Mamluk outer dress reflects the militaristic and stratified social hierarchy of the era. Several ethnic groups comprised the elite stratum of the Mamluk court, with each group having its own rank and ceremonial dress. The Bahri period had many Central Asian (mainly Turkic Kipchak and Yuruk Turcomans) and Mongolian influences dominating dress, whereas the Burji period brought influences from Circassia and the Caucasus at large, yet still maintained the essence of Turkic superiority.

B) Outer garments

 Men

Throughout much of this period, the typical outer garment for a member of the ruling class was any one of a variety of coats (aqbiya). These were worn over the usual layers of undershirts, the most common of which was the qamjun, which supplanted the ghilala or qamis, which for centuries had been the most popular body shirt. The undershirt was normally hidden by the outer garments, except in southern Iraq, where it was commonly cut long to extend below the coat above it.

 

1- Thawb ثوب

The outer tunics of Mamluk sultans and viziers were made from expensive silks and brocades. They have the usual tiraz armbands with golden bands around the neck, sleeve, and hem. Surviving Mamluk silk textiles attest to the sumptuosity and beauty of the gowns shown in manuscript artwork.

During the Mamluk period, sleeves on the robes of the upper class were so long and ample that they entirely hid the hand of the wearer. Sleeves extending just below the wearer’s hands as well as sleeves of double arm’s length are frequently depicted in the illuminations of manuscripts of Maqamat Al-Hariri, dating from the thirteenth/seventh and fourteenth/eighth centuries. Various physical laborers, such as carpenters, fishermen, dog handlers, and hunters, are frequently depicted in manuscript illuminations clad only in a short, close-fitting tunic or belted coat that is either sleeveless or has elbow-length, tight sleeves. Sometimes they have a cap, which is most often of the low qalansuwa type, and sometimes they are bareheaded.

It is difficult to discern the exact type of fabrics from which these tunics were made based on depictions in manuscript art alone. But the luster and shine of some of these tunics may elucidate that they were made from patterned silk or brocade. The colorful, variegated patterns may indicate that they are made from block-printed cotton or some woven, patterned fabrics of silk, cotton, or linen blends. Many resist-printed cotton textile fragments from Mamluk Egypt are displayed across various textile museums.

A fragment of an extant child’s tunic dating to the Mamluk period appears to have a round standing collar, which is an unusual departure from the previous simple collarless round-cut necklines of Coptic tunics. This may indicate a direct influence coming from the Sino-Mongolian styles of dress by way of the dominant Turco-Mongolian ruling stratum in Egypt.

 

These images are from “Kitab fi marifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya (Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices)”, probably in Syria or Egypt in 1315 CE, Copied by Farrukh ibn Abd al-Latif.

 

 

These images are from a Mamluk manuscript of Kitab fi marifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya by al-Jazari, copied in Egypt in 1354 CE. They are wearing decorated wide-sleeved gowns with tiraz armbands and turbans.

 

 

Scenes of Abu Al-Harith and his friends dressed in large, long-sleeved overtunics (thawbs). These tunics were colorful and richly decorated. Tiraz armbands on the upper sleeves and golden trimming on the hems. White turbans adorn the whole attire. Maqamat Al-Hariri, Mamluk Cairo, 1334 AD, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, manuscript AF 9.

2- Outer wraps/Mantles الأغطية والملاحف

There were different styles of draping one’s mantle. From the many manuscript illuminations, it is clear that during the period of the Turkish military dynasties, there was the widest variety of draping styles for the many different types of wraps and mantles. For example, the ridāʾ could be worn as a cloak over both shoulders or draped toga style over the left shoulder, while leaving the right arm entirely free. Alternatively, the mantle could be draped over the right shoulder with the left arm bare. Since the only illuminated example of the latter draping is that of the trickster Abu Zayd, it is perhaps a sartorial representation of his roguish nature.

Wraps such as the Ṭaylasān and Ṭarḥa of a qadi could cover the head and fully envelop the wearer’s body, hang down the back, or be crisscrossed at the chest in the so-called lam-alif style because it resembled those two letters of the Arabic alphabet when they are connected in the script.

A mantle could be held in place with a knot or clasp in front at the neck. A short mantle could be worn crisscrossed over the shoulders and under the armpits, leaving the arms uncovered, and forming a sort of vest. Narrow shawls could be worn draped front to back to form a “U” across the chest with the ends hanging back over each shoulder. In the later Middle Ages, this seems to have been a man’s style. However, dancing girls depicted in the ninth/third-century Abbasid palace in Samarra are also depicted wearing shawls in this fashion.

The lower orders of society, naturally, wore much less and much simpler clothing. Paupers might wear only a waist wrapper (izār or ḥakw) and a narrow mantle, with perhaps a low qalansuwa on the head. The mantle could be held in place merely by tying the ends into a large knot in front. Slaves on the auction block are shown with an absolute minimum of clothes—usually just a white wrap around the waist or draped over the shoulders.

