Etymology of Oriental Hand-Wovens in the Iberian Peninsula

Considering the names of the Oriental hand-wovens, Arabic words were highly used in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). This paper used the historical research method to explore the old Spanish and Portuguese documents and also the quality and state of emergence of Oriental hand-wovens in these lands. In this method, the etymology of those Arabic words was considered too. The results of the paper revealed that in the Iberian Peninsula, at least, from the 14th century, the Oriental carpets were a typical and symbol of furniture which were known as alcatifa, a popular name for them. The word alcatifa must be derived from Qatif port at the coast of the Persian Gulf. Most of these carpets traveled from India to the Iberian Peninsula by trade. The Persian carpets were too expensive, so there are a few signs of them in the Portuguese and Spanish decorations during that time.