Kaftan

The origins of the kaftan are uncertain, but it is believed to have first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia.{{Cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Cyrus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lp8XAAAAYAAJ |title=Biblical Antiquities: A Description of the Exhibit at the Cotton States International Exposition, Atlanta, 1895 |last2=Casanowicz |first2=Immanuel M. |date=1898 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=The journey of kaftans from Mesopotamia to the rest of the world |url=https://htschool.hindustantimes.com/editorsdesk/knowledge-vine/the-journey-of-kaftans-from-mesopotamia-to-the-rest-of-the-world |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=HT School |language=en-US}} It is described as a long robe as far as the calves sometimes or just under the knee, and is open at the front and the sleeves are slight cut at the wrists or even as far as to the middle of the arms.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

During the Islamic golden age of the Abbasid era, the cosmopolitan super-culture{{Clarify|date=October 2021}} spread far and wide to Chinese emperors, Anglo-Saxon coinage, but also in Constantinople too (current day Istanbul). They were mimicking and imitating Baghdad culture (capital of the Abbasids).{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In the 830s, Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, who fought the Abbasids on the battlefield and built a Baghdad-style palace near the Bosporus, went about in kaftans and turbans. Even as far as the streets of Ghuangzhou during the era of Tang dynasty, the Abbasid kaftan was in fashion.{{Cite book|last=Mackintosh-Smith|first=Tim|author-link=Tim Mackintosh-Smith|title=Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires|date=2019-04-30|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-18235-4|language=en}}

The kaftan became a luxurious fashion,{{When|date=October 2021}} a richly styled robe with buttons down the front. The Caliphs wore elegant kaftans made from silver or gold brocade and buttons in the front of the sleeves.{{Cite book|last1=Cosman|first1=Madeleine Pelner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-Jf5t1vFw1QC&q=caftan+abbasid&pg=PA848|title=Handbook to Life in the Medieval World, 3-Volume Set|last2=Jones|first2=Linda Gale|date=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-0907-7|language=en}} The Caliph al-Muqtaddir (908–932) wore a kaftan from silver brocade Tustari silk and had his son one made from Byzantine silk richly decorated with figures. The kaftan was spread far and wide by the Abbasids and made known throughout the Middle East and North Africa.{{Cite book|last1=Bloom|first1=Jonathan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&q=abbasid+kaftan&pg=RA1-PA26|title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set|last2=Blair|first2=Sheila S.|last3=Blair|first3=Sheila|date=2009-05-14|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|language=en}}

The caftan appears to be the oldest Turkish dress, this costume can be traced as far back as the Hun and Göktürk periods.ABDYYEVA, Gulruh (2020). [https://www.etimesut.org/_files/ugd/c50047_c42232e5714a4c3abe52fdd06fc6182f.pdf?index=true "Clothing Culture in the Hun Period and Hun Reflections in the Gokturk Period: Traces on the Clothes of Today’s Central Asian Folks".] International Turkish Culture and Art Symposium 29–30 October 2020 ETIMESGUT / Ankara. The kaftan was the favourite garment worn in Turkic states of Central Asia, the Turkic Empire in India, the Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans.{{cite book | author = Şevket Rado | date = 1987 | title = Âletler ve âdetler | publisher = Ak Yayınları | pages = | oclc = 214455569 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SXNpAAAAMAAJ}} It was the most important component of the Seljuk period and the oldest known examples of this robe are said to have been found in Hun tombs.{{cite book | date = 1998 | title = Türk dünyası kültür atlası: Osmanlı dönemi. 3. 2 | publisher = Türk Kültürüne Hizmet Vakfı, Turkish Cultural Service Foundation | isbn = 9789757522119 | oclc = 39969202 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=BXU_AQAAIAAJ}} The costume of the Gokturk period consisted of long kaftans that are closed with a belt at the waist, these kaftans can be observed in Gokturk statues.{{cite book | author = Meral Erdirençelebi | date = 13 May 2011 | title = Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün Şıklığı | publisher = Eğitim Yayinevi | page = 4 | isbn = 9786054392384 | oclc = 1017992265 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pMGiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4}}AYHAN, Fatma. [https://www.ayk.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/AYHAN-Fatma-TÜRKLERİN-GİYİM-KUŞAMINDA-KÜRK.pdf "TÜRKLERİN GİYİM KUŞAMINDA KÜRK."] 38. ICANAS: 189

