A History of Fashion and Costume. the Ancient World. Volume 1

A History of  Fashion and Costume The Ancient World Jane Bingham

The Ancient Anci ent World World

Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data

Copyright © 2005 Bailey Publishing Associates Ltd Produced for Facts On File by Bailey Publishing Associates Ltd 11a Woodlands Hove BN3 6TJ Projectt Manager: Roberta Bailey Projec Bailey Editor: Alex Woolf  Woolf  Text Designer: Simon Borrough Artwork: Dav Davee Burroughs, Burroughs, Pete Peterr Dennis, Dennis, Tony Morris Picture Resear Research: ch: Glass Onion Pictures

Bingham, Jan Bingham, Jane. e. A history of fashion fashion and costume costume.. The ancient world/Jane Bingham. p. cm cm.. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8160-5944-6 1. Clothing and dress— dress—History—T History—To 500. GT530.B56 2005 391/ 39 1/.0 .009 09/0 /01— 1—dc dc 22 2004 20 0406 0608 0881 81 The publishers would like to thank the following followin g for permission per mission to use their  pictures:

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Contents Introduction

5

Chapter 1: Early People

6

Chapter 2: Ancient Egypt

10

Chapter 3: Peoples of Western Asia

16

Chapter 4: Civilizations of Ancient Greece

28

Chapter 5: The Roman Empire

36

Chapter 6: Peoples of the South and East

46

Chapter 7: People of the Americas

52

Timeline

60

Glossar y

61

Fur ther Information

62

Index

64

Introduction This volume traces the history of costume from the last Ice Age, when people people first started wearing clothes, clothes, to the collapse of the Roman Empire Empire in the late fifth century CE. Divided into chapters according according to region, region, it outlines the early early history of costume from from prehistoric prehistoric times to the emergence emergence of the first cities, and surveys surveys the succession of civilizations civilizations that grew up in the Middle East. Individu Individual al chapters are devoted devoted to ancient ancie nt Egypt, Egypt, Gre Greece ece,, and Rome, Rome, but the the book also focuses focuses on the cultures cultures of of India, eastern Asia, and the Pacific Pacific region. The final chapter covers covers the rich civilizations of the Americas. The history of costume is a vast subject, subject, and the aim of this volume is simply to highlight major trends and to provide interesting examples. examples. Know Knowledge ledge of ancient costume depends on surviving evidence (such as paintings and items of jewelry), and while it is sometimes possible to build up a detailed portrait of a culture, culture, the picture picture is far from from complete complete for many civilizations. Although the the cultures described described in this book are are extremely varied, they all hav havee some factors in common. common. Most early civilizations had a strong strong ruler, who dressed in a dramatic way way to show show off his riches and power.W power.Warr arriors iors needed weapons weapons and armor to help them defend their kingdoms. Peo People ple wore wore special costumes to worship worship their gods, and both men and women liked to adorn themselves with jewelry and ornaments. Once a society was reasonably reasonably settled, settled, traders exchanged goods goods for precious items that were used to create fine jewelry and costumes.

Chapter 1: Early People Prehistoric People

T

he hunters of the last Ice Age, Age, who lived lived around 100,000 years years ago, we were re probably probably the first people to wear wear clothes. Ho Howe wev ver, there is no proof of when clothing first dev developed, since the materials used to make clothing clothing decay easily and rapidly, rapidly, and the earliest examples of clothing clothing did not survive. survive. Recent DNA evidence indicates that some time between 30,000 and 114,000 114,0 00 years years ago, ago, head lice, lice, which typicall typically y infest human hair, hair, ev evolv olved ed a new new sub-species, body lice, lice, which commonly infest human clothing. Prehistoric people wore simple clothes made from animall skins, and added anima added  jewelry and ornaments made from from shells, shells, bones and feathers.

Making Clothes The first clothes were probably simple simp le tunics, tunics, tro trousers users,, string skirts, skirts,

belts, and cloaks.These were were sometimes made from from fur, fur, although this could could be very very bul bulky ky.. Mor Moree often the fur was removed from the animal hide. How Howev ever, er, people did wear wear fur  boots, tied onto their feet and and legs with leather laces. To make clothing, animal hides hides were were first pegged out on the ground and scraped clean, using a sharpened animal bone or sharp-edged stone. Then Th en they they wer eree wa washe shed d and stretched out taut to stop them from shrinking as they they dried. dried. Once the the hides had been thoroughly stretched, the leather was softened before being cut into suitable pieces for clothing. Then a sharp, sharp, pointed stone stone was used to punch a line of holes along the edges of the leather pieces.The holes made it easier to pass a bone needle through the hide and sew the pieces together,, using sinew. together sinew.

Early People

Early Decorations Evidence survives from around 30,000 years ago of hunters decorating their clothes.The mammoth hunters of the Russian plains sewed seashells and feathers onto their tunics.They also made strings of beads from shells and animal teeth, and used ivory ivory from mammoth tusks to make simple bracelets. Archaeolo Archaeologists gists believ believee that the mammoth hunters wore these decorations for religious ceremon ceremonies ies and dances.

pigment have been discovered on bodies bodies in graves, graves, suggesting that people decorated the bodies of the dead before they weree buried. It is probable wer probable that people also used pigments to paint patterns on their own bodies, just as people people have have done for millions of years in Africa and Australia. Australia. Specialized tools for permanent tattooing dating from around 38,000 years ago have been discovered in Europe.

