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The Ottoman Empire and the Sheik
There was no balanced opposition in a region with several independent tribes, right? Each tribe can always draw a line in the sand to let everyone else know where they had better back up or be ready to throw down. If other tribes grow too powerful, you can always pack up and move a little bit further away. But when you're talking about states, the game changes entirely. Now you have a single institution that asserts a total monopoly on power, at least within that territory. There is no balanced opposition any more. And it left the arabs with no credible leaders who could be counted on to represent the whole group if they were put charge. Well, throughout history, religious leaders have often