A bashlyk, also spelled bashlik (Karachay-Balkar: Başlıq, Adyghe: Shkharkhon, Abkhaz: qtarpá, Chechen: Ċukkuiy, Ossetic: басылыхъхъ, basylyqq, Crimean Tatar: Başlıq, Tatar: Başlıq, Turkish: Başlık; "baş" - head, "-lıq" (Tatar) / "-lık" (Turkish) - derivative suffix), is a traditional Turkic, North Caucasian, Iranian, and Cossack cone-shaped hooded headdress, usually of leather, felt or wool, featuring a round topped bonnet with lappets for wrapping around the neck.
Local versions determine the trim, which may consist of decorative cords, embroidery, jewelry, metallized strings, fur balls or tassels.
[1][2] A variation of bashlyk is the kalpak (qalpaq), a cone-shaped headdress without lappets, mostly made of leather, felt or wool,[3] and the malahai, also known as the tymak, a curved cone-shaped headdress, either with or without lappets, mostly made of leather, and occasionally with a fur-wrapping, originally worn by most inhabitants of the Idel-Ural, but nowadays mostly reduced to the Bashkirs.
[5] The origins of this conical headgear can possibly be traced back to the oldest equestrian nomadic peoples in antiquity.
[7][8] In modern times, bashlyks became fashionable in Russia in 1830-1840, after the Napoleonic Wars with significant participation of the Bashkir cavalry.