Shells were one of the first materials to be made into  jewelry. These very early  carved and painted ornaments reflect an ancient tradition of jewelry  making.

Cave Paintings Around 35,000 years Around years ago, people began painting pictures on the walls of caves. caves. Some of these early cave cave paintings depict semi-human creatures, creatur es, and experts believe believe that these figures were probably priests dressed as animals.The painted, dancing figures wear deer antlers attached to their heads, and long wolves’ wolv es’ tails. tails.They They also appear to be be wearing cloaks made from feathers.

Body Paints There is evidence that the early cave painters painted their their bodies bodies as well as their caves.Traces of red ocher 

Where’s the Evidence? Archaeologists draw on a range of different sources to build up a picture of the sort of  clothes that very early people wore. Scraps of leather leather clothing have have been found in graves, graves, while shells and teeth pierced with holes indicate that these objects once formed necklaces. necklace s. To To help them reconstruct reconstruct the practices practices of ancient ancient people, archaeolo archaeologists gists also study traditional traditional groups, groups, such as the aborigina aboriginals ls of Australia Australia and the Inuit Inuit of Alaska, Alaska, who have followed the same basic way of life for thousands of years.

First Civilizations

Even in the earliest civilizatio civili zations, ns, color and pattern pat tern we were re very very imp importan ortant. t. This painted plaque from the twelfth century BCE shows a woman from Nubia (in North Africa) and a man from Syria, Syria, both dressed dressed in colorful costumes.

Dyes from Nature Early people colored their their clothes with dyes dyes made from earth, flowers, and bark, and in some parts of the world people still use these these natural dyes.. A type of clay dyes clay call called ed ocher ocher produce produces s warm reds, reds, oran oranges, ges, and yellows. The indigo plant makes makes a deep blue, while the madder root gives a rich scarlet. Some lichens produce produce a green color, color, while the bark and husks of walnut dye cloth a deep brown.

Early People

Ancient Sumerians One of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East was the kingdom of Sumer, Sumer, which lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq.The civilization began around 3500 BCE with a collection collectio n of villages, and by 3000 BCE it contained several sev eral large city-states, city-states, each ruled by a warlike king with his own own army. army. The ancient Sumerians learned lea rned ho how to mak make ob objec jects ts from fr om copp copper er,, silv silver er,, and gold by heating metal ore and pouring it into molds.Their metalworkers became beca me ve very ry skil skilled, led, pr produ oducing cing engraved engrav ed necklaces, daggers, and helmets.The Sumerians made another important discovery: disco very: by combining combining copper  and tin, tin, the they y created created bronze bronze,, a very str strong ong allo alloy y that coul could d be be used to make make axe axes, s, spea spears, rs, and more robust helmets. The ancient Sumerians wore colorful robes with scalloped hems. Rulers had tall headdresses, headdresses, while dancers and musician musicianss wore wore sleeveless robes with multi-tiered skirts. Soldiers wore wore knee-length knee-length tunics with scalloped hems and long cloaks fastened at the neck.They fought with long spears and wore pointed helmets.The production of  cloth for for export export was very important to the the econo econom my and cult cultur uree of  ancient anci ent Sumeria.They Sumeria.They ev even en had a goddess of weaving and clothing, named Uttu.

Sumerian men paid a lot of  attention to their  hair.A hair. A golden golden helmet found in a royal tomb in the ancient city of Ur is engraved engrav ed with hair and ears, revealing that warriors wore their hair in an elaborate style: hanging down in curls around the ears, braid braided ed at the front, front, and fastened fastened in a knot at the back back of the head.A head. A similar braided hairstyle is show shown n in a bronze head of King Sargon (reigned c. 2334 2334–c –c.. 2284 BCE) BCE),, who ruled the land of Akkad, just to the north of  Sumer.. In addition to his elaborate Sumer hairstyle, the king also sported a splendid curled beard, beard, carefully trimmed to fall in tw two o tiers.

A bronze head of King King Sargon of Akkad, Akkad, showi showing ng the elaborate hairstyle and carefully trimmed beard favored by the nobles of  Sumer.

Chapter 2: Ancient Egypt Clothing and Jewelry

A An Egyptian pharaoh from the New Kingdom being anointed with oil by his queen. Both figures wear pleated robes of fine royal linen,, and have linen have ornate collars colla rs and elabor elaborate ate crowns.

round 5000 BCE farming villages began to grow up around the Nile River in northern Africa. Gradually,, from around 3100 BCE, the villages of the Gradually Nile joined together to form a great kingdom, kingdom, ruled by powerful pharaohs.The Egyptian civilization flourished for three thousand years. years. Historians divide it into three three main mai n periods periods,, or kin kingdo gdoms ms:: the Ol Old, d, the Mid Middle dle,, and the New Kingdom.

Egyptian farmers, like the figures shown Egyptian shown here, wore short kilts made from coarse linen.

Using Linen In the hot and sunny climate of  North Africa, which in ancient times was also ve very ry hum humid, id, the ancie ancient nt Egyptians did not need to wear  heavy clothes. clothes. Clothing was was made from linen, linen, which was was cool and easy to wear. wear. Linen thread was was made from the beaten stalks of the flax plant and woven wo ven on looms into cloth. cloth. Ordinary people wore simple clothes made from fro m coarse, unb unbleach leached ed linen, while nobles’ nob les’ cloth clothes es were were made fro from ma fine,, white fine white,, semi semi-tran -transpar sparent ent cloth known as royal linen.

