It’s called Damascus because that was the entrepôt from which it entered Europe. It’s actually from South Asia. A similar thing happened with fabric... muslin and damasque are from India, not Mosul and Damascus
Wikipedia says both muslin and damasque originated in or around Mosul and Damascus, though. Their production moved to India later on, due to comparative advantage, I imagine.
the citation here is just from the 1911 britanica, which is not a terribly reliable source! For what its worth, transparent muslin is depicted on the walls of ajunta (in the Vessantara Jataka painting in cave 17) from the sixth century, and are mentioned in the Harsacarita, from the seventh, both from before Mosul was a major center.
He’s partially right. Damascus was made from Wootz steel which was imported from India. The technique of adding carbon to the steel to harden it causing the characteristic bands was discovered in India.
