CHAPTER XIII.
Clothing.
The Babylonians and Assyrians were very fond of dress. There were three essentials to Mesopotamian dress, and accessories depended upon the taste and purse of the wearer. A head-dress, a tunic and a robe were the main features of one's apparel, although all were not of necessity worn by the lower classes. The head-dress was frequently of felt and was some times quilted; the tunic was generally made of linen when worn in Babylonia and of wool in Assyria; the robe was long, falling to the ankles; it was often of wool and was finished with a deep fringe. The tunic and some times the robe as well were belted at the waist by a wide and elaborate girdle. Women's garments were similar to those worn by men, but their robes fell in more ample folds. Naturally fashions changed and a garment worn in the days of the Semitic invasion would have appeared odd and out of date in the age of Asshurbanipal.
Early portraits of kings show them clad in thick quilted skirts falling to the ankles, while quilted turbans covered their heads. Later robes took the place of the skirt. Parasols were carried in Babylonia as protection against the heat, but in Assyria they gradually became the privilege of the royal family. In portraits of later Assyrian kings, the parasol is frequently shown. This custom may have been borrowed from Persia.
Ordinarily no head-dress was worn by the lower classes in Babylonia unless, perhaps, to denote some special calling. Certain musicians appear with caps. The devotees of fashion probably donned head-dresses at pleasure.
Jewelry was popular with both men and women, even the poor being adorned with necklaces, bracelets, anklets. Shoes and sandals were seldom worn in the southern kingdom. In Assyria, naturally a colder climate brought about some variations of dress. High boots and leather breeches were worn by the soldiers of later periods; shoes were needed to protect the feet from frosty ground, and cloaks were required in addition to the usual robe.
Embroidered and imported robes, smart hats and other details of wearing apparel were characteristic of later periods when wealth and leisure gave opportunity for such indulgences. Certain it is that the simple tunic sufficed in early days, and rank was indicated by its greater or abbreviated length.
The ancient Chaldeans or Sumerians always shaved their heads and faces. Influenced by this custom, the Babylonians did not wear long beards. The Assyrians, more purely Semitic, wore long ones and had hair dressers largely in the place of barbers, who curled both their beards and hair.
A word should be said of the costumes of the priests. They may always be distinguished on the monuments by their long, flounced robes, reaching nearly to the ground. Because the goat was an animal of special sanctity, a goat-skin was invariably thrown over the shoulder—quite as the Egyptian priest wore the skin of a leopard.