Ancient Egypt

Clothing Styles For thousands of years the basic style of Egyptian clothes remained unchanged.Women woree a simple, wor simple, tight-fitting, ankle-length dress with two shoulder straps, straps, while men wore wore a kilt, made fro from m a piece piece of of linen linen wrapped around the waist and tucked in. Kilts could be be either  knee- or ankle-length. In winter, winter, men and women wore cloaks made from thick linen. Tunics and kilts were were usually kept plain. Although their clothes clothes could be decorated with beads and feathers, the Egyptian people relied on their   jewelry  jew elry,, makeu makeup p, and hairstyles to create a dramatic effect.

This fine collar belonged to an Egyptian princess. It is decorated with golden hawks’ heads and inlaid with colored glass and semiprecious stones.

Colorful Collars One of the most impressive items of Egyptian jewelry was

During the time of the New Kingdom, a more more elaborate style of  dress developed in Egypt.Tunics and cloakss made cloak made of ve very ry fine fine,, pleat pleated ed cloth became fashionable for men and women. women. Over their their basic tunic women began to wear a pleated garment that sometimes had a brightly colored fringe and small ornaments hanging from it. Some men wor woree a lon long, g, alm almost ost tran transpa spare rent nt kilt over their short tunic.

Jewelry No Ancient Egyptian costume was complete without a selection of   jewelry  jew elry.. Even poorer poorer people wore wore necklaces, neck laces, brac bracelets, elets, and earrings. Poor people’ people’ss jew jewelry elry was made made from from cheaper substances such as copper  and faience (a colored, colored, glazed pottery), while the the rich wore wore

the broa broad, d, dec decora orativ tive e collar collar.. Th These ese colla collars rs we were re worn worn by  both women and men of all classes. The collars consisted of a series of strings threaded with beads and ornaments, but also with with flowers, flowers, berr berries, ies, and leaves. leaves. Some Some of the collars found in the pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb included olive leaves and cornflowers.

spectacular pieces made from gold and silver and often set with semiprecious semiprecio us stones and glass.

Footwear People in ancient Egypt went barefoot most most of the time, time, but sometimes they they wore wore sandals. Rich people’ peop le’ss sand sandals als were were made fro from m decorated leather, leather, and one pair of  of  golden sandals has been discovered in a phar pharaoh’ aoh’ss tomb tomb.. Poor peop people’ le’ss sandals were made from papyrus (a type of reed) or from woven grass.

Egyptian Beauty Care

In this painted banquet scene,, four young scene young women wear braided wigs decorated with lotus flower blossoms. The artist has also shown cones of fat resting on top of the women’s women’ s heads (see Cool Cones).

Looking good was very important to the ancient Egyptians.They worked hard to keep keep themselves themselves clean and sweet-smelling, sw eet-smelling, and both men men and women wom en used cosmetics, cosmetics, which they kept in elegant pots.The Egyptians also paid a lot of attention to their  hair, and some rich people shav shaved ed their heads and wore elaborate wigs.

Hair and Wigs Most Egyptian men were cleanshaven and kept their hair fairly short, although some some noblemen noblemen had longer hair. hair. In the early early periods, women usually had a chin-length bob,, but by the bob the time of the New Kingdom noblew noblewomen omen wore wore their 

hair long.These long. These long tresses were were sometimes worn loose and sometimes curled and braided. Noblewomen liked to decorate their  hair with flow flowers, beads beads,, and ribbons. ribbons. Pharaohs and nobles often shaved their heads heads and wor woree elaborate wigs. wigs. Less wealthy people also wore wigs, but only for special occasions. Egyptian wigs could be amazingly elaborate,, with lots of elaborate of braids and curls. Some wigs had ornaments hung over over them, or were were decorated with beads and jewels.The best wigs were we re made from from real real hair, hair, but there there were also cheaper ones made from black wool.

Ancient Egypt

Cool Cones Paintings of ancient Egyptian banquets show the guests with

of the henna tree, tree, was used to paint nails and possibly possibly hands hands and feet, and henna was also used to dye hair and wigs.

rounded cones on their heads. It is believed that these were cones of perfumed fat that gradually  melted during the course of the meal, kee keeping ping the guests guests cool cool and also ensuring that they  smelled sweet. sweet. However However,, some experts believe that the cones were drawn by artists to indicate that the person was wearing a scented wig.

Children had their hair shaved off or  cut very very short, exce except pt for one sectio section n that formed a kind of ponytail on one side.This s-shaped lock was called the “side-lock of youth.” Sometimes children wore a fish amulet in their their hair, perhaps to protect them from drowning in the Nile.

Cosmetics Egyptian cosmetics were made from finely ground minerals mixed with oils. Green and black eyeliners eyeliners were made from malachite (copper ore) and galena (a (a type of lead), lead), while red red ocher was used for lipstick and blush. The Egyptians Egyptians took a lot of care care ov over  er  making up their eyes; eyes; they outlined them with heavy heavy lines, which drew drew attention to the beauty of the eyes and also helped to shield them from the glare glare of the sun. Gre Green en eyeline eyeliner  r  was used used in the early period, but later  black became very popular. popular. Redbrown bro wn henna, made from the leaves leaves

Cosmetics were prepared and stored in jars and bowls, bowls, and sometimes sometimes in hollow hollo w reeds. Makeup was was applied with the fingers or with a special wooden applicator.To help them apply their makeup makeup,, the rich used mirrors made from highly polished metal. Poo Poorr people had to manage by by observing their reflections in water!

