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Article: Suq al-Warraqin.(art of papermaking in Iraq during period of Abbasid dynasty)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- February 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the shadow of the Round City by the Basra Gate was the Suq al-Warraqin ("Market of the Paper-sellers"). Just as office supply and photocopy stores feed paper into federal offices today, the Muslim state had a big appetite for documents. As the Muslim administration of the Abbasids grew ever more complex, officials found themselves in need of increasing amounts of writing material.
Before Abbasid times, governments used either parchment, made of animal skins, or papyrus, made from reeds that grew along the Nile River. The art of papermaking entered the Muslim world from China around A.D. 751. Harun al-Rashid's government switched to paper after A.D. 786.
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