The Place of Oud and its Various Types in the Islamic Eras of Persian Music History

One of the chapters in the history of Iranian music is the place and significance of the musical instrument called Oud. This instrument, initially named “Barbat”, emerged during the Sassanid dynasty. Generally known under the name “Oud” in Islamic era, it became grepopular in Islamic countries. In Iran, this instrument enjoyed great importance until the fall of the Safavid dynasty. From the early treatises on music, dating back to the third or fourth century A.H. to the documents belonging to the Safavid era, Oud was considered the most preponderant instrument in comparison with other instruments. In this paper, we propsose to study the structural features and different types of this instrument. According to the old literature on music, Oud has had various sizes and different types of Oud used to be called by different names. Difference in the number of strings has been another distinctive feature of various types of Oud mentioned in the old literature.