The ''kabbadion'' ( el, καββάδιον) was a

caftan A kaftan or caftan (; fa, خفتان, ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's ...

-like garment of oriental origin which became a standard part of court costume in the last centuries of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. The first known reference to the ''kabbadion'' occurs in the ''

Kletorologion The ''Klētorologion'' of Philotheos ( el, Κλητορολόγιον), is the longest and most important of the Byzantine lists of offices and court precedence ('' Taktika'').. It was published in September 899 during the reign of Emperor Leo VI t ...

'' of 899, where it is mentioned as the dress of the barbarian (''ethnikoi'') members of the Emperor's bodyguard, the ''

Hetaireia The ( grc-gre, Ἑταιρεία, Latinized as ''hetaeria'') was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire. Etymology and usage of the term means 'the Company', echoing the ancient Macedonian Companions and the Classical Gr ...

''. It re-appears in the mid-14th century in the ''Book of Offices'' of

pseudo-Kodinos George Kodinos or Codinus ( el, Γεώργιος Κωδινός), also Pseudo-Kodinos, ''kouropalates'' in the Byzantine court, is the reputed 14th-century author of three extant works in late Byzantine literature. Their attribution to him is mere ...

as the standard ceremonial dress for almost all court members. Kodinos describes it as an "

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n" garment adopted by the Persians, clearly indicating a provenance from the Islamic world. It is therefore usually equated with the long, caftan-like and full-sleeved tunic worn by various Byzantine officials in depictions of the 13th–15th centuries. It fastened down the front and was worn with a belt. Its colour and decoration were determined by rank, as described by Kodinos; it was usually richly decorated with gold embroideries on the collar and on borders along the sleeves and hem, and could be adorned with pearls.

Sources

* * Byzantine clothing Court uniforms and dress {{Byzantine-stub