Creative Speculation

There is nothing really "superior" about any civilization by itself. When Europe was in the Dark Ages the Middle East was quite advanced, even egalitarian. But oppression and empire, unfortunately, have been the norm for most of human history. The perennial zero-sum game of Us vs. Them. We're always hearkening back to a better, almost forgotten past, some Golden Kingdom, some Atlantis or Shangri-La, of perfection that never really was.