<prompt> Translate the following text to EnglishKatika miaka ya 2000 iliyopita, mataifa hayo mawili yalishindana na mataifa makubwa ya Ulaya na kuwa sehemu ya mapigano ya kidini kati ya Wakristo na Waislamu.  <response>: Throughout most of the last two millennia, they were fought over by European superpowers and became pawns in the religious conflicts between Christianity and Islam. 