 

 

 

3- Qabāʾ قباء

The qabāʾ coat, a mainstream article of clothing worn by all classes in the Abbasid period, became the prerogative of the Turkic ruling military caste in the Mamluk period. The Seljuqs and Ayyubids preferred the so-called Turkish coats (al-aqbiya al-turkiyya), the hem of which crossed the chest in a diagonal from right to left. The Mamluk amirs (Princes) wore Tatar-style coats (al-aqbiya al-tatariyya) with the hem crossing the opposite way.

The flaps of the coat are fastened with anchor buttons (azrar) or with little strings that are tied in a bow. Some coats (usually non-military ones) are buttoned down the front with frog buttons or, more rarely, with strings that are tied in a bow. Over the coat was worn a belt of metal plaquettes (hiyasa) or a sash (band). The latter was the girdle of the ordinary Mamluk soldier, whereas the former was the mark of high-ranking officers. In addition to the closed belted coats, there were also a variety of open coats (aqbiya maftuha). According to Ibn Iyas, these were among the luxurious innovations in dress that were introduced under Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad b. Qalawun. Fur-trimmed, patterned, and Tiraz-banded open coats worn over military coats and civilian robes are clearly illustrated in manuscript illuminations from the Mamluk period. For members of the Turkish ruling classes, the sleeves of their coats were frequently indicative of rank and social status. The longer and ampler the sleeves, the higher the standing of the wearer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3- bughluṭāq/sallariyya بَغلُطاق

Under the Mamluks, two popular short-sleeved coats were the bughluṭāq (also bughlūṭāq) and the sallāriyya. These were made of various fabrics and frequently lined with fur. Such a coat was sometimes worn under an ample outer robe (farajiyya). Eventually, some of the garments that were at first the mark of the military aristocracy were imitated by the middle classes. The bughluṭāq, for example, appears in several Geniza documents. Two different short, jacket-like coats are illustrated in one of the Paris Maqamat manuscripts. One has short sleeves, and the other has long sleeves. But it cannot be determined with any certainty that these are the bughluṭāq and sallāriyya, and if they indeed are, then which is which.

Mayer argues that bughluṭāq (also bughlūṭāq) and the sallāriyya were the same with the qabāʾ maftūh (open qabāʾ) or qabāʾ Islami depicted in the Vienna manuscript of the Maqamt frontispiece above. The central figure of the Vienna Maqamat al-Hariri 734/1334 frontispiece wears a sallāri draped casually across his shoulders.

 

 

 

4- Farrajiyya فرجية

The farrajiyya was a long, ample-sleeved robe with a slit in the front. The upper coat of the learned class was the farajiyya, of which the most elegant one, for instance, the kind which the sultan offered as presents, was lined with grey squirrel and trimmed with beaver. Judges and scholars, in general, used to wear it with long sleeves without slits. The farajiyya used to be made of various materials according to the season: wool, cotton, or silk, decorated with tiraz bands, and buttoned. During the Mamluk period, there were two kinds of farajiyya–the upper one and the lower one. The upper one (al-fauqaniyya) is the farajiyya proper, sometimes also called jubba; the lower one (at-tahttaniyya) is rarely mentioned, and hardly ever described. Many high-ranking officials depicted in European period paintings are dressed in sumptuous, long, buttoned Farrajiyyas made from what look like high-quality brocades and silks. The women, although fully enveloped in voluminous wraps, are shown to have worn equally sumptuous caftans.

 

5- Maluṭa مَلوطة

The ordinary coat of a high amir under the late Circassians was the maluṭa,
an upper coat with a collar. It was either born into the elite caste or by ordinary mamluks during a ceremonial procession. Towards the end of the Circassian period, Mamluk soldiers were easily recognizable by their red zamṭ hats and maluṭa coats, and, consequently, were compelled to continue wearing both of them after Sultan Selim’s conquest, to prevent them from dressing as Ottomans and robbing the local population. But the maluṭa coat was worn by the non-military as well. Ibn Iyas tells us of a native who used to wear a suit consisting of a maluṭa-coat and a turban (‘imama), but when in Sha’ban 902, appointed Master of the Hunt ( amir shikar), he was ordered to dress like a Turk, i.e,. like a Mamluk, and wear a takhfifa with ” horns ” and a short-sleeved sallari. Ibn Iyas seems to underline that the “people ” used to wear the maluṭa, whereas Mamluks had sallari-coats.

 

 

6- Kāmiliyya كامليية

The Kāmiliyya was an outer garment tailored for horse riding. This garment with long, narrow sleeves had a central back slit from the hem upwards, which allowed the skirt panels to fall over the rider’s leg. This is clearly depicted in Mamluk paintings and metalwork, and if this garment is indeed the Kāmiliyya, there is no visible difference in shape or styling from the qabāʾ except in this back slit. The progenitor of the garment was the Ayyubid ruler Al-Malik Al-Kamil. Al-Qalqashandi writes that Al-Mustain Bi’llah, the Abbasid caliph, while riding to the city, was wearing “on him a tight-sleeved Kāmiliyya with a slit back with a tight-sleeved qabāʾ’ under it.” It was usually fully lined with sable fur or just around the neck and hands. Velvet and wool were fabrics used for the Kāmiliyya in historical references.

