An Arabian carpet ( Arabic: سجاد, Sijjad) is an

oriental carpet An oriental rug is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in " Oriental countries" for home use, local sale, and export. Oriental carpets can be pile woven or flat woven without pile, using v ...

made in the Arab world using traditional Arab carpet-making techniques. Arabian carpets achieved worldwide fame with the frequent use of the Spice Road.

History

Arabian carpets dating back to the 7th century BCE have been excavated in

Ma'rib Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Sabaʾ'' ( ar, سَبَأ), which some scholars ...

. 'Rihal' is a type of pre-Islamic carpet that was made in

al-Hirah Al-Hirah ( ar, الحيرة, translit=al-Ḥīra Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of I ...

, an ancient city that was the capital of the Lakhmids.Jawad Ali, Al-Mufassal Fi Tarikh al-Arab Qabl al-Islam, vol.9 chap.50 (p.56 in the electronic version)

Materials

Sheep's wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As an ...

is the most common material used in the making of traditional Arabian carpets. Other materials, such as cotton, camel hair, goat hair, and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

have been used to make these carpets. In the center of larger carpets silk is likely to be used.

In Arab culture

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

's magic carpet is an Arabian rug that is featured prominently in Arab culture.

Sources

{{Rugs and carpets Arabic art Rugs and carpets Oriental rugs and carpets Arab inventions