Kallawtah
Kallawtah
Turkic headgear
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]
- 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]