Besides these, there were works on all kinds of subjects--history, jurisprudence, politics, philosophy, biographies not only of illustrious men, but also of celebrated horses and camels.

These were issued without any censorship or restraint, though, in later times, works on theology required a license for publication.

Books of reference abounded, geographical, statistical, medical, historical dictionaries, and even abridgments or condensations of them, as the "Encyclopedic Dictionary of all the Sciences," by Mohammed Abu Abdallah.

Much pride was taken in the purity and whiteness of the paper, in the skillful intermixture of variously-colored inks, and in the illumination of titles by gilding and other adornments.
The Saracen Empire was dotted all over with colleges.

They were established in Mongolia, Tartary, Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, North Africa, Morocco, Fez, Spain.