The Seljuk Sultan Ahmad Sanjar who ruled from 1097 to 1118 gave 1000 red kaftans to his soldiers.{{cite book | editor = Erdoğan Merçil | author = Ahmed bin Mahmud (Bursalı) | date = 1977 | title = Selçuk-nâme, Volume 2 | publisher = Tercüman Gazetesi | pages = | oclc = 23555209 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-M4bAAAAMAAJ}} In 1058 as well as the period of the Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I, the Seljuk Turks wore kaftans and excavations discovered a child's kaftan dating back to the reign of Sanjar-Shah who ruled from 1185 or 1186 to 1187.{{cite journal |last1=Hadjianastasis |first1=Marios |title=Frontiers of the Ottoman Imagination: Studies in Honour of Rhoads Murphey |date=1 January 2015|page=111 |doi=10.1163/9789004283510_007}}{{cite book | date = 1759 | title = An Universal History: From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time, Volume 4 | publisher = C. Bathurst | page = 140 | oclc = 21385381 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TasEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA140}}{{Cite web|url=https://amp.ww.en.freejournal.org/15558887/1/sanjar-shah.html|title=Sanjar-Shah was the amir of central Khurasan from 1185 or 1186 until 1187. His short reign was ended by a Khwarezmid invasion and resulted in the takeover of Ni|access-date=2021-06-25|archive-date=2021-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630145558/https://amp.ww.en.freejournal.org/15558887/1/sanjar-shah.html|url-status=dead}}

The tiles in the Kubadabad Palace depict Turkish figures dressed in kaftans.{{cite book | date = 1988 | title = Selçuk, Issue 3 | publisher = Selçuklu Araştırmaları Merkezi | pages = | oclc = 23036573 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D6fiAAAAMAAJ}} The palace was built for Sultan Aladdin Kayqubad I who ruled from 1220 to 1237. Furthermore, typical Seljuk depictions from the 11th to the 13th century depict figures dressed in Turkish style kaftans.{{cite book | date = 1971 | title = Journal of Seljuk studies, Volume 3 | publisher = Selçuklu Tarih ve Medeniyeti Enstitüsü | pages = | oclc = 1787806 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SSBIAAAAMAAJ}} The kaftan was also worn by the Anatolian Seljuks who had even gifted kaftans to the first Ottoman Sultan, Osman I.{{cite book | editor = Ferit Edgü | date = 1983 | title = The Anatolian Civilisations: Seljuk | publisher = Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism | pages = | oclc = 21460383 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0pAjAAAAMAAJ}}{{cite book | author = Mansel, Philip | date = 1 January 2005 | title = Dressed to Rule: Royal and Court Costume from Louis XIV to Elizabeth II | publisher = Yale University Press | page = 39 | isbn = 978-0-300-10697-8 | oclc = 1000803473 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QCIxgIZ4w38C&pg=PA39}} In connection with the inheritance of Osman I, the historian Neşri described a kaftan in the list of inherited items: "There was a short-sleeved kaftan of Denizli cloth".{{cite book | author = Tahsin Öz | date = 1950 | title = XIV–XVI centuries | publisher = Turkish Press, Broadcasting and Tourist Department | pages = | oclc = 7134256 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xH8rAAAAMAAJ}}

In an excavation in Kinet in Turkey, a bowl dating back to the early 14th century was found with a depiction of a man wearing what appears to be a kaftan.{{cite book | editor1 = Grossman, Heather E. | editor2 = Alicia Walker | date = 2013 | title = Mechanisms of Exchange: Transmission in Medieval Art and Architecture of the Mediterranean, Ca. 1000–1500 | publisher = Brill | pages = | isbn = 978-90-04-24977-6 | oclc = 1008267530 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=U-yqmgEACAAJ}}