Smelling Sweet In the hot climate of Egypt it was very ve ry impo important rtant to keep keep clean clean.. Most people washed in the river or used a basin and jug of of water. water. Instead of  soap they they used a cleansin cleansing g cream made from from oil, lime lime,, and perfume perfume.. They also rubbed scented oils into their skin to stop it from drying out in the sun. sun. Perfu erfumes mes were were made from from flowe flo wers, rs, seed seeds, s, and fruits soake soaked d in oils and animal fats.

This decorated makeup box belonged to the wife of  an important architect. The glass and ceramic jars would have held perfumes, oils and cosmetics.

Phar Ph arao aohs hs,, Qu Quee eens ns,, an and d Pr Prie iest sts s Religion was central to ancient Egyptian society.The Egyptians believed that their land had originally been ruled by gods, whose power  power  had passed directly to the pharaohs. So pharaohs and their families were treated like gods and wore highly elaborate ceremonial costumes. This solid gold burial mask comes from the tomb of  the Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1332-1322 BCE). It shows the young king wearing the striped menes, with its twin symbols of  the vulture and the cobra, and carrying his royal crook and flail.

Pharaohs One of the most important elements of the pharaoh’s dress was his crown or headdress. headdress. Early kings often wore wore a red-and-white crown symbolizing the two two parts of of their their kingdom kingdom:: red for lower Egypt and white for upper  Egypt. Rulers of the New Kingdom Kingdom wore wo re a bright blue cro crown wn lik likee a battle helmet, helmet, reflecting their  important role as a warrior. Later rulers, such as as Tutankham utankhamun, un, often wore wo re a long, striped headdress called a menes.The menes was usually decorated with the heads of  the pharaoh pharaoh’’s twin protec pr otectors: tors: the vulture and the cobra.

In paintings paintings and carvings, pharaohs are often shown holding the symbols of their office: the royal royal crook crook and flail.The crook symbolized the pharaoh’s protection of his people, while the flail stood for the punishmentt of his enemies. punishmen

Queens The pharaoh had many many queens, queens, but the chief queen was usually his sister  or half-sister. half-sister. She was believed believed to be a godd goddess ess and was was dressed dressed in astonishing splendor splendor.. Paintings and carvings carvin gs show show Egyp Egyptian tian queens queens wearing tall, jew jeweled eled headdresses, headdresses, golden gold en collars, collars, armlets, and finge finger  r  rings.

Priests Priests wore wore only the the finest, pure whitee linen. whit linen. The They y had to purify themselves by bathing in a sacred lake at least twice a day.They also had to shave sha ve thei theirr whole bodie bodies, s, inclu including ding their hair and eyebro eyebrows. ws. Most of the time the priests dressed simply to carry out their duties in the temples, but sometimes they wore special costumes and headdress headdresses. es. In the final stages of the embalming ceremony

False Beard Most Egyptian men men were clean-sha clean-shaven, ven, but pharaohs wore wore a long beard beard that grew from the base of their chin, as a sign of their their royal royal status. At one point in Egyptian history, history, betwee between n 1473 and 1458 145 8 BCE, a wom woman an ruled ruled as as the phar pharaoh. aoh. Carvings show that Queen Hatshepsut was properly  crowned as pharaoh and wore the full royal regalia, including a false beard!

(when a dead body was being prepared prepar ed to be a mummy), mummy), the chief  priest wore a jackal mask.This dramatic dram atic,, pain painted ted mask, mask, whic which h covered his whole head and shoulders, repr represented esented the the god Anubis.

painted or carved into a piece of   jewelry  jew elry.. Some necklaces and earrings featured charms to ward off snake bites!

A chi chief ef priest priest,, we weari aring ng his ceremonial cerem onial mask, mask, tends the body of a dead pharaoh. The mask represents Anubis, Anubi s, the jackal jackal god. According to ancient Egyptian Egyptia n belief, belief, he led the dead to judgment.

Amulets Many items of jew jewelry elry worn by by ordinary Egyptians featured goodluck charms, charms, kno known wn as amulets.The amulets depicted religious symbols such as the ankh (a cross with a loop at the top) representing eternal life, or the udjat eye (the eye of the god Horus) symbolizing healing and good health. Sometimes these charms took took the form of ornaments or brooches. In other other cases, cases, a sacr sacred ed symbo symboll was was

The Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, wife, Queen Nefertiti, Nefertiti, who reigned in the 1350s BCE, dress dressed ed in semisemitransparent robes and simple crowns. For grand ceremonial occasions, Egyptian rulers wore more elaborate costumes.

Chapter 3: Peoples of Western Asia

A

round 2000 BCE the ancient civilization of  Sumer (see page 9) collapsed.This was the start of  a turb turbulen ulentt period in the the Middle Middle East, East, as many many diffe differen rentt peoples battled for control of the fertile lands around the Persian Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Over Ov er the next 1,500 years, years, a series of powerful powerful kingdoms rose rose and fell. Many of these civilizations civilizations were were very warlike warlike,, some were were great great traders, and some some produced fine buildings and works of art.

Hittite warriors wore leather tunics covered with iron plates. To protect their heads they had iron helmets with a distinctive crest,, which was crest was probably  made from horsehair.

Peoples of Western Asia

Hittit Hitt ites es,, Ca Cana naan anit ites es,, an and d Se Sea a Peoples Around 2000 BCE the Hittite people settled in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), and within four hundred  years they had conquered conquered an empire that stretched as far south as presentday Syria. For more more than two two centuries they were one of Egypt’s most dangerous enemies.

were woven into the cloth.The people of Canaan made their colorful cloth into into striking clothes. Some wore several layers of different patterns, while others preferred preferred a simple, simp le, long long,, whit whitee tunic tunic,, edge edged d with with a dram dramatic atic band band of color. color.

