Kallawtah

Kallawtah headgear worn by royal attendants at the court of Badr al-Din Lu'lu'. Kitab al-Aghani in 1217 CE

The Kallawtah or kallaftah (كلوتة, kalloutah "bonnet") was a type of Turkic headgear worn during the Middle Ages in the Middle East. It was semi-spherical, and generally worn by the military class without a turban around. Another important headgear of the period was the sharbush.[1]

In Mamluk Egypt the kallawtah was originally prescribed to be yellow, but Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl (r. 689–93/1290–93) had it changed to the color red, with the addition of a turban around it.[1]

Etymologically, the term is though to be at the origin of the word "Calotte", which is used from architecture to religious headware in western languages.[2]

  • Horseman impales a bear. Nihāyat al-su’l by Aḥmad al-Miṣrī ("the Egyptian"), dated 1371, Mamluk Egypt or Syria. He is wearing the red kallawtah headgear, with a turban wrapped around.[3]
    Horseman impales a bear. Nihāyat al-su’l by Aḥmad al-Miṣrī ("the Egyptian"), dated 1371, Mamluk Egypt or Syria. He is wearing the red kallawtah headgear, with a turban wrapped around.[3]
  • Prince with Turkic features and clothing (detail). Maqamat of al-Hariri 1334, probably Egypt.[4][5] Possible depiction of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad,[6] who was himself of Kipchak (Turkic) and Mongol descent.[7]
    Prince with Turkic features and clothing (detail). Maqamat of al-Hariri 1334, probably Egypt.[4][5] Possible depiction of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad,[6] who was himself of Kipchak (Turkic) and Mongol descent.[7]
  1. ^ a b Fuess, Albrecht (2018). "Sultans with Horns: The Political Significance of Headgear in the Mamluk Empire (MSR XII.2, 2008)" (PDF). Mamlūk Studies Review. 12 (2): 76–7, 84, Fig.3 and Fig. 6. doi:10.6082/M100007Z.
  2. ^ Dictionnaire etymologique des mots de la langue francaise derives de l'arabe, du persan ou du turc, avec leurs analogues grecs, latins, espagnols, portugais et italiens par A. P. Pihan (in French). Imprimerie Imperiale. 1866.
  3. ^ Fuess, Albrecht (2018). "Sultans with Horns: The Political Significance of Headgear in the Mamluk Empire (MSR XII.2, 2008)" (PDF). Mamlūk Studies Review. 12 (2): Fig. 6. doi:10.6082/M100007Z.
  4. ^ Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
  5. ^ Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0. In the paintings the facial cast of these [ruling] Turks is obviously reflected, and so are the special fashions and accoutrements they favored
  6. ^ "Al-Hariri, Maqamat ('Assemblies') - Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum". islamicart.museumwnf.org. The sultan who possibly commissioned the manuscript and who may be the one depicted on the dedicatory title page is An-Nasir Muhammad b. Qala'un, who was in power for the third time from 709 AH / 1309-10 AD to 741 AH / 1340-41 AD.
  7. ^ Vermeulen, Urbain; Smet, Daniel De (1995). Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Eras. Peeters Publishers. pp. 313–314. ISBN 978-90-6831-683-4.