Kaftans were worn by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Decoration on the garment, including colours, patterns, ribbons, and buttons, indicated the rank of the person who wore it. In the first half of the 14th century Orhan Ghazi captured Bursa and made it the Ottoman capital. One of the chief specialties of Bursa was gold embroidery among other weaving related specialties, an archive notes that two kaftans made of the finest Bursa gold-brocaded velvet were prepared for the circumcision of Geliboulu Bey Sinan Pasha's two sons in 1494.[https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1993&context=tsaconf Velvet and Patronage: The Origin and Historical Background of Ottoman and Italian Velvets]. S Okumura. 2016.{{cite book | editor = Harris, Jennifer | date = 30 September 1993 | title = Textiles: 5000 Years | publisher = Harry N. Abrams | pages = | isbn = 978-0-8109-3875-5 | oclc = 247803587 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eUvrAAAAMAAJ}}

Ibn Battuta who had visited Anatolia witnessed that a mudarris was wearing a gown embroidered with golden pieces and that a Seljuk Bey gifted a kaftan that was embroidered with golden threads.

BAHAR, T.; N. BAYKASOĞLU (2017). "Embroidery in Turkish culture". Developments in Social Sciences. From the 14th century through the 17th century, textiles with large patterns were used. By the late 16th and early 17th centuries, decorative patterns on the fabrics had become smaller and brighter. By the second half of the 17th century, the most precious kaftans were those with yollu: vertical stripes with varying embroidery and small patterns – the so-called "Selimiye" fabrics.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Most fabrics manufactured in Turkey were made in Istanbul and Bursa, but some textiles came from as far away as Venice, Genoa, Persia (Iran), India, and even China. kaftans were made from velvet, aba, bürümcük (a type of crepe with a silk warp and cotton weft), canfes, çatma (a heavy silk brocade), gezi, diba ({{langx|fa|دیبا}}), hatayi, kutnu, kemha, seraser ({{lang|fa|سراسر}}) (brocade fabric with silk warp and gold or silver metallic thread weft), {{lang|fa|serenk}}, zerbaft ({{lang|fa|زربافت}}), and tafta ({{lang|fa|تافته}}). Favoured colours were indigo, kermes, violet, pişmiş ayva or "cooked quince", and weld yellow.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Silk or wooled vests embellished with couched gold thread or silk embroidery probably represent the introduction of a Turkish feature into an Arab aesthetic.Jirousek, Charlotte A., and Sara Catterall (2019). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv7xbsb5 Ottoman Dress and Design in the West: A Visual History of Cultural Exchange.] Indiana University Press.

Nearly 2,500 caftans and other garments belonging to subsequent sultans from the 15th to the 19th century are preserved in the Topkapı Palace museum.{{cite book | author =Turnau, Irena | date = 1991 | title = History of Dress in Central and Eastern Europe from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century | publisher = Institute of the History of Material Culture, Polish Academy of Sciences | pages = | isbn = 9788385463030 | oclc = 1008382522 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qnyBAAAAMAAJ}} The Topkapı Palace houses 21 kaftan that belonged to Mehmed II, 77 kaftan that belonged to Suleiman the Magnificent, 13 that belonged to Ahmed I, 30 that belonged to Osman II and 27 that belonged to Murad IV.Moore, Jennifer Grayer (2019). [https://books.google.com/books?id=sxGiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT306 Patternmaking History and Theory.] Bloomsbury Publishing.

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Ertugrul-gazi-1.jpg

| caption1 = Depiction of Ertugrul wearing a kaftan

| image2 = Semailname 47b.jpg

| caption2 = Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in a kaftan of complex woven fabric.

| image3 = Gentile Bellini 009.jpg

| caption3 = A young member of the Ottoman court dressed in a navy velvet caftan woven with gold. Variously attributed to Gentile Bellini or Costanzo da Ferrara, with a caption in Persian by a later hand. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

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The kaftan has been historically documented to have been worn in Algeria in the beginning of the 16th century and the presence of the kaftan in Algeria dates far back to the Rustamid period[https://books.google.com/books?id=S3V3AAAAMAAJ&q=caftan+rostémide Histoire et archéologie de l'Afrique du Nord: actes du IIIe colloque international réuni dans le cadre du 110e Congrès national des sociétes savantes], Montpellier, 1-15 avril 1985. France. Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques

Ministère de l'éducation nationale, Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques. and is attested during the Zirid period in the 10th century as well as the Zayyanid period.Gaïd, Mouloud. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KwxyAAAAMAAJ&q=caftan Les Berbers dans l'histoire: De Ziri à Hammad. Editions Mimouni.][https://books.google.com/books?id=HL4Zk4Ws4CsC&pg=PA380 Bulletin trimestriel, Volume 10]. Société de Géographie de la Province d'Oran. Following the Ottoman tradition, the male kaftan, known as the kaftan of honour, was bestowed by the Ottoman Sultan upon the governors of Algiers who, in turn, bestowed kaftans upon the Beys and members of distinguished families.{{cite book|author=Chems-Eddine Chitour|title=Algérie: le passé revisité : une brève histoire de l'Algérie|year=2004|publisher=Casbah Editions|page=221}}{{cite book|author=Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis|title=Alger au XVIII siècle, 1788-1790: mémoires, notes et observations d'un dipolomate-espion|year=2006|publisher=Éditions grand-Alger livres|page=146}} In his Topography and General History of Algiers, {{ill|Antonio de Sosa|es}} described it as a coloured robe made of satin, of damask, of velvet and silk and having a form that reminded him of the priests' cassocks.{{cite book|author=Marçais, Georges |title=Le Costume musulman d'Alger|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-LOBAAAAMAAJ|year=1930|publisher=Plon|pages=36–47}} The Dey wore the kaftan with dangling sleeves; the khodjas (secretaries) wore a very long cloth based kaftan, falling to the ankles; the chaouchs (executors of the justice of the dey) were recognized by a green kaftan with sleeves either open or closed, according to their rank. The kaftan was also worn by the janissaries in the 17th and part of the 18th century. It continued to be worn by male dignitaries well into the 20th century.

The female kaftan, on the other hand, evolved locally and derives from the {{lang|ar|ghlila}},{{cite book|author=Paresys, Isabelle |title=Paraître et apparences en Europe occidentale du Moyen Âge à nos jours|date=26 February 2008|publisher=Presses Univ. Septentrion|isbn=978-2-85939-996-2|page=236}} a mid-calf jacket that combined Morisco and Ottoman influences, but which evolved following a very specific Algerian style from the sixteenth century onward.{{cite book|author1=Zanardi, Tara |author2=Lynda Klich|title=Visual Typologies from the Early Modern to the Contemporary: Local Contexts and Global Practices|date=4 July 2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-315-51511-3|page=569}} Between the sixteenth and seventeenth century, middle-class women started wearing the {{lang|ar|ghlila}}. The use of brocades and quality velvet, the profusion of embroidery and gold threading were not enough to satisfy the need for distinction of the wealthiest Algerians who choose to lengthen the {{lang|ar|ghlila}} all the way to the ankles to make a kaftan that became the centrepiece of the ceremonial costume, while the {{lang|ar|ghlila}} was confined to the role of daily clothing. The introduction of gold thread embroidery into North Africa itself is reputed to have been introduced through Turkish rule.Prussin, Labelle (2006). "Judaic Threads in the West African Tapestry: No More Forever?" The Art Bulletin, 88:2, 328-353, DOI: 10.1080/00043079.2006.10786293.

In 1789, the diplomat Venture de Paradis described the women of Algiers as follows:

{{Cquote|When they go to a party, they put three or four ankle length golden kaftans on top of one another, which, with their other adjustments and gilding, may weigh more than fifty to sixty pounds. These kaftans in velvet, satin or other silks are embroidered in gold or silver thread on the shoulders and on the front, and they have up to the waistband big buttons in gold or silver thread on both sides; they are closed in front by two buttons only.

|author=Venture de Paradis

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Several types of kaftans were developed since then, while still respecting the original pattern. Nowadays, the Algerian female kaftans, including the modernised versions, are seen as an essential garment in the bride's trousseau in cities such as Algiers, Annaba, Bejaia, Blida, Constantine, Miliana, Nedroma and Tlemcen.{{cite web|title=Tradition vestimentaire : Le Kaftan est Algérien|website=elmoudjahid.com|url=http://www.elmoudjahid.com/fr/actualites/129327|language=fr}}

