Timeline milestone
Papermaking Reaches the Islamic World, Legend and Evidence Diverge
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Milestone
Papermaking Reaches the Islamic World, Legend and Evidence Diverge
After the Battle of Talas, Samarkand became a papermaking center. The popular story credits captured Chinese prisoners, but archaeological evidence shows paper was already known there beforehand.
After the Abbasid Caliphate defeated Tang forces at the Battle of Talas in 751 CE, papermaking took hold in Samarkand. The popular story credits Chinese prisoners of war, but historian Jonathan Bloom calls it unlikely to be factual, since archaeological finds show paper was already in use there decades before the battle.
