A khorjin (also spelled khorjeen) is a double-bag textile — two woven pouches connected by a flat woven strip that allows them to be draped over the back of a pack animal, the saddle of a horse, or worn over the shoulder of a person. Khorjin were standard functional textiles across virtually every Oriental rug-weaving region.

Structure of a khorjin:

  • Two bag faces — one at each end, forming the pouches when folded
  • Connecting middle strip — the flat woven section between the two bags; rests across the animal's back or the wearer's shoulder
  • Closures — typically loops and woven cords at the bag openings, or fold-over flaps
  • Backs — often a plain or simply-patterned weave on the back of each bag, with the decorative front face being the focus of design work

Function across nomadic and semi-nomadic societies:

  • Pack animal storage — slung across the back of a horse, donkey, mule, or camel for transporting goods during travel
  • Personal carrying — smaller khorjin worn over the shoulder for daily errands and market trips
  • Household storage — when not in transit, hung on tent walls or stored as decorative pieces
  • Trade and travel — particularly important to merchants, travelers, and seasonal migrants

Khorjin sizes and types:

  • Full-size khorjin — large pieces for pack animals, typically with each bag face measuring 18-30 inches square
  • Half-size khorjin — smaller for shoulder carry or smaller animals
  • Chanteh — a related smaller bag form, often a single pouch rather than a paired double-bag
  • Heybe — Turkish term, generally equivalent to khorjin

Construction techniques:

  • Pile knot — many khorjin from Turkmen, Caucasian, and Persian traditions are knotted with pile on the bag faces
  • Soumak — particularly common in Shahsavan, Caucasian, and Persian Baluch khorjin
  • Kilim flatweave — used widely across regions for simpler khorjin
  • Combination — many khorjin combine pile faces with kilim backs, or soumak faces with kilim middle strips

Major khorjin traditions:

  • Persian tribal khorjin — Qashqai, Bakhtiari, Afshar, Baluch, Shahsavan, Luri
  • Caucasian khorjin — Shirvan, Kazak, Karabakh
  • Turkmen khorjin — Tekke, Yomut, Salor, Ersari (in the broader Turkmen "bag" category)
  • Anatolian khorjin — from various Yörük and Kurdish tribes

In the antique market, khorjin are particularly collected because they showcase tribal weavers' best design work — the bag faces were often more elaborately patterned than full-size rugs from the same weavers. The combination of small scale, intense pattern density, and authentic tribal character makes complete khorjin pairs (both bags + middle strip intact) some of the most decoratively useful tribal pieces for contemporary interiors.