The wedding costume tradition of Tlemcen, known as chedda of Tlemcen.,{{Cite web |title=UNESCO - Rites and craftsmanship associated with the wedding costume tradition of Tlemcen |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/rites-and-craftsmanship-associated-with-the-wedding-costume-tradition-of-tlemcen-00668 |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=ich.unesco.org |language=en}} which features the Algerian caftan, was inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012, in recognition of its cultural significance.{{Cite web |title=UNESCO - Rites and craftsmanship associated with the wedding costume tradition of Tlemcen |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/rites-and-craftsmanship-associated-with-the-wedding-costume-tradition-of-tlemcen-00668 |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=ich.unesco.org |language=en}}

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Conterfan dess Mezomorto gewesten Daÿ in Algier, iezünd Capitan Bassa der Flotten dess Gross Türcken .jpg

| caption1 = Dey of Algiers Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha wearing a yellow kaftan in 1687, by Andreas Matthäus Wolfgang.

| image2 = JACKSON(1817) p198 MUFTI.jpg

| caption2 = Mufti of Algiers wearing what appears to be crimson kaftan in 1817, British Library.

| total_width = 600

| image3 = Female Kaftan.jpg

| caption3 = A female kaftan offered by Ali Abdi Pacha of Algiers to the crown of Sweden on the occasion of a peace treaty, 1731.

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According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the kaftan was introduced into the Barbary States by the Ottomans and spread by fashion as far as Morocco.{{cite journal | last=Huart | first=Cl. | title=Ḳaftān | date=24 Apr 2012 | doi=10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_3796 }}

According to art historian Rachida Alaoui, the kaftan in Morocco dates back to the end of the 15th century and goes back to the region's Moorish history, which represents the medieval heritage of Al-Andalus. However, the first written record of the garment being worn in Morocco is from the 16th century, she states.{{Cite web|title=Rachida Alaoui, de l'origine du caftan|url=https://femmesdumaroc.com/caftan/rachida-alaoui-de-lorigine-du-caftan-122|access-date=2020-06-04|website=femmesdumaroc |quote=Il remonte à la fin du XVème siècle, et les premières mentions de ce vêtement porté par les Marocains datent du XVIème siècle." English:"It dates back to the end of the 15th century, and the first mentions of this garment worn by Moroccans date from the 16th century. |language=fr-FR}}

According to Naima El Khatib Boujibar, however, the kaftan might only have been introduced to Morocco by the Saadi Sultan Abd al-Malik, who had lived in Algiers and Istanbul.{{cite web | title=Discover Islamic Art | website=Virtual Museum | url=https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;ma;Mus01_B;45;en&pageT=N | access-date=28 Jan 2024}} Abd al-Malik, who had officially acknowledged Ottoman overlordship throughout his time as ruler of Morocco, dressed in Ottoman fashion, spoke Turkish, reorganised his army and administration in imitation of Ottoman practices and used Ottoman Turkish titles for his officials.Cory, Stephen (2016). [https://books.google.com/books?id=StbsCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62 Reviving the Islamic Caliphate in Early Modern Morocco.] Routledge. The second half of the sixteenth century was a period of Ottoman influence in Morocco during which Ahmad al-Mansur, who was greatly influenced by Ottoman culture, adopted Turkish costumes and customs, he introduced Ottoman fashions of dress, his army adopted Turkish costumes and titles and ambassadors even noted the use of Turkish pottery and Turkish carpets in the Badi Palace.Porter, Venetia and Rosser-Owen, Mariam (2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=YwHMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT347 Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World: Art, Craft and Text.] Bloomsbury Publishing.[https://books.google.com/books?id=zm-7puk6i2sC&pg=PA42 Marrakech, demeures et jardins secrets]. Narjess Ghachem-Benkirane, Philippe Saharoff.[https://books.google.com/books?id=KJtPAAAAYAAJ&q=%20adopté+turquie Bulletin de la Société de géographie du Maroc, Volume 3]. Société de géographie du Maroc. 1922. Aspects of Ottoman culture had been introduced to Morocco during the reign of both Abd al-Malik and Ahmad al-Mansur and Abd al-Malik's brief reign opened a period which continued under his successor of the "Turkification" of Morocco.Lamia Balafrej (2015) Islamic iconoclasm, visual communication and the persistence of the image, Interiors, 6:3, 351-366, DOI: 10.1080/20419112.2015.1125659García-Arenal, Mercedes. 2006. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WoZSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 Messianism and puritanical reform: Mahdīs of the Muslim west]. Leiden: Brill. Henri Terrasse asserted that Moroccan embroidery styles are almost all derived from the former regions of the Turkish empire, the introduction of gold thread embroidery into North Africa itself is reputed to have been introduced with Turkish rule.[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qp7YAAAAMAAJ&q=Terrase Moroccan Textile Embroidery]. By Isabelle Denamur.

