The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 4: Babylon: The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations.Rawlinson, George
History
The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 4: Babylon: The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations.
The short tunic, worn by the poorer worshippers, is seen also in a
representation (hereafter to be given) of hunters attacking a lion. A
similar garment is worn by the man--probably a slave--who accompanies
the dog, supposed to represent an Indian hound; and also by a warrior,
who appears on one of the cylinders conducting six foreign captives.
[PLATE XXII., Fig. 4.] There is consequently much reason to believe that
such a tunic formed the ordinary costume of the common people, as it
does at present of the common Arab inhabitants of the country. It left
the arms and right shoulder bare, covering only the left. Below the belt
it was not made like a frock but lapped over in front, being in fact
not so much a garment as a piece of cloth wrapped round the body.
Occasionally it is represented as patterned; but this is somewhat
unusual. [PLATE XXII., Fig. 3.]
In lieu of the long robe reaching to the feet, which seems to have
been the ordinary costume of the higher classes, we observe sometimes
a shorter, but still a similar garment--a sort of coat without sleeves,
fringed down both sides, and reaching only a little below the knee. The
worshippers who wear this robe have in most cases the head adorned with
a fillet. [PLATE XXIII., Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.]
It is unusual to find any trace of boots or shoes in the representations
of Babylonians. A shoe patterned with a sort of check work was worn
by the king; and soldiers seem to have worn a low boot in their
expeditions. But with rare exceptions the Babylonians are represented
with bare feet on the monuments; and if they commonly wore shoes in the
time of Herodotus, we may conjecture that they had adopted the practice
from the example of the Medes and Persians. A low boot, laced in front,
was worn by the chiefs of the Susianians. Perhaps the “peculiar shoe” of
the Babylonians was not very different. [PLATE XXIII., Fig. 1.]
The girdle was an essential feature of Babylonian costume, common to
high and low, to the king and to the peasant. It was a broad belt,
probably of leather, and encircled the waist rather high up. The warrior
carried his daggers in it; to the common man it served the purpose of
keeping in place the cloth which he wore round his body. According to
Herodotus, it was also universal in Babylonia to carry a seal and a
walking-stick.
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