The Middle East has been a combat zone for most of the past 5,000 years, with various empires like the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Ottomans conquering the region through violence and warfare. Religious conflicts were relatively rare until the rise of Christianity and Islam. In the 15th century, Europeans began colonizing other parts of the world and slaughtering populations for their gold and resources. The Ottoman Empire then ruled the Middle East for around 600 years before Britain and other Western empires took control of the region's oil reserves in the early 20th century. Today, the Middle East remains volatile with ongoing conflicts.