The Hittites Hittites were were toug tough h warriors who developed developed a new and effective effective battle dress.When they rode into battle in their war war chariots, they dressed in leather tunics covered with metal plates, plates, giving them them excellent excellent protection against enemy spears and arrows. arro ws. Hitti Hittite te warriors carried long wooden spears tipped with iron, which were much stronger than the bronze weapons of their opponents. They wore iron helmets with flaps to protect prote ct their neck, and carried large wicker shields.

Eventually,, the Hittite empire was Eventually destroy destr oyed ed by by an army of Sea People Peopless (also sometimes called Philistines), who originally came from Greece. Greece. The Sea Peoples wore short,, colo short colorful rful tunics tunics decorated with bold, contrasting bands of  color.. They fought with color iron-tipped iron-tip ped spears and swords, sw ords, and protected protected themselves with round, wooden woo den shields. shields. One of  their tribes, tribes, called the the Sherden,, wor Sherden woree distinctive battle helmets, cro crowned wned by by two tw o sma small ll horns.The horns.The horns may may ha have ve had had a religious significance or  theey ma th may y ha hav ve si simp mply ly been intended to make the warriors appear  more mo re frigh frighten tening ing.The .The warrior Goliath, Goliath, whos whosee fight against David is recorded in the Bible, was a member of the Sea Peoples.

Cloth from Canaan To the south of the Hittite empire lay la y the mor moree pea peacef ceful ul land land of  of  Canaan. Most of the Canaanites Canaanites were were farmers and merchants, merchants, and Canaan had several thriving ports on the Mediterranean coast.Weavers in Canaan produced a colorful, patterned cloth that was sold by merchants to people all around the Mediterranean.Wool and linen were dyed in a range of brilliant colors, including inclu ding scarl scarlet, et, green green,, blu blue, e, and gold, and bold patterns and borders borders

Sea Peoples Two armed warriors from the army of the Sea Peoples. The soldier on the left wears the distinctive horned helmet of the Sherden tribe.

Hebrews The story of the Hebrews is told in the Old Testament of the Bible.They weree a wandering desert people who wer gained control of some land in Canaan between 1200 and 1050 BCE. Arou Around nd 1000 BCE the Hebrew king David (reigned c. 1005–c 1005–c.. 965 BCE) established the kingdom of  Israel with its capital city in  Jerusalem.The kingdom split in two in about about 931, and the northern kingdom king dom,, called Israel, Israel, was conquer conquered ed by the Assyrians Assyrians (see pages 22–3) around aroun d 722.The 722. The southern kingdom,  Judah,, was attacked  Judah attacked by the Babylonians Babylon ians (see page 24) in 597, and ten years later the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem.The Hebrews, who came to be known as Jews, Jews, wer weree taken into captivity.

A Heb Hebrew rew pri priest est we wearin aring g the “white garments”— a tu turba rban, n, tun tunic ic,, br bree eech ches es and belt all made from pure white linen. These garments were worn as a sig sign n of humili humility ty before God.

Most Hebrews dressed very simply in tunics or long dresses.To keep off the glare of the sun, people often often wore wore a cloth over over their head, which was fixed fixed in place with a narrow headband. Hebrew Hebr ew kings, ho howe wever ver,, wo wore re rich robes, rob es, adorned with precious precious stones, while the most magnificent costume of all was worn by the high priest.

Ceremonial Garments Around 950 BCE King David's son Solomon Solo mon (reigned (reigned c. 965– 965–c. c. 931 BCE) built a spectacular temple in Jerusalem to house his his people’s people’s most precious precious treasure, treasur e, the Ark of the Covenant.The Covenant.The high priest in charge of the temple wore wo re a speci special al set set of cere ceremoni monial al clothes known as the golden garments.According to Jewish belief, God gave the prophet Moses detailed instructions for the making of these sacred garments, and these instructions are all recorded in the Book of  Exodus in the Old Testament. The golden garments consisted of  eigh ei ghtt separa separate te item items: s: a tu tuni nic, c, a belt, belt, a turban, turba n, a pair of linen linen breec breeches, hes, a breastplate, an ephod (a type of  of  apron), apr on), a robe, robe, and a golden golden head head plate. Over the white tunic and pants, the high priest wore wore a skyblue robe, robe, hemmed with decorative decorative pomegranates and bells which tinkled as he moved. moved. On top of the tunic was was the ephod, with two two sardonyx stones on its shoulderstraps, strap s, and a brea breastplate stplate,, set with with twelv tw elvee prec precious ious stones, stones, repr representi esenting ng the twelv twelvee tribes of Israel. Finally Finally,, the turban was placed on the high priest’ss head, and the golde priest’ golden n head head

Peoples of Western Asia

plate fixed in place with its inscription, “Holy to the Lord.” Lord.” The high priest wore his golden garments every day of the year  except on the Day of Atonement, the Hebrews’ Hebre ws’ most holy day. day. On this day, day, the high priest showed his humility before God by wearing the white garments: garmen ts: a turb turban, an, tuni tunic, c, bre breeche eches, s, and belt, all made from pure white white linen. Other priests wore wore the white garments all through the year.

