At least not rich in the modern sense.
“Imperialism is very old — the Romans, the Persians, the Mongols, and many other empires all pillaged and plundered plenty of wealth. But despite all of that plunder, no country in the world was getting particularly rich, by modern standards, until the latter half of the 20th century.”
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/nations-dont-get-rich-by-plundering