Afford more goods, educate people better, and have a lower poverty rate.
What was the major religion of the Germanic tribes in the beginning of the middle ages?
Islam
That would be Florence. This city in Italy, that was often called " the Athens of the Middle Ages" was one of the wealthiest city in the world at one time and a center of commerce and finance. It is considered to be a birth place of the Renaissance. Due to its position at the time as a center of trade Florence dealt with many Islamic Civilizations across the Mediterranean and thus benefited from the trade-base cultural exchange.