Today most scholars believe that the Chinese invention of gunpowder spread throughout Asia by the trade that accompanied the Mongol conquest of most of Eurasia. However, the story may be not as simple as it appears. Many other countries and people have also claimed to have discovered gunpowder. Europe, the Islamic world and the Mongols all claim to have independently discovered gunpowder. China possesses the strongest argument; the earliest of all recorded accounts claiming the invention of gunpowder is Chinese.

Some historians believe that Muslim alchemists were responsible for the discovery of gunpowder. Recently discovered Muslim texts containing the word "gunpowder" suggest the presence of gunpowder in the Islamic world 500 to 750 years prior to when it was initially believed to have been introduced there. An Arab man by the name of Mir Fatehullah Khan is noted in some sources to be the inventor of the gun and gunpowder. In Khan's book he writes, "gunpowder was a great invention of the Arabs who were already using guns" as opposed to the belief that the Chinese invented gunpowder.

The only problem with this new theory is that archeologists have discovered the word "gunpowder" in texts, but there is no evidence in the context of the translation that the Muslims meant an exploding substance. The theory could either be based upon a mistranslation or the translation of the word gunpowder could have meant two separate words placed together "gun" and "powder". In comparison, the early Chinese scientific texts record an almost flawless and clear description of gunpowder.

Roger Bacon, claimed to be the European father of gunpowder, has also been challenged. Scholars believe that German friar by the name of Berthold Schwarz taught Bacon the secret of gunpowder. Bacon's notes describe gunpowder and its explosive properties, but are vague. Also, Bacon never claims to have discovered the substance. Schwarz's notes clearly suggest that he handed on the discovery of gunpowder to Roger Bacon. 

The Mongols have  also been credited with spreading gunpowder as their vast empire extended across Asia. 

Despite the many claims to the invention of gunpowder, it is evident that all these societies (Chinese, Arabs, Europeans and Mongolians) had begun to experiment with flammable substances by the 9^th to 12^th centuries. The early experimentation created an extremely volatile setting for the introduction of gunpowder. Suddenly in the small period between the 13^th and 14^th centuries, gunpowder exploded on to the scene throughout Asia. The rapid expansion and clustered dates of gunpowder's invention and usage only help to support this statement. Although the inventor of gunpowder may remain unclear, we can explain why gunpowder spread so quickly.This spread is related to the powerful Mongol empire that rapidly came into being in this period.