Dress and adornmentNorth Africa
Kallawtah
In its own language: كلوتة
A rounded Turkic cap worn in the medieval Middle East, its colour set in Mamluk Egypt
The kallawtah was a rounded cap of Turkic origin worn in the Middle East during the Middle Ages, mainly by soldiers. In Mamluk Egypt its colour was fixed by decree, yellow at first and then red under Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl, who also had a turban wrapped around it.
When is Kallawtah kept?
Kallawtah is kept in the Middle Ages.
The kallawtah was a rounded cap of Turkic origin, worn in the Middle East through the Middle Ages. Soldiers were its main wearers. In Mamluk Egypt a sultan fixed its colour, yellow at first and red later, and had a turban wound round it. Writers trace the Western word calotte back to this name.
What it was
The kallawtah was a kind of hat that came from Turkic lands and spread through the Middle East in the Middle Ages. Its crown was curved and rounded, nearer to half a sphere than to a cone or a brim. It was normally put on by itself, with no cloth wound about it. The sources place it with the fighting men of the time, the military class, rather than with scholars or townspeople. Other head coverings were in use in the same period. One of them, the sharbush, is named beside the kallawtah as a second notable example.
Colour and sultan
In Mamluk Egypt the kallawtah had a colour laid down for it: yellow. Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl, whose reign the sources date to 689 to 693 in the Islamic calendar, or about 1290 to 1293, changed that. Under his rule the cap was to be red, and a turban was wrapped around it as well, so the cap and the wound cloth came to be worn together. The decision came from the ruler rather than from the soldiers who put the cap on, which suggests that colour and cloth carried meaning in the dress of the period.
The name
The sources give the name in Arabic script as كلوتة and explain it as a word for a bonnet. Other spellings appear too: kallaftah and kalloutah. According to the sources, this Arabic term is thought to stand at the root of the Western word calotte. In Western languages that same word is used for a domed shape in architecture and for headwear in religious settings. The sources offer the link as an idea rather than a settled fact, and no date is given for the borrowing.
How Kallawtah is kept
This was a cap for the head, and keeping it meant wearing it. A man of the military class set the kallawtah on his head, rounded side up, usually with no cloth round it. In Mamluk Egypt the arrangement changed: the cap was made in the colour the ruler had set, and a turban was wound around it, so the two went together. The sources describe no ceremony for putting it on, no prayer and no blessing. What they record is the shape, the colour and the cloth.
When and where
The kallawtah belongs to the Middle Ages, and the sources place it in the Middle East across that span. The one date they give falls in Mamluk Egypt, in the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl, 689 to 693 in the Islamic calendar, about 1290 to 1293, when the cap's colour was changed.
The cap is described for the Middle East, and Mamluk Egypt is the place the sources name most clearly, since it is there that its colour and its turban were set down. Turkic lands lie behind the headgear itself. No single city is named as its home.
What Kallawtah means
Colour was not simply decorative here. A ruler decided which shade the cap should be, and the move from yellow to red under Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl was an order about dress. Adding a turban joined two pieces into one outfit. That suggests headwear carried meaning, and that those in power took an interest in how their soldiers looked. For the wearers themselves, the kallawtah was the cap they put on.
Questions people ask about Kallawtah
When is Kallawtah kept?
Kallawtah is kept in the Middle Ages.
What is a kallawtah?
It is a rounded, semi-spherical cap of Turkic origin worn in the Middle East during the Middle Ages. The sources call it a type of headgear and place it with the military class, and the Arabic name is glossed as bonnet. A second head covering of the period, the sharbush, is named alongside it.
Where and when was it worn?
The sources put it in the Middle East in the Middle Ages. Mamluk Egypt is named in particular, where Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl, ruling from 689 to 693 in the Islamic calendar, about 1290 to 1293, set its colour and its turban.
Why did its colour change from yellow to red?
Yellow was the colour first prescribed for the cap in Mamluk Egypt. Sultan al-Ashraf Khalīl had it changed to red and added a turban around it. The sources record the change as his decision and give no reason for it.
Was it worn with a turban?
Usually not. According to the sources the cap was commonly worn on its own by the military class. In Mamluk Egypt, after al-Ashraf Khalīl's change, a turban was wound around it, so from then on the two could be worn together.
How does the kallawtah relate to the word calotte?
According to the sources, the Arabic term is thought to lie at the origin of calotte. In Western languages that word is used for a domed form in architecture and for religious headwear. The sources present the link as a suggestion rather than a settled fact.
See also
Traditional tattooingThe ancient custom of marking the skin for protection, healing, status and sacred rites
NiqabA face veil worn by some Muslim women, hiding all but the eyes
Melaya leffA traditional wrapped Egyptian mantle once worn for modesty and now famous on stage
KeffiyehA square cotton headscarf worn by men in arid parts of the Middle East and North AfricaGood reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Kallawtah", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-10.
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