Ash Shakandi also mentions Malaga as famous for its textile fabrics; he says--"Malaga is also famous for its manufactures of silks of all colours and patterns, some of which are so rich that a suit made out of them will cost many thousands; such are the brocades with beautiful drawings, and the names of khalifs, amirs, and other wealthy people, woven in them." [Moham. Dynast. Vol. I. 49.] Further on the same writer adds, "As at Malaga and Almeria, there are at Murcia several manufactures of silken cloth called _al washiu thalathat_, [variegated, of many colours.] It is likewise famous for the fabric of carpets called _tantili_, which are exported to all countries of the east and west; as also a sort of mat, of the brightest colours, with which the Murcians cover the walls of their houses." [_ib._ p. 69.] Arabic texts are frequently met with which allude to the manufactures of textile fabrics of Granada, Seville, and other towns, in which their productions are praised, and there is no doubt that they were very remarkable; for Christian authors of the middle ages refer to them so continually. Students who wish for a more extensive idea of this subject must remember the quotations and information given by Francisque Michel concerning Spanish stuffs, [Recherches sur le Comm., la Fabric. etc., des Etoffes, etc. Paris, 1852.] He tells us--"Nous trouverons tout d'abord les pailles d'Almérie, ville de la côte meridionale d'Espagne, qui jouissait d'une réputation proverbiale pour la beauté et la finesse de ses tissus de soie, vantés dans mille endroits de nos vieilles chansons de geste, de nos anciens poëmes" [Vol. I. p. 284]. Further on he continues [Vol. I. p. 286], "à l'époque à laquelle appartiennent les textes, et même auparavant, la culture et la fabrication de la soie étaient des plus prospères à Almérie et en général dans le royaume de Grenade. 'Du royaume de Grenade vient cire, soie, figues, etc.' ... ce qu'il y a de bien certain, c'est que les étoffes d'Espagne étaient célèbres dès le 9^{e} siècle. Anastase le Bibliothécaire en parle en quatre endroits sous le nom de _spaniscum_; et en placant ce tissu à la suite de _fundatum_ et du _stauracin_ il nous donne suffisamment à entendre qu'il était de grand prix, et de soie comme eux. Un biographe de Saint Ansegise, mort en 835, placé de même une couverture d'Espagne, _stragulum_, _Hispanicum unum_, à la suite de tapis ou teintures.