ARABS: ASSIMILATION AND SOCIAL CHANGEter of Nu'man ibn Mundhir, was escorted by her female slaves when-
ever she went through the streets of the city to the church. When Sa'd
was at Qadisiyya, she is said to have gone to visit him with a retinue
of female relatives and slaves.l8 There is a clear resemblance between
this custom and the escort of forty wives of leading Basrans who, at
'Ali's command, accompanied 'A'isha back to Madina after the Battle
of the Camel.l9
Arabs who spent their wealth on luxuries acquired the material
culture of the native upper classes. They adopted Persian dining cus-
toms and enjoyed the elegant dishes of Persian cuisine, especially lux-
ury foods such as meat, rice, and sugar. The expensive fabrics and
greater yardage used for their clothing reflected their new wealth. They
wore clothing of linen and silk brocade^20 patterned after the garments
of Persian nobles. Arabs in Iraq began to wear the Persian robe (Ar.
qabii') with long, wide sleeves, the tall, pointed hat (A.? qalansuwwa),
stole (M.P. taylasiin), and trousers (M.P. sariiwtl). This began on the
battlefield, where victorious Arabs stripped fallen Persians of their
golden, jewel-studded belts and armbands and robes of silk and gold
brocade.2l In the garrison cities they wore qalansuwwas,22 long, dec-
orated taylasiins of silk brocade (Ar. dtbiij),23 and robes of black,
yellow, or black and yellow-striped Yamani brocade.^24 They dyed their
beards black,2s or red with henna,26 or yellow with saffron.27 Some
of them began to look and act like native notables. 'Abd ar-Ral).man
ibn al-Aswad at Kufa was called an Arab dihqiin because of his cloth-
ing, and because he used perfume and rode on a birdhawn.^28 When
Anas ibn Malik rode a birdhawn in a funeral procession at Basra
18 Mas'iidi, Mumj, 11, 228.
19 Tabari, Ta'rzkh, I, 3231. According to Ya'qiibi (Ta'rtkh, Il, 213) 'A'isha's escort
consisted of seventy women of the 'Abd al-Qays dressed as men.
20 Ibn Rustah, A'laq, p. 192; Tabari, Ta'rzkh, Il, 115,465.
21 Abii Yiisuf, Kharaj, p. 49; Baladhuri, Futu~, p. 254; Tabari, Ta'rlkh, I, 2298, 2424.
22 Tabari, Ta'rtkh, Il, 599. At Basra, Anas ibn Malik wore a white qalansuwwa (Ibn
Sa'd, Tabaqat, VII[l], 15). Ibrahim an-Nakha'i, at Kiifa, wore a qalansuwwa lined or
trimmed with fox skin (ibid., VI, 196).
23 Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, VI, pp. 81-82, 197.
24 Baladhuri, Ansab, !Vb, 115; idem, Futu~, p. 347; Tabari, Ta'rlkh, Il, 465; Tha'alibi,
La,a';f, p. 15.
25 In Basra, Murarrif ibn 'Abdullah ash-Shikhkhir (d. 705) at different times dyed
his beard black, red, and blond (Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqat, VII[l], 105-6).
26 Ibid., VII(l), 15.
27 Ibid., VI, 157; VII(l), 14, 101, 109, 110, 116.
28 Ibid., VI, 202.