The Islamic year entered the thirteenth Hijri century, and Europe entered its Renaissance. It became clear to all Islamic countries, and the peoples of these countries were drowning in an era of intellectual decline. Meanwhile, European countries and their peoples began to reap the fruits of the European Renaissance, which had begun three centuries earlier. Europe knew the Renaissance. At the beginning of that century, the Muslims had several states. There might be differences between them in some aspects, but they all suffered from decline. Persia was late in its development, except for the Qajar state, which suffered from corruption and complained of several diseases, the diseases of the era of decline. Russia and Britain coveted it. In the land of India, the Mughal state was in its last throes, breathing its last after Britain had dominated it through the East India Company. The British, or rather the English, allowed the French to interfere in India. There was internal strife and disputes over the throne, and it tried to preserve itself against the ambitions of colonial powers. Before that century, it had a strong navy that protected its maritime borders and commanded respect from European countries, but it lost it during the reign of Sultan Suleiman, who was complacent and chose to follow the path of concluding treaties with European countries. The terms of the treaties worsened step by step. His successor, Sultan Abd al-Rahman, tried to rebuild the navy, but those countries stood in his way.