Qaba Explained

A qaba (Persian: قبا‎|qabā, from Middle Persian kabāh⁠) is a long coat with sleeves and buttons, similar to a cassock, open at the front. A qaba is similar to a wadded coat. It is considered of Turkic origin.^[1]

The Mughal emperors wore ankle-length garments. The outfits during the reign of Babur and Humayun are more or less the same, i.e. qaba, jama, pirahan, jilucha, jiba and kasaba. Unlike the jama, which was a four-pointed long-coat the Qaba and takauchia were of a broad girth at the bottom. There are mentions of the qaba in the Baburnama. At present, qaba is one of the essential parts of the dress of the clerics or mosque leaders.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]} It was worn in Egypt, Turkey, the Levant, and Persia, among other places.^[10]

When Henry II, Count of Champagne, king of Jerusalem, tried to build a friendly relationship with Saladin, he requested the gift of a qabā and a sharbūsh', which he wore in Acre.^{[11] [12]}

In Arab contexts, two main variations were noted; the Turkish style (al-aqbiya al-turkiyya), and the Tatar (or Mongolian) style (al-aqbiya al-tatariyya or qabā' tatarī). The latter fastened on the wearer's right side, and was preferred by Mamluk amirs in its day over the former style, which was favored by the Seljuks and Ayyubids.^[13] Also notable is a variation, typically with a v shaped neck, that closed center front.^[14] The garment typically had awaist seamm and some depictions indicate a gathered skirt. It was fastened with buttons or strings tied in bows, and most commonly worn with a belt over top.

See also

• Ammama
• Chiltah
• Terlig
• Jama

Notes and References

1. Book: Flood . Finbarr Barry . A Turk in the Dukhang? Comparative Perspectives on Elite Dress in Medieval Ladakh and the Caucasus . 2017 . Austrian Academy of Science Press . 231 .
2. Book: Balslev, Sivan. Iranian Masculinities: Gender and Sexuality in Late Qajar and Early Pahlavi Iran. 2019-03-21. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-108-47063-6. 208. en.
3. Book: Johnson, Francis. A Dictionary, Persian, Arabic, and English. 1852. Allen. 254. en.
4. Book: Islamic Thought and Scientific Creativity: A Quarterly Journal of the COMSTECH.. 1992. COMSTECH. 66. en.
5. Book: Lal, Kishori Saran, 1920-. The Mughal harem. 1988. Aditya Prakashan. 81-85179-03-4. New Delhi. 18431844.
6. Agre. Jagat Vir Singh. Social Life as Reflected in the Rajput Painting During the Mughal Period. 1976. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 37. 569–575. 44139028. 2249-1937.
7. Web site: 2013-09-09. India. The Mughal Empire. Costume and fashion history.. 2021-01-29. World4. en-US.
8. Web site: Who made my clothes?. mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com. 2019-11-26. Namrata Zakaria. 2021-01-29.
9. Web site: 2015-07-20. تاریخچه لباس روحانیت. 2021-01-29. خبرگزاری مهر اخبار ایران و جهان Mehr News Agency. fa.
10. Book: Stillman, Yedida K. . Arab dress: a short history; from the dawn of Islam to modern times . 2003 . Brill . 978-90-04-11373-2 . Stillman . Norman A. . Revised 2nd . Themes in Islamic studies . Leiden .
11. Book: Gabrieli . Francesco . Arab Historians of the Crusades . University of California Press . 242 . en . When the King of England left for home, Henry sent a messenger to Saladin to conciliate him and win his goodwill. He asked him for the gift of a robe of honor, and said: "You know that to put on the qabā and the sharbūsh is not approved among us, but I would put them on if they came from you, because of the regard I have for you." Saladin sent him sumtuous robes of honour, among them a qaba and a sharbush, and he wore them in Acre. .
12. Book: Mayer . Leo Ary . Mamluk Costume: A Survey . 1952 . A. Kundig . 27–28 . Moreover, the wearing of the sharbish and qaba was considered so characeristic for a Saracenic amire that even a Crusader was prepared to don it in order to show some sort of friendship (if not allegiance) to Saladin..
13. Book: Stillman, Yedida K. . Arab dress: a short history; from the dawn of Islam to modern times . 2003 . Brill . 978-90-04-11373-2 . Stillman . Norman A. . Revised 2nd . Themes in Islamic studies . Leiden . 63.
14. Book: Stillman, Yedida K. . Arab dress: a short history; from the dawn of Islam to modern times . 2003 . Brill . 978-90-04-11373-2 . Stillman . Norman A. . Revised 2nd . Themes in Islamic studies . Leiden . 353.