Special Materials The Book of Exodus lists five different materials to be used in the making of the golden garments: gold, sky-blue wool, wool, dark red wool, wool, crimson wool, and “twisted “twisted linen.” linen.” Many years of research research have have gone gone into discovering exactly which materials were used.The used. The evidence suggests that gold leaf was beaten into thin sheets, and then cut into fine threads; the sky-blue dye dye for the wool came from a shellfish known as chilazon; the dark red red color was was derived from from a type of snail; snail; and the crimson color was produced by the cochineal insect.To weave the tunic, turban tur ban,, and bre breech eches, es, a thi thick ck linen linen thread was was used, made from from six twisted strands.

This 13th century fresco shows Abraham being blessed by a High Priest. While Abraham is shown in the costume costume of a medieval knight, the High Priest wears his ceremonial robes.

 Josep  Jos eph’ h’ss Coa Coatt In the Old Old Testament Testament Book of Genesis, Genesis, Joseph, the youngest youngest son of Jacob, Jacob, is described described as having a glorious “coat of many colors.” Nobody knows what this coat would have looked like, but it may have featured colored wool dyed dyed sky sky blue and and crimson, crimson, as well well as the more more usual usual greens, gree ns, yell yellows, ows, and brow browns ns produ produced ced by by earth and and plant plants. s.

Phoenicians The Phoenicians were were a seafaring people descended from the Canaanites (see (see page 16). From around 1200 BCE they lived along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Sea, setting up up great trading ports. For two two thousand years years the Phoenicians were the most successful traders in the the region. As well as their kingdom in the Middle East, they also had colonies colonies along the coasts of Africa and Spain, and in Cyprus, Cypru s, Sicil Sicily y, and Malta. Malta.

Purple People The word word Phoenician is Greek for  “purple men,” men,” a name the

Phoenicians acquired because of their  famous purple dye. dye. Made from from the murex mur ex shellfish, the dye colored colored cloth a rich rich,, dee deep p purp purple le.. Purp Purple le clo cloth th from Phoenicia was sold all over the Mediterranean and the Middle East, but it was so expensive that it was usually only worn by royalty.

Stylish Dressers Phoenician men were stylish dressers, who liked to show off their wealth by wearing colorful clothes.While the ordinary workers wore simple loincloth loin cloths, s, rulers and merc merchant hantss often often wore wo re long tunics, tunics, with multimulti-tier tiered ed skirts. Each tier was was bordered bordered by a fringe. Many Phoenician Phoenician men wore wore a conical cap, cap, but those who went went bareheaded barehead ed paid a lot of attention to their hair and beard, beard, which were were both carefully curled. Wealthy men wore jewelry, jewelry, including broad neck collars collars similar to those worn by by the ancient Egyptians, Egyptians, and simple armlets consisting of a twist of  metal wound several times around the upper upper arm. Merchan Merchants ts and rulers woree finger rings wor r ings set with semiprecious stones that were engraved engrav ed with a design, and these rings could be stamped into wax and used as a personal seal.

Gorgeous Jewels

Phoenician men wore long tunics with multi-tiered, fringed skirts.

Phoenician women were usually modestly dressed, draping their  their  bodies in folds of cloth.Their hair  was often co cove vered red by by a cap or hood hood,, but sometimes it was simply encircled by by a band, below which which it rippled freely over their shoulders.

Peoples of Western Asia

 Jewelry was very popular with  Jewelry Phoenician women, women, who wore wore a variety va riety of pendants, pendants, armlets, brace bracelets, lets, earrings, finge fingerr rings, and bro brooche oches. s. Another type of ornament was the flat, patte patterned rned plaque plaque,, usu usually ally made made from glass, glass, with holes in the the edges, which was apparently sewn onto clothes.

ornaments made ornaments made from from gold, gold, glass glass,, and precious stones.The ornaments came in an astonishing variety of shapes, including inclu ding acorns, acorns, pom pomegranat egranates, es, lotu lotuss flowers, flow ers, miniatur miniaturee vases and cones, and the heads of humans and animals.

A Phoen Phoenician ician glass glass bead, bead, greatly magnified. Beads like this were traded all around the Mediterranean area.

Often, Phoenician ladies wore wore three three or four necklaces at a time, time, one above above the other—a string of small pearls at the top, top, then some some larger larger beads, beads, and finally a couple of rows of necklaces with hanging ornaments (similar to a present-day present-d ay charm bracelet). Some surviving necklaces have up to sixty

Phoenician women were famous for their splendid  jewelry..  jewelry

Glass Beads The Phoenicians were probably the earliest people to discover disco ver how to blow glass, glass, and they they made a range range of  beautiful beauti ful colored beads. beads. Many surviving Phoenician Phoenician beads are long and oval in shape and blue-green in color. Others are a deep olive green. As well as making beads from solid glass, the Phoenicians also created tiny sculptures in colored glass. Some Some of these beads, beads, showin showing g human heads, heads, conta contain in up to five differe different nt colors colors of glass, glass, and are impress impressively  ively  detailed, with tiny coils of glass for hair and beards. beards.

Assyrians

An Assyrian king and queen relaxing in their garden. Both wear golden  jewelry and colorful robes covered with embroidered patterns.

The Assy Assyrian rian people were were farmers who came from an area close to the Tigris River in present-day Iraq. From around 1350 BCE they began to conquer new new land. Ov Over er the next seven sev en hundred years, years, they built up a large empire which stretched from the Persian Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean, and even even reached as far west as Egypt.The Assyrian kings were we re great war war leaders, leaders, but they they also also loved to relax in their beautiful palaces and gardens.

