Why is the cradle of civilization having such a hard time in the modern era? They had a headstart over everyone else

>international trade routes move to the oceans
>they become a periphery
>white people outbred them

Niggers

Decline of the Silk Road, as said

It doesn't make sense, if a civilization is so great compared to its surroundings, how come they couldn't repel nomadic "people"? or why were they open to their own demise/: ?
care to elaborate?

Deserts, unironically.

They also invented war and religion. Which seems to prevail in that region these days.

lmao, you're one to talk.

Mongols
Ottoman colonialism
European colonialism
Socialism
Pan-Arabism/Pan-Islamism
Resource curse (for petrostates)
Rentier States
Arab culture
Islamic culture (this and Arab culture are a giant potpourri of all sorts of bad shit inhibiting development, like gender roles, place of human agency, tribal loyalties etc).

You'll notice Israel, mostly unaffected by all of the above, has done exceptionally well. Turkey just to the north, less affected than the Arabs for the above, is also doing (relatively) well.

Western imperialism unironically

Lol

Because it went from a fertile crescent river with Mediterranean climate to a giant desert or hellish swamp because too many people lived there and screwed the shit up. Wiped out the forest, took away good soil and rocks, over farmer over built, now it's all sand, swamp or barren shit hills with still too many people.
Tldr too many people turned the greatest farmland in history into a dystopia nightmare we just call the middle east.