ABSTRACT
On the other hand, military technology in the Middle East has largely been characterized by importation rather than invention. Gunpowder from China was first used to great effect by the Turks, but the long decline of the Ottoman Empire prevented weaponry from developing at the same rate as it did in Europe. By the mid-twentieth century, most Middle Eastern states bought their weapons from either Western nations or the Soviet Union, paying for their defense with oil revenues.