7- Kaftān قفطان

The kaftān, a garment of Turkic origin, was worn in the Mamluk dynasty. Many high-ranking officials depicted in European period paintings are dressed in sumptuous, long, buttoned caftans made from what look like high-quality brocades and silks. The women, as well, although fully enveloped in voluminous wraps, are shown to have worn equally sumptuous caftans as well. An extant 14th-century Mamluk coat/caftan belonging to a child was excavated and reconstructed.

 

 

 

 

 

Women

Based on textual sources, it is difficult to discern major changes in female attire under the Turkish military dynasties of the later Middle Ages. The names and functions of feminine garments remain quite constant. However, as Patricia Baker aptly points out: “It seems unlikely that the design and appearance of such items remained static for four or five hundred years.”

1- Outer wraps الأغطية والملاحف

As already established, the over-enveloping outer mantles were a staple in a Muslim woman’s outdoor outfit across the Islamic world, and nothing seems to have changed in the Mamluk era either.

Unlike the usual austere Baghdadi izārs (white cloak) commonly worn, beginning from the 14th century, women of the Mamluk era wore expensive izārs made from silk. Al-Maqrizi reports that these silken izārs cost about a thousand dinar. This high demand for silken izārs led to the overburdening of the textile weavers and workers to the extent that it forced the officials to ban the production of such garments and even heavily penalize their sale. However, the ban didn’t last for long, and women continued to wear them. The garment was generally white for Muslims, whereas the women of the People of the Book had to wear it in distinctive colors: Christians in blue, Jewesses in yellow, and Samaritans in red.

Arnold von Harrf’s writings also attest to the ubiquity of this item by saying: “… They (women) all know each other and are all dressed alike, girt about with a white dress (referring to an izār), but the veil in front of their faces is black“.  {See the image under ṭarṭur to see his illustration}

Another enveloping cloak mentioned in the Mamluk period was the ḥibara. The ḥibara is a large black-striped enveloping cloak made from silk or taffeta. The black ḥibara was a cloak mainly for married women, while unmarried women wore white. Upper-class women made their ḥibara from expensive fabrics like silk and qaṣab.

 

 

 

 Illustrations of women wrapped in colorful mantles from different manuscripts of Kalila wa Dimna, 14th–15th century.

2- Thawb ثوب

The principal garment worn over the drawers and chemise was the all-purpose thawb, which was not a wrap, as Patricia Lesly Baker has called it, but rather a gown or a tunic, usually with very wide sleeves. There is little information available as to its actual design or the fabrics used in historical texts. Thirteenth-century Iraqi manuscript illuminations show women in close-fitting gowns or a wide-sleeved farajiyya, which was an ample robe that came to just below the knees. But the paintings in Egyptian manuscripts from the Mamluk period—as already noted—usually depict women fully wrapped and veiled, or at least in outer coats, and European paintings and engravings depicting Mamluk women depict them either enveloped and veiled or not in clear detail. The Geniza trousseau lists are of no particular help either. Although they note a wide variety of fabrics and colors and sometimes indicate whether the garment is tailored (muẖayyaṭ) or untailored (ġhayr muẖayyaṭ), they do not give specifics regarding cut or measurements. The thawb was normally full-length, but in the fourteenth/eighth century, it also became short as part of the general craze for raised hemlines and elbow-length sleeves, which the ever-critical Ibn al-H̱ājj notes as being a relatively recent innovation.

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3- qabāʾ/baġlūṭāq قباء/بَغلُطاق

Women did wear aqbiya (Sing. qabāʾ) coats just like men. The Jerusalem Haram documents (watha’iq Al-Haram Ash-sharif), a series of contemporary documents written in Jerusalem in the period corresponding to the 14th-century Mamluk era, lists a plethora of qabāʾ garments of different colors, fabrics, and decorations worn by women in the period, highlighting the fact that it had become a mainstream feminine garment.

The 15th-century historian Ibn Taghribirdi mentions that the qabāʾ was replaced by the word baġlūṭāq instead. It refers to a coat with short sleeves or without sleeves, covering the chest area, and made from costly fabrics. From the Geniza trousseaux, we know that the baġlūṭāq, originally a short-sleeved coat of the ruling military elite, eventually became a garment for the civilian population and was also worn by women. It was made from white Baʿalbaki cotton (which comes from the city of “baʿalbak” in Lebanon, famous for producing good quality white cotton), squirrel fur, or silk, and was often embellished with precious gems and stones. 

 

 

4- Quffāz قُفَّاز

One article of female attire that is never mentioned in medieval sources, except in dictionaries, is quffāzāt or gloves. Although the Arab lexicographers describe quffāzāt as being of skins, felt, or wool, stuffed with cotton, in the single illumination where a woman clearly appears to be wearing gloves, they seem to be of a black mesh. The dictionaries make it clear that gloves were essentially an article of women’s clothing. There was a men’s quffāz, which is mentioned and which appears in Mamluk metalwork; namely, the glove worn by the falconer to protect his hand from his bird’s sharp talons.