Mesopotamia produced so much wool that it became
one of the region’s chief exports. Accordingly, wool was the
preferred fabric for clothing. Wool cloth was produced for
domestic use and traded to other regions, as ancient records
indicate. Linen has been discovered in archaeological exca-
vations, and fl ax is occasionally mentioned on clay tablets,
but linen was clearly less important than wool. Evidence of
details of Mesopotamian dress comes largely from visual ma-
terials such as seals, statues, tombs, and wall paintings.
Sumerian civilization existed from 3500 to 2500 b.c.e.
In that era both men and women wore sheepskin skirts with
the fl eece still attached. Length varied according to the physi-
cal tasks performed by the wearer and the status of the wear-
er. Servants and soldiers wore shorter skirts, while royalty
dressed in long skirts. Th e skirts apparently wrapped around
the body. If it was long enough, the fabric was passed up un-
der a wide, padded belt and over one shoulder. Cloaks made
of animal skins, leather, or felt were worn over the upper part
of the body. Children typically dressed as adults did or, if they
were very young, went naked. Men, women, and children
typically went barefoot.
Babylonian civilization extended from about 2500 to
1000 b.c.e. Th e slow rate of change in ancient fashion means
that it is diffi cult to distinguish between late Sumerian and
early Babylonian clothing styles. However, dress gradually
increased in complexity. While men’s and women’s clothing
continued to have similar elements, the trend was toward
greater distinctions in dress according to gender.
By the time of the Babylonians skirts were no longer made
of sheepskin and were woven from wool. Soldiers wore skirts
with fringed decoration around the lower edge and oft en wore
shawls with the skirts. Th e center of the shawl was placed across
the left shoulder, with ends crossing the chest and carried back
to be knotted over the right hip. Soldiers wore helmets of leath-
er or metal with horn-shaped decoration. Th ey wore simple
sandals when rough terrain made foot covering necessary. Ci-
vilian men wore a skirt, loincloth, or tunic.
Wealthier members of Babylonian society, including the
nobility, wore a draped square of fabric about 118 inches wide
and 56 inches long. Th e fabric was fringed or had woven or
embroidered edging. Th e men wore turban-like hats with a
small brim or padded roll at the edge. As did soldiers, men
wore sandals when traveling through rough terrain. Th ere
is evidence that men, possibly only royalty, sometimes were
leather shoes imported from cold, mountainous regions. Th e
toes of these shoes were curved upward and adorned with a
pompon. Babylonian women wore garments that covered the
entire body. Th ey dressed in skirts with short capes cut with
an opening for the head or in tunics with openings for the
head and arms. Wealthier women wore sandals, though bare
feet were common.
Th e Assyrians dominated Mesopotamia from about 1000
to 600 b.c.e. Th ey adopted Babylonian costume, and a clear
break between the late Babylonian and early Assyrian styles
cannot be seen. While they wore Babylonian-style dress, the
Assyrians added their own decorations. Woven or embroi-
dered patterns were used in the dress of royalty and nobility.
In about 700 b.c.e. the Assyrian king apparently introduced
cotton, but there is no evidence that the new fabric was
used by the Assyrians. Wool remained the preferred fabric.
Persian clothing was similar to the Assyrian style. Persian
textiles were oft en decorated with golden clothing ornaments
such as gold plaques with loops on the back to allow for at-
tachment to cloth.
At some point the Assyrians abandoned the skirts pre-
ferred by the Sumerians and Babylonians and began wear-
ing tunics. Ordinary Assyrians wore a tunic that ended
above the knee. It was worn with a belt and showed little
decoration. Soldiers wore a knee-length tunic with a corset
of mail armor and a wide belt. Th e mail was probably made
by sewing small metal plates onto leather or heavy cloth.
Th e corset might cover only the upper torso, particularly for
soldiers on horseback, or the entire torso. Soldiers addition-
ally wore helmets that came to a peaked point at the back
of the head. In the late Babylonian and Assyrians periods
women began wearing veils. Th e veils, which either cov-
ered the face or hung over the hair on either side of the face,Two Assyrian court offi cials from the reign of Sargon II (721–705
b.c.e.), wearing ankle-length robes ornamented with squares and
trimmed with fringe and beads and sandals (Courtesy of the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago)276 clothing and footwear: The Middle East