Islamic Papermaking

Type Object Region Middle East Time 1031–1040

After arriving from Central Asia in the 8th century, the Islamic world had by the early 11th century built a papermaking network from Samarkand to Ib…

Timeline

1031–1035Baghdad · MesopotamiaBaghdad and its surroundings continued the Abbasid-era papermaking tradition, producing writing paper through water-powered fiber beating, sheet forming, and drying, supplying the court document market and scholarly copying market.
1036–1040Damascus · LevantPapermaking workshops in Damascus, Cairo, and other places connected with trade routes; paper from different origins was shipped to Al-Andalus and Byzantine frontier regions via Mediterranean and overland routes, gradually replacing papyrus and parchment as the mainstream writing medium.

Sources

Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World — Jonathan M. Bloom (2001)
The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 4: From the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs — R. N. Frye (ed.) (1975)