The Sharbush or Harbush, Sarposh, Serpush (Arabic: شَربوش, romanized: sharbūsh, Greek: σαρπούζιν, Turkish: Serpuş) probably derived from Persian word Serpush, which means "headdress". was a special Turkic military furred hat, worn in Central Asia and the Middle East in the Middle Ages. It appears prominently in the miniatures depicting Badr al-Din Lu'lu' (ruled 1234–1259). It was a stiff cap of the military class, with a triangular front which was sometimes addorned with a metal plaque. It was sometimes supplemented with a small kerchief which formed a small turban, named takhfifa. The wearing of the Sharbūsh was one of the key graphical and sartorial elements to differentiate Turkic figures from Arab ones in medieval Middle-Eastern miniatures.
The Sharbush could vary in size and shape, sometimes taking huge proportions, as in the depiction of the emir in the frontispiece of the 1237 Maqamat of al-Hariri. The shape of the sharbush seems to have varied depending on geographical regions:
- The sharbush of Artuqid manuscripts (example) has a very tall cap behind the headplate and the usage of fur around the rim is limited;
- The Seljuk sharbush as seen on Persian ceramics, or on objects from Mosul such as the Blacas ewer, or in Jazira and Syria manuscripts had a much lower cap, almost hidden behind the band of fur surrounding the head and the frontal plate;
- The frontispiece of the Baghdad Schefer Maqamat shows another sharbush, consisting of a tall mass of fur, hiding the cap from view.
The sharbush headgear was a rallying sign for Saladin, and he wore it on his Mayyafariqin coinage. When Henry II, Count of Champagne, king of Jerusalem, tried to build a friendly relationship with Saladin, he requested the gift of a qabā robe and a sharbūsh hat, which he wore in Acre.
The Sharbush was also a symbol of investitute under the Egyptian Mamluks, as it was part of the khil'a given to an amir on the occasion of his accession. The sharbush was worn by high-ranking officers of the Ayyubid and Bahri Mamluk period.
In Mamluk Egypt, the wearing of the Sharbush was banned in 1382.
See also
- Saraquj
- List of hat styles
References
Works cited
- Hillenbrand, Robert (1 January 2010). "The Schefer Ḥarīrī: A Study in Islamic Frontispiece Design". Arab Painting: 117–134. doi:10.1163/9789004236615_011. ISBN 978-90-04-23661-5.
