Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India c8.s1.t3.6

c8.s1.t3.6

Papyrus and parchment, which had served hitherto as materials for writing, were substituted by paper. In the 10th and 11th centuries of the Christian era, the craft of paper-making had spread all over the Muslim world. Paper was introduced in Europe after the Moorish conquest of Spain and the Arab occupation of Sicily. It is also an undisputed point that some parts of India, especially Western India, obtained the knowledge of paper-making through Arabs. According to William Raitt, Zain al-Ābedin (1420—1470), a ruler of Kashmir, imported paper-workers from Samarqand, whose technique is still followed by the paper-makers of Kashmir.