Before paper
People wrote on parchment, bones and potsherds — all heavy and costly.
The Paper of Baghdad
From Samarqand to Baghdad — how paper reached the Islamic world and changed it — in twelve cards.
The battle of Talas
In 751 CE the Abbasid army met the Chinese at the Talas river, and captured craftsmen.
Samarqand
In Samarqand the captives taught its people to make paper from linen rags.
The rags
The rags are pounded and mashed in water into pulp, then spread and dried.
The first market
Samarqand gained a paper market selling west and east.
Baghdad
Under Harun al-Rashid paper reached Baghdad, and the warraqin opened their book-market.
The warraq
The warraq was a trade: paper seller, book copier and manuscript collector in one.
The libraries
Cheap books multiplied and filled private and public libraries.
The House of Wisdom
Paper powered the House of Wisdom: translation and copying became a city industry.
Egypt
In Egypt paper mills rose; it became an Arab craft, no longer Chinese.
Al-Andalus
In al-Andalus the city of Shatiba became paper's greatest port, exporting to Europe.
The revolution
Historians say paper changed the world as printing did later — a book in every home.
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- Before paper
People wrote on parchment, bones and potsherds — all heavy and costly. - The battle of Talas
In 751 CE the Abbasid army met the Chinese at the Talas river, and captured craftsmen. - Samarqand
In Samarqand the captives taught its people to make paper from linen rags. - The rags
The rags are pounded and mashed in water into pulp, then spread and dried. - The first market
Samarqand gained a paper market selling west and east. - Baghdad
Under Harun al-Rashid paper reached Baghdad, and the warraqin opened their book-market. - The warraq
The warraq was a trade: paper seller, book copier and manuscript collector in one. - The libraries
Cheap books multiplied and filled private and public libraries. - The House of Wisdom
Paper powered the House of Wisdom: translation and copying became a city industry. - Egypt
In Egypt paper mills rose; it became an Arab craft, no longer Chinese. - Al-Andalus
In al-Andalus the city of Shatiba became paper's greatest port, exporting to Europe. - The revolution
Historians say paper changed the world as printing did later — a book in every home.