Samarkand Papermaking

Timeline

1. 751–900Samarkand · TransoxianaPapermaking technology spread from China through Central Asia to Samarkand, where local workshops were established using flax, mulberry bark, and rags as raw materials. Samarkand paper was of high quality, and the city became an important node for transmitting papermaking technology to Western Asia and the Mediterranean.
2. 900–1400Samarkand–Baghdad papermaking belt · West AsiaSamarkand, together with Baghdad, ranked as a major early papermaking center of the Islamic world; paper replaced parchment, greatly reducing the cost of books and promoting the documentation of madrasa scholarship and administrative management.
3. 1491–1500Samarkand · TransoxianaDuring the rule of Timur's descendants, Samarkand's papermaking workshops still supplied paper to madrasas and scriptoria; fine Samarkand paper was carried by caravans to Herat, Tabriz, and Ottoman territories, supporting the demand for books and administrative documents in Central Asia.