Robe of honour

The endowment of garments as a mark of favor is an ancient Middle Eastern tradition, recorded in sources such as the Hebrew Bible and Herodotus.^[1]

In the Islamic world, Muhammad himself set a precedent when he removed his cloak (burda) and gave it to Ka'b ibn Zuhayr in recognition of a poem praising him. Indeed, the term khilʿa "denotes the action of removing one's garment in order to give it to someone".^[1]

The practice of awarding robes of honour appears in the Abbasid Caliphate, where it became such a regular feature of government that ceremonies of bestowal occurred almost every day, and the members of the caliph's court became known as 'those who wear the khilʿa' (aṣḥāb al-khilʿa).^[1] The bestowal of garments became a fixed part of any investment into office, from that of a governor to the heir-apparent to the throne. As important court occasions, these events were often commemorated by poets and recorded by historians.^[1]

In Egypt in the Fatimid Caliphate, the practice spread to the wealthy upper middle classes, who began conferring robes of honor on friends and relatives, in emulation of the aristocracy.^[1] Later, under the Mamluk Sultanate, the system was standardized into a system of classes reflecting the divisions of Mameluke society, each with its own ranks: the military (arbāb al-suyūf), the civilian bureaucracy (arbāb al-aqlām), and the religious scholars (al-ʿulamāʾ).^[1]

The distribution of the robes of honour was the responsibility of the Keeper of the Privy Purse (nāẓir al-khāṣṣ), who supervised the Great Treasury (al-khizāna al-kubra), where the garments were stored.^[1] Al-Maqrizi provides a detailed description of the garments worn by the various classes and ranks; in addition, Mamluk practice included the bestowal of arms or even a fully outfitted horse from the Sultan's own stables as a tashrīf.^[1] The practice remained very common until the early 20th century; in 19th-century India, the bestowal gift or khillaut (khelat, khilut, or killut) might comprise from five up to 101 articles of clothing.^[2]

Due to the 1427 invasion of Cyprus by the Mamluk Sultanate, Caterina Corner, last queen of the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus, was a Mamluk vassal, her overlord was Sultan Qaitbay. Upon her coronation, Caterina was given rich gifts by the Mamluk sultan, including a robe of honor, Arabian horses, Syrian incense burners, and Chinese porcelain. The weaving of robes of honor was a substantial industry within the Sultanate due to gifts such as these. ^[3]

As the practice spread in the Muslim world, and robes began to be given for every conceivable occasion, they also acquired distinct names. Thus for example the khilaʿ al-wizāra ('robe of the vizierate') would be given on the appointment to the vizierate, while the khilaʿ al-ʿazl ('robe of dismissal') upon an—honourable—dismissal, the khilaʿ al-kudūm might be given to an arriving guest, while the khilaʿ al-safar would to a departing guest, etc.^[2]

As opposed to the Arabic word khilat, meaning "cast-off", in the Persianate cultural sphere, robes of honor were referered to as sarāpā, or "head-to-foot", referring to the complete ensemble of gifts given to someone favored by the ruler. ^[4]In Safavid Persia, richly embroidered robes of honor were bestowed on ambassadors, such as Sir Robert Shirley(a portrait by Van Dyck shows Shirley in Persian dress, wearing his Safavid robe of honor) and Nakd 'Ali Beg. ^[5]A surviving Safavid coat or robe of honor given to Queen Christina of Sweden is in the Royal Treasury Museum in Sweden.^[6]

In India, robes of honor were considered to be a way to symbolically bind vassals to the service of the Mughal emperor. The Mughal Emperor Akbar presented a robe of honor to a rebellious vassal, the ruler of Bengal, Da'ud Khan Karrani.^[4] In his memoirs, the Jahangirnama, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir mentions giving at least 300 robes of honor to various subjects and vassals.^[4] A Mughal robe of honor presented to Raja Rai Singh of Bikaner in 1597 by Prince Salim(later known as Jahangir) is still in Bikaner, the only known surviving garment that can be securely connected to the early Mughal court. ^[4]

Sums of money or other valuables were also given as part of the bestowal ceremony, or, in some cases, in lieu of the robe. In the Ottoman Empire, such a sum was known as khilʿet behā ('price of khilʿa'); most commonly this referred to the donativum received by the Janissaries on the accession of a new sultan.^[7]

History

See also

References

Sources

Wikiwand - on