Devastich before the city's capture by Arabs in 722. When Muslims first encountered paper in the 7th and 8th centuries, it had already been in the region for centuries. Sogdian writing on paper has also been found dating to 313 CE in Dunhuang. Paper was being made in Baghdad by the late 8th century.

In the 13th century, knowledge of and use of paper spread from the Middle East to medieval Europe,