Battle Dress The Assyrian The Assyrianss wer eree exp expert ert wa warriors rriors,, who fought with bows and arrows, spears and swo swords rds,, and long long leather  leather 

This carved relief from the ancient city of  Nineveh shows two armed warriors—one with a bow and arrows arrows and the other other carrying a wooden woode n shield shield shaped shaped like like a shall shallow ow cone. cone.

Peoples of Western Asia

Splendid Beards Assyrian hair and beards were very well tended. A statue of King Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 668–c. 627 BCE) shows his carefully curled, shoulder-length hair and a splendid moustache and beard. The beard is carefully trimmed into a neat rectangle and appears to have bands of  horizontal decoration. Other Assyrian statues also feature beards with decorated horizontal horizontal bands, bands, and it is possible that the the Assyrians’ beards were bound or interwoven with embroidered cloth.

slings. Sold slings. Soldiers iers wore wore short, short, belte belted d tunics, tuni cs, legging leggings, s, and high high leather  leather  boots. Some carried round round wooden wooden shields into battle and some were protected prote cted by by an extra leather tunic tunic covered with many small iron plates. Most warriors wore pointed iron helmets with flaps to cover their ears, and some of their helmets were topped with a plume of feathers. Kings rode into battle in a royal war  chariot, wearing long long robes robes and a fez-shaped golden helmet. Horses played played an important part par t in Assyrian warfare and they were also dressed for battle.They wore golden collars with a bunch of scarlet feathers hanging down at the front. The royal horses also had a crown of  feathe fea thers rs on the their ir hea heads. ds.

Palace Life Assyrian men Assyrian men at court court usua usually lly wo wore re a close-fitting, short-sleev short-sleeved ed tunic, tunic, edged with golden fringes. Tunics wer eree usu usuall ally y worn worn lon long, g, bu butt some some stopped at the knees and sometimes a fringed shawl was also worn. Except in the earliest earliest examples,Assyrian examples, Assyrian costumes were were lavishly lavishly decorated, and the robes robes of the king were were cov covered ered

with embroidery.The king wore a golden, fez-shaped crown crown and wherever where ver he went went in his palace, a servant accompanied accompanied him, him, holding a fringed cano canopy py,, lik likee a paras parasol ol ove verr his head. The Assyrians were were skilled workers workers in gold, and both men and women women wore wo re golden golden necklaces, necklaces, brac bracelets elets,, and earrings. earr ings. Assyrian noblewo noblewomen men dressed in a similar way way to men, in fringed and embroidered robes and shawls, which covered covered them from neck to ankle. ankle. Both women women and men at court wore simple leather sandals on their feet.

Fabrics, Colors, and Patterns The most common material for  clothing was was wool, wool, although linen linen was sometimes used for better-quality garments. garment s. Cloth Clothes es were were dy dyed ed in a range of colors: colors: pale and deep deep indigo blue, blu e, scar scarlet, let, ye yello llow w ocher, ocher, dull olive olive green,, and purple. green purple.All All of these these colors were also used to dye embroidery wool. woo l. Patterns embroidered embroidered on Assyrian clothes featured repeated geometric shapes, shapes, and often often included included sacred rosettes and palm trees.

Babylonians Babylon had a period of greatness during the eighteenth century BCE, when it was ruled by King Hamurabai. Hamura bai. How Howev ever, er, after 1750, the city gradually gradually declined, declined, and was was finally conquered by the Assyrians in 689 BCE. BCE.Then, Then, aroun around d 620 BCE, the Babylonians Babylonians began began to fight back. back. By the time time King Nebuchadnezzar II came to the throne thro ne in 605 BCE, Babylo Babylon n had taken control of the Assyrian Empire.. The Babylonians ruled Empire their empire for the next sixty  years, before being conquered by the Persians.

Dress in Babylon

Two Babylonian servants accompany accom pany their richly  richly  dressed master.

One of King Nebuchadnezzar’s greatest achievements was the rebuilding rebu ilding of Babylon. Babylon. During his reign it became one of the richest cities in the wor world, ld, full of temples temples and palaces and home to the famous hanging gardens.

Inside the splendid city of Babylon, the wealthy lived a life of comfort and ceremony. ceremony. Men and women wore a loo loose se,, flo flowin wing g tunic tunic,, with wid widee halfhalfsleeves, sleev es, caught in at the waist waist by a broad, bro ad, decorat decorativ ivee belt. belt. Men carried tall, ornamental staffs staffs and wore wore a fezlike headdress. Tunics were made from dyed dy ed linen, linen, and a second second,, wo woolen olen tunic was sometimes also worn when the weather weather became cooler. Servants in Babylon wore wore simple, simple, short, undyed undy ed tunics, belted at the waist. One of their tasks was to walk in front fro nt of their wealth wealthy y masters with a large whisk, driving aw away ay the flies! The people of Babylon were skilled work wo rkers ers in silver silver and gold, gold, and both both men and women loved to wear  golden jewelry. jewelry. A surviving statue of  the goddess Ishtar shows her wearing a neck necklace lace made made from from concentric concentric golden rings and two outsize golden earrings—one earr ings—one resembling resembling a bunch of  grapes and the other, other, a shell.

