Westward Spread of Papermaking

Timeline

1. 751–793Samarkand · UzbekistanAfter the mid-8th-century Tang–Abbasid war, Chinese papermaking artisans are said to have reached Samarkand and taught pulping and sheet-forming techniques; the first paper mills in the Islamic world were established there, producing paper from linen and rags.
2. 794–1100Baghdad · IraqThe Abbasid dynasty established state-run paper mills in Baghdad, Damascus, and elsewhere; paper became the main medium for administrative documents, scholarly works, and commercial contracts, and papermaking spread along trade routes to Spain and North Africa.
3. 1211–1220Silk Road hubs of Central Asia · Silk RoadBetween 1211 and 1220, papermaking in Central Asian cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara still flourished; paper was shipped to Persia and Anatolia via steppe trade routes, and the papermaking system constituted infrastructure for Eurasian document circulation on the eve of the Mongol conquests.
4. 1150–1400Xàtiva · SpainPapermaking reached Iberia via North Africa and the Moors; Europe's earliest paper mills were established in places such as Xàtiva in Spain, and the technology then spread through Italy to France and Germany, completing a millennium-long westward chain of technology from East Asia to Western Europe.