The seed of books planted in dry ground

From A Troublesome Inheritance by Nicholas Wade. Page 228.

Islamic rulers long kept challenges away by forbidding the printing press and squelching troublesome lines of inquiry. In Europe, interest in new knowledge was not confined to an elite but pervaded societies in which literacy was becoming widespread. By 1500 there were 1,700 printing presses distributed in 300 European cities in every country except Russia. In the Ottoman empire, a decree of Sultan Selim I specified the death penalty for anyone who even used a printing press. Istanbul did not acquire a printing press until 1726 and the owners were allowed to publish only a few titles before being closed down.