Worn by the dignitaries and women of the palace at first, it became fashionable among the middle classes from the late 17th century onwards.{{cite web|title=Kaftan|url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;isl;ma;mus01_b;45;en|website=museumwnf.org}}

Today in Morocco, kaftans are worn by women of different social groups and the word kaftan is commonly used to mean a "one-piece traditional fancy dress". Alternative two-piece versions of Moroccan kaftans are called takchita and worn with a large belt. The takchita is also known as Mansouria which derives from the name of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who invented Al-Mansouria and the new fashion of wearing a two-piece kaftan.Morocco in the era of the Saadi Dynasty|المغرب في عهد السعديين,p 305

Since June 5, 2022, the Moroccan kaftan and the brocade of Fes have been officially included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by ICESCO.{{Cite web |title=Morocco Tops ICESCO's Heritage Lists with 46 Items {{!}} MapNews |url=https://www.mapnews.ma/en/actualites/culture/morocco-tops-icescos-heritage-lists-46-items |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=www.mapnews.ma}}

{{Main|Senegalese kaftan}}

In West Africa, a kaftan is a pullover robe, worn by both men and women. The women's robe is called a kaftan, and the men's garment is referred to as a Senegalese kaftan.

A Senegalese kaftan is a pullover men's robe with long bell-like sleeves. In the Wolof language, this robe is called a mbubb and in French, it is called a boubou. The Senegalese kaftan is an ankle-length garment, and is worn with matching drawstring pants called tubay. Usually made of cotton brocade, lace, or synthetic fabrics, these robes are common throughout West Africa. A kaftan and matching pants are called a kaftan suit. The kaftan suit is worn with a kufi cap.{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2008790476_cicero27.html|title=Afrikando Afrikando Dishes up Great Food with a Side of Quirkiness | work=The Seattle Times | first=Providence | last=Cicero | date=2009-02-27}} Senegalese kaftans are formal wear in all West African countries.

Persian kaftan robes of honour were commonly known as khalat or kelat.{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/clothing-xxvii |title=CLOTHING xxvii. lexicon of Persian clothing – Encyclopaedia Iranica |publisher=Iranicaonline.org |access-date=2013-09-29}}

Image:Tangelgarda Odin.jpg

In Russia, the word "kaftan" is used for another type of clothing: a style of men's long suit with tight sleeves. Going back to the people of various Baltic, Turkic, Varangian (Vikings) and Iranic (Scythian) tribes who inhabited today's Russia along with the Slavic population, kaftan-like clothing was already prevalent in ancient times in regions where later the Rus' Khaganate and Kievan Rus' states appeared.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Russian kaftan was probably influenced by Persian and/or Turkic people in Old Russia.{{Cite book|title=Identity Formation and Diversity in the Early Medieval Baltic and Beyond|series=Communicators and Communication|volume=75|editor1-last=Callmer|editor1-first=Johan|editor2-last=Gustin|editor2-first=Ingrid|editor3-last=Roslund|editor3-first=Mats|year=2017|isbn=9789004292178|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|pages=91–102|oclc=951955747}} The word "kaftan" was adopted from the Tatar language, which in turn borrowed the word from Persia.{{cite book|author-link=Richard Hellie|first=Richard|last=Hellie|title=The Economy and Material Culture of Russia, 1600–1725|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1bCm-E251MC&pg=PA354|date=15 June 1999|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-32649-8|page=354}} In the 13th century, the kaftan was still common in Russia. In the 19th century, Russian kaftans were the most widespread type of outer-clothing amongst peasants and merchants in Old Russia. Currently in the early 21st century, they are most commonly used as ritual religious clothing by conservative Old Believers, in Russian fashion (Rusfashion), Russian folk dress and with regards to Russian folklore.{{Cite web|url=https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/caftan|title=Caftan|last=Wolff|first=Norma H.|website=LoveToKnow|language=en|access-date=2019-06-13}}

File:Jewish Children with their Teacher in Samarkand cropped.jpg children with a school teacher in Samarkand, wearing kaftans (circa 1910).]]

