The division of the continent into small principalities caused constant internal conflicts, and the economic condition of the common man continued to worsen. The Middle Ages were an era known for war, famine, plague, and political instability. The circumstances were not at all conducive to intellectual pursuits or scholarly activity. Society in Western Europe, in general, remained an agricultural base... means of paper... ure. The system of administration of justice and law also improved due to good administration. Economic development was also encouraged through the widening and maintenance of roads and the construction of markets. Irrigation works and works to develop agriculture were carried out. The trading traditions inculcated by the Arabs are reflected in the Italian nobility's preference to live in pulsating urban centers while in the rest of Europe nobles preferred rural manor houses. Works Cited1) Stoddard, L. 1922. The New World of Islam, New York, The Sons of Charles Scribner, pp. 5-6. http://www.coscientelivingfoundation.org/ebooks/13/CLF-TheNewWorldOfIslam-LothropStoddard.pdf2) Barnard, Bryn 2011. The Genius of Islam: How Muslims Made the Modern World, Knopf Books for Young Readers, p. 8.3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests4) Course articles, The Arab invasions 1 and II.