Tag Archives: paper

Baghdad: Paper Technology

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ruth

Around 750, just before the Umayyads were overthrown in Damascus, you may remember that there was a battle at the far eastern front. It was like any other battle, but it was so close to the Chinese border that the … Continue reading →

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Abbasid Caliph al-Saffah, 750-4

Posted on December 1, 2021 by Ruth

The Abbasid Caliphs needed to work a little harder to remind people that their right to rule was legitimate. Perhaps for this reason, they began a tradition of ruling not in their own given names, but by their laqab name. … Continue reading →

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Across the Oxus River, 705-750

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Ruth

Hugh Kennedy in his book The Great Arab Conquests notes that it’s at this point that we start to have real contemporary history that we can trust. Two Abbasid-era historians collected everything they could find from this wave of invasion, … Continue reading →

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