Hasidic Jewish culture adapted a silky robe (bekishe) or frock coat (kapoteh, Yiddish word kapote or Turkish synonym chalat) from the garb of Polish nobility,{{Cite web|url=http://www.jhi.pl/psj/chalat|title = DELET}} which was itself a type of kaftan. The term kapoteh may originate from the Spanish capote or possibly from "kaftan" via Ladino. Sephardic Jews from Muslim countries wore a kaftan similar to those of their neighbours.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

In Southeast Asia, the kaftan was originally worn by Arab traders, as seen in early lithographs and photographs from the region. Religious communities that formed as Islam became established later adopted this style of dress as a distinguishing feature, under a variety of names deriving from Arabic and Persian such as "jubah", a robe, and "cadar", a veil or chador.{{cite book|last=Maxwell|first=Robyn|date=2003|title=Textiles of Southeast Asia: Trade, Tradition and Transformation|publisher=Periplus Editions|page=[https://archive.org/details/textilesofsouthe0000maxw/page/310 310]|isbn=978-0794601041|url=https://archive.org/details/textilesofsouthe0000maxw/page/310}}

File:Hippie trail.svg helped popularise the kaftan.]]

In the recent era the kaftan was introduced to the West in the 1890s, Queen Victoria's granddaughter Alix of Hesse wore a traditional Russian coronation dress before a crowd which included Western on-lookers, this traditional dress featured the loose-fitting Russian kaftan which was so exotic to Western eyes.{{better source needed|date=May 2022|reason=Collector's Weekly is not considered reliable}} This was one of the first times a Western woman, a high-status Western woman who had also been seen in fashionable Western dress no less, was seen wearing something so exotic. The traditional Russian kaftan resembles the kaftans worn by the Ottoman sultans; it was in stark contrast to the tight-fitting, corseted dresses common in England at that time.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The kaftan slowly gained popularity as an exotic form of loose-fitting clothing. French fashion designer Paul Poiret further popularized this style in the early 20th century.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In the 1950s, fashion designers such as Christian Dior and Balenciaga adopted the kaftan as a loose evening gown or robe in their collections.{{cite book|author1=Annette Lynch|author2=Mitchell D. Strauss|title=Ethnic Dress in the United States: A Cultural Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tiEvBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA61|date=30 October 2014|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-0-7591-2150-8|pages=61–62}} These variations were usually sashless. This style had also began appearing as high fashion.{{Cite web |last=Helms |first=Laura |date=2018-03-02 |title=#FashionHistory101: How the Kaftan Went Global |url=https://en.vogue.me/fashion/how-the-kaftan-went-global/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=Vogue Arabia |language=en-GB}}

American hippie fashions of the late 1960s and the 1970s often drew inspiration from ethnic styles, including kaftans for women and men. These styles were brought to the United States by people who journeyed the so-called "hippie trail". African-styled, kaftan-like dashikis were popular, especially among African-Americans. Street styles were appropriated by fashion designers, who marketed lavish kaftans as hostess gowns for casual at-home entertaining. The popularity of Kaftans went high in mass market and their cheap imports. Given the materials and the style of the Kaftan, it has shown to symbolize serving as royalty.{{Cite web |title=kaftan {{!}} Fashion History Timeline |url=https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/kaftan/ |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu |language=en-US}} The types of forms of dresses and kaftans were among the rich.{{Cite journal |last=Acquaye |first=Richard |date=December 2023 |title=Reinventing Indigenous West African Fabric Design |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376713517_Reinventing_Indigenous_West_African_Fabric_Design_for_Contemporary_Commercial_Application |journal=Journal of Urban Culture Research |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages='pp.262', 'pp.263' |via=ResearchGate}}

Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley, and Barbara Hutton all helped popularize the kaftan in mainstream western fashion.{{cite book|author=Erika Stalder|title=Fashion 101: A Crash Course in Clothing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uNxhd1Z7n1EC&pg=PA13|date=1 May 2008|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=978-0-547-94693-1|page=13}} Into the 1970s, Elizabeth Taylor often wore kaftans designed by Thea Porter. In 1975, for her second wedding to Richard Burton she wore a kaftan designed by Gina Fratini.{{cite web|last1=Salamone|first1=Gina|title=Elizabeth Taylor's prized possessions—ranging from diamonds to designer gowns—on view at Christie's before going on auction|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/elizabeth-taylor-prized-possessions-ranging-diamonds-designer-gowns-view-christie-auction-article-1.985851|website=NY Daily News|access-date=16 January 2015|date=2 December 2011}}

More recently, in 2011 Jessica Simpson was photographed wearing kaftans during her pregnancy.{{cite web|last1=Hix|first1=Lisa|title=Caftan Liberation: How an Ancient Fashion Set Modern Women Free|url=http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/caftan-liberation/|website=Collectors Weekly|access-date=16 January 2015|date=17 July 2014}}{{better source needed|date=May 2022|reason=Collector's Weekly is not considered reliable}} American fashion editor André Leon Talley also wore kaftans designed by Ralph Rucci as one of his signature looks.{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Ray A.|title=An Emperor of Fashion|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304520704579125780024564384|website=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=16 January 2015|date=9 October 2013}} Beyoncé, Uma Thurman, Susan Sarandon, Kate Moss, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and Nicole Richie have all been seen wearing the style.{{cite web|url=http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/caftan-liberation/|title=Caftan Liberation: How an Ancient Fashion Set Modern Women Free|publisher=Collectors Weekly}}{{better source needed|date=May 2022|reason=Collector's Weekly is not considered reliable}} Some fashion lines have dedicated collections to the kaftan.

File:Babur idealisiert.jpg|The first Mughal Emperor Babur dressed in a kaftan.

File:Augustus III in Polish costume.JPG|August III the Saxon in żupan, by Louis de Silvestre.

File:Nicolae Grigorescu - Evreu cu caftan.jpg|Evreu cu caftan (Jew in kaftan) by Nicolae Grigorescu.

File:Mundy-Armenian youth 'out of Persia'.jpg|An Armenian youth 'out of Persia' who wears a pale blue kaftan. Ottoman Turkish Illustrations from Peter Mundy's Album, Istanbul 1618.

File:Jean-Étienne Liotard - Portret van Marie Fargues, echtgenote van de kunstenaar, in Turks kostuum.jpg|Portrait of the artist's wife, Marie Fargues, in a kaftan, by Jean-Étienne Liotard.

File:Drevnosti RG v4 ill008.jpg|Tzar Feodor I wearing a kaftan. Antiquities of the Russian country 1846–1853, Solntsev, Fedor Grigorievich.

File:Italienischer Meister von 1580 001.jpg|Hayreddin Barbarossa, Barbary corsair, Beylerbey of Algiers and Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral) of the navy of the Ottoman Empire, wearing a caftan.

File:Russian Strieltsy.JPG|Streltsy (warriors in Russia from 16th to the early 18th centuries) wearing kaftans. Painted in 19th century.

File:KAFTAN - front.jpg|Green kaftan designed by Sybil Connolly (1970s)

File:Algerian caftan ifaegypt2023 1.jpg|Algerian caftan at the ifaegypt of the 2023 by Karim Akrouf.

File:Algerian caftan Akrouf.jpg|Royal algerian caftan of 2023 by Karim Akrouf.

• Caftan Show
• Chapan
• Deel (clothing)
• Kanzu
• Kufi
• Ottoman clothing
• Takchita
• Thawb
• Wrapper (clothing)

{{Reflist}}

• {{commonsinline|Kaftan}}

Category:Arab culture

Category:Arabic clothing

Category:History of Asian clothing

Category:Kurdish clothing

Category:Mesopotamia

Category:Moroccan clothing

Category:Clothing of the Ottoman Empire

Category:Robes and cloaks

Category:Russian folk clothing

Category:Culture of Uzbekistan

Category:Turkish inventions