Peoples of Western Asia

Persians The land of Persia (present-day Iran) was originally ruled by two separate sepa rate tribes: tribes: the Persians in the south, and the Medes in the north.. The north Then, n, in 550 550 BCE, the Persians Persians took took over ov er the Medes’ land and began to conquer  all of the surroundin surrounding g lands. By the year 500, the Persians ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen.The mighty Persian Empire lasted for two hundred years until it was finally defeated by by Alexander the Great. The Persians and Medes wore very distinctive headdresses.While the Persians Pe rsians had tall, fluted hats, the Medes wore wore a plain, rounded bonnet, bonn et, with a tail hanging down down at the back. Pe Persian rsian men tended tended to wear their beards long, and often wore golden hoops in their ears.

Soldiers and Satraps A tiled frieze surviv survives es showing showing Persian soldiers in ceremonial dress. The soldi soldiers ers we wear ar long long,, patte patterned rned robes, ro bes, with wide, wide, pleat pleated ed sleeves. sleeves. Each soldier wears a wide, golden band encircling encircling his forehead, forehead, and carries a tall spear and a bow slung over ov er his shoulder shoulder.. Attached to each soldier’ss back is a deep soldier’ deep pouch for  carrying arrow arrows. s. At court, the Persians Persians wore wore long, flowing robes with pleated sleeves, but the local local rulers, kno known wn as satraps,

Golden Armlet The Persians made exquisite golden jewelry. A solid gold armlet has been discovered at Oxus (in present-day  Turkmenistan) in a hoard of  treasure that probably belonged to a Persian king. The armlet is covered with elaborate carvings and shows two mythical, mythical, birdlike creatu cre atures res,, wit with h beaks, beaks, ears ears,, horns ho rns,, an and d wings, wings, ea each ch confronting the other fiercely.

dressed far more simply in short, woolen woo len tunics and long pants. The Persian ersianss were were great horse horsemen, men, and pants were very practical for long horse rides across the plains.

Persian guards with spears and shields, shields, carved on a staircase in the royal palace at Persepolis.

Scythians One group of people who the Persians never succeeded in conquering were the warlike Scythians.They lived as nomads on the windswept plains north of the Black Sea, in an area that that is now Russia.The Scythians spent much of  their lives lives on horseback, herding sheep and cattle.They set up their  tents wherever they could find good pasture,, and fought fiercely pasture fiercely to defend their lands.

Animall Art Anima Ar t

Scythian warriors carry  their dead leader’ leader’s s armlets and robes in a solemn funeral procession. They  are wearing distinctive pointed felt caps.

Because of their nomadic lifestyle, the Scythians Scythians created created an art that was was easily portable, portable, makin making g intricate golden jewelry and weapons, decorativ decor ativee tent hangings hangings,, and carve carved d wooden bowls.They also decorated their clothes and made elaborate trappings for their horses. All these objects were ornamented with swirling animal motifs featuring horses, hor ses, stag stags, s, eag eagles, les, bea bears, rs, sna snake kes, s, and rabbits.

Herders and Warriors Scythian herders and warriors needed warm clothes that were easy to ride in.They in. They wor woree leather, leather, fur-lined boots, boo ts, thick woole woolen n pants, and tunics tunics which wrapped across their bodies and were were fastened by by a belt. On their  heads they wore a thick pointed cap which covered their ears. When they rode rode into battle, Scythian warriors wore a protective armor of  overlapping ov erlapping metal metal plates, which covered their upper body and sometimes their their legs. Helmets were were also made from metal plates.The warriors fought with long-bladed battleaxes battleax es and bows bows and arrows, and they often engraved engraved their arrow arrow cases with animal designs. Scythian women spent less time on horseback, but they they also dressed dressed warmly in long woolen dresses, topped top ped by a bel belted ted coa coat.The t.They y wor oree tall headdresses swathed in scarves.

Peoples of Western Asia

Splendid Decorations The Scythians’ Scythians’ clothes were were made from leather and wool and covered cov ered in decoration. decoration.W Women embroidered elaborate animal patterns in colored wool and also stitched felt appliqué pieces onto ont o dresses, dresses, tun tunics, ics, and coats. Felt was was made by by pressing and rolling wool and hair until it formed a thick, matted substance which was dyed vivid colors.The Scythians created dramatic appliqué designs on their wall wall hangings, horse trappings, trappin gs, and clothes, using shapes made from colored felt. In addition to these decorations, decorations, the Scythians also sew sewed ed small, golden plaques onto their clothes.These plaques were were engrav engraved ed with animal motifs and must have sparkled dramatically in the sun, especially when worn worn in combinatio combination n with elaborate golden belts, necklaces, bracelets, brac elets, and earrings. earrings.

Animal Tattoo attoos s

Ceremonial Dress

The graves of several Scythian

The Scythians kept their best clothes for special ceremonies, ceremonies, such as the the burial of a chief.When a chief was buried, his body was was dressed in the most splend splendid id finery finery and laid on on a chariot, which was was pulled by by a pair of  horses in ceremonial dress.The horses weree draped in appliquéd wer appliquéd hangings hangings and wore wore golden harnesses and tall, tasseled headdresses. headdresses. Men in the funeral procession shaved their heads, and some even cut off an ear to show their grief.

chiefs were excavated in Siberia. The bodies have stayed frozen in the icy ground for thousands of  years yea rs an and d still still displa displayy ta tatto ttoos os on their skin. The tattoos are remarkably elaborate and show swirling designs of interlocked creatures that appear to be a combination combinatio n of horses, eagles, and stags.

The Scythians were expert goldsmiths. This exquisite golden golde n comb, found in in a chief’s chief’ s tomb, shows Scythian warriors in battle.