Clothing and Appearance under Umayyad Rule

In Umayyad Syria and al-Andalus, the Muslim-ruled part of the Iberian Peninsula, clothing began with fibres and skilled work, then acquired meaning through use, decoration and display. The eastern caliphate ruled from 661 to 750; an Umayyad emirate was established in Córdoba, in present-day Spain, in 756 and became a caliphate in 929. Their regions had distinct textile traditions. Syrian and Jordanian palace images show garments worn for court display and movement; a North African workshop inscription and Cordoban records reveal textile production and seasonal supply. Access to specialised production also shaped what people could wear.

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From fibre to cloth

Wool, linen and silk did not become fabric by themselves. Fibres were prepared and spun into yarn, then woven on a loom. In a simple weave, lengthwise warp threads cross with the weft that passes over and under them. An Umayyad-period textile in the David Collection, attributed to Egypt or Syria in the late seventh or early eighth century, uses linen for its ground and extra wool wefts for geometric patterning. The wool takes dye well, so a weaver could add colour and design while building the cloth. The museum suggests this piece may have formed one half of a curtain, an example of furnishing fabric rather than a surviving garment.

Woven cloth could then be cut, joined with seams and finished at its edges to make clothing. A garment’s fit and movement depended on how its pieces were shaped and fastened. Repair and reuse extended the work already invested in cloth: a sound section could be retained even when another part wore through. These steps connected textile production with ongoing work on the finished item.

Dress in Syrian and Jordanian images

Paintings at Qusayr Amra, a palace and bath complex in present-day Jordan, give an early eighth-century view of garments arranged for different activities. In the hunting and butchery scenes, men wear longer robes with wide sleeves and tuck up the hems to move freely. Other figures wear shorter tunics with bare legs and feet. The image at Khirbat al-Mafjar, a palace site near Jericho in present-day Palestine, gives a more elaborate outfit: a close-fitting caftan, meaning a long coat, is belted above full trousers and soft boots. The decorated belt and riding-friendly cut of the coat make this a courtly representation of status.

A stucco ruler at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi in Syria is shown in a long tunic decorated with pearl bands and worn over full trousers. The tunic’s sides are drawn up, likely to make riding easier. Across these sites, the contrast lies in the pictured setting and function: workers’ hems are lifted for movement, while a palace ruler’s clothes receive costly ornament. The images make visible how cut, materials and finish could distinguish roles.

A ruler on a coin

An Ashmolean gold dinar minted in 697, probably at Damascus, depicts the caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in a long robe with a sword. The standing figure replaced imagery found on earlier Byzantine and Sasanian coins as the Umayyad government introduced its reformed coinage. The coin’s dress is part of an official image of the ruler: a robe and sword present him as a governing figure, while the Arabic inscription identifies the new political and religious message carried by the money. This is a public representation, different in purpose from the activity scenes painted at Qusayr Amra.

Silk and court production in Córdoba

The fragmentary silk textile known as the Marwan tiraz, an inscribed prestige cloth linked to court workshops, links North African and eastern production. It is usually attributed to the late Umayyad caliph Marwan II (744-750), and its inscription names a workshop in Ifriqiya, the North African province centred on present-day Tunisia. The cloth itself may have been woven in Central Asia and sent to Ifriqiya for its inscription, a process that joined long-distance supply to a regional court workshop. In al-Andalus, the Cordoban court also supported tiraz workshops that made inscribed textiles.

A long silk-and-linen head wrap bearing the name of Hisham II, who first reigned in Córdoba from 976 to 1009, survives in Madrid’s Royal Academy of History. Its inscribed band is tapestry-woven in gold and silk thread and carries an inscription invoking the caliph. The textile was discovered in 1853 inside a reliquary at the church of Santa María de Rivero in San Esteban de Gormaz. Its later Christian use helps explain how court cloth from al-Andalus could survive beyond its original setting.

The Calendar of Córdoba, a learned work associated with 961, records the timing of textile supplies as well as agricultural tasks. It says women began incubating silkworms in February and the worms began hatching in March. For the court’s tiraz work, May entries name kermes, a red dye made from insects, silk and fuller’s earth, a clay used by cloth finishers; August records silk and indigo, and September madder, a plant that yields red dye. These listed materials place seasonal acquisition alongside specialist manufacture.

Clothing for the season

The same Cordoban calendar recommends warmer clothing in October, including raw silk and wool, as the weather turned cold. It contrasts these fabrics with lighter summer clothing. In this Iberian setting, dress could answer practical seasonal needs as well as mark access to costly materials.