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Persian (Farsi) is the national language of Iran . Persian is one of the world's oldest languages, a well-recognized tongue as early as the 6th century B.C., it is an Indo-European language or particularly Irano-Aryan. This dialect was spoken in the province of Fars so its name derived from that. Three forms of Persian is identified by scholars: old, middle, and modern. Old Persian, the language of the great Persian Empire , was utilized until the 3rd century BC. Old Persian extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus River in India . Cuneiform inscriptions of Darius used this language. Middle Persian or Pahlavi, started in the 2nd century B.C., was written with a variation of Assyrian alphabet what can be seen in the Sassanian rock carvings. Middle Persian was used up to 9th century AD. With the Islamic conquest of the 7th century, Arabic script was modified to a non-semitic language. This modification resulted in an alphabet similar to Arabic, with a number of additional characters to accommodate special sounds, but they are altogether two different languages. Modern Persian is spoken by over 40 million people in Iran and another 5 million in Afghanistan . In Afghanistan it is known as Dari. A variety of Persian called Tajik is spoken in the Tajikistan , and is written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Other dialects found in Iran are; Baluchi spoken in Sistan and Baluchestan, and Gilaki spoken in Gilan, northern Iran . In different parts of Iran other languages are spoken such as Kurdish, Arabic, Lori and Turkish Azari in Azarbayjan, and another Turkish dialect spoken by turkmen in North of Khorasan province and East of Mazandaran province. English words of Persian origin include shawl, pajama, taffeta, khaki, kiosk, divan, lilac, jasmine, julep, jackal, caravan, bazaar, checkmate, and dervish.
Based on the latest national survey (1996), Iran 's population is 69,975,000 and growing fast. In 1956, the population was 19 million, but by 2015, Iranian authorities fear it will surge to a staggering 110 million. There has been a dramatic demographic shift from the countryside to urban areas, worsened by the upheavals caused by the Iran-Iraq War, when millions of war refugees headed for the large towns and stayed put. About 60% of the population now live in cities; and about 15% squeeze into Tehran . More than 300,000 nomads still roam the plains and mountain pastures.
Iran is by no means a homogeneous country. Its location at the crossroads of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Central Asia, and the changing frontiers of the Persian Empire throughout the centuries, has ensured that a multitude of peoples make their home within Iranian borders. The sheer diversity of the Iranian population, combined with centuries of mixing and migration, have made it difficult to draw even the vaguest of boundaries for the various ethnic groups inhabiting present-day Iran .
More than 51% of the inhabitants of Iran can be called Persians (Parsi). They are the descendants of the Elamite and Aryan races who first set up camp in the central plateau back in the 2nd millennium B.C., and gave Persia its name. Persians live in Tehran .
Azaris form the largest minority in Iran , with about 24% of the population. They speak a Turkic language, and mainly live in small villages in the Azerbaijan provinces.
Gilakis and Mazandaranis together are the third largest population in Iran (8% of total population). They live in the north of Iran , southern coasts of the Caspian sea .
Kurds are spread across a large area of the Middle East , including a good part of eastern Turkey (maybe 10 million), north-eastern Iraq and small pockets of Syria . Although they have been around longer than any other people in the region (at least since the 2nd millennium BC), Kurds have never enjoyed the status of nationhood. They are 7% of the total population.
About 3% of the population are Arabs (roughly 2.5 million). Most live in Khuzistan province; on some of the smaller Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf ; and along the southern coast, where they have become partly Persianised and are often known as Bandaris, from the Persian word for "port". Arab men usually wear the traditional floorlength shirt-dress which is called Thobe or dishdasha, as well as the loose headscarf called gutra. Most Arabs in Iran still speak a dialect of Arabic.
Representing about 2% of the population, they thought to be part Persian and part arab in origin. Though they are probably a mix of the kasits and medes who came to Iran thousand years ago.
whose name literally means "The wanderers", are one of the few peoples who largely retain a semi-nomadic way of life, perhaps because the extremely arid region where they roam, is hardly suited to sparsely populated desert region covering the far south-east of Iran and the far west of Pakistan. Very able riders, the Baluchis are famous for their camel races.
Of Turkic origin, Turkmen (who make up about 2% of Iran's total population) mostly live in the Torkman Sahra, the plain occupying much of the east of Mazandaran province and the north of Khorasan province; and next to the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan.
The Bakhtiaris, live in remote parts of the provinces of Chaharmahal va Bakhteyari and Khuzistan , though many of them have now settled in villages and towns.
The Ghashghis live mainly in the central province of Fars . Many are still nomadic. Like so many of the minority peoples of Iran , the Ghashghais are of Turkic stock, and have always been hard to subjugat
Armenians and Hebrews are scattered throughout Iran , mostly in the cities. Armenians are particularly prominent in Tehran and Esfahan , and are renowned for their technical and business skills. Hebrews have lived in Iran for more than 2500 years, but only a few thousand remain in Tehran , Shiraz and Esfahan
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One of the most noble forms of Persian literature is poetry. Iranians highly value their poets who kept their culture and language alive even during numerous invasions. Persian poetry is as ancient as Avesta (the holy book of Zoroastrians ) where first form of poetry is documented.
Persian poets express their creativity in different forms and styles. The earliest poetry was of two types. One was the ballad and the other was the epic. The ballad later developed into different forms such as lyric, hymn, satire and panegyric. The epic poem is an enlarged ballad. Therefore, the origin of all poetry is in the ballad although no records have remained from these primitive ballads.
Persian songs goes back to 3000 BC to the time of king Jamshid. Xenophon wrote about songs that were sung when Cyrus the Great was still a boy. The halls of the Achaemenian palace at Persepolis echoed with the poetic singing of the tale of the romantic love of Zariadres and Odatis. ( Persian history )
The history of poetry and song during the time of Parthian rule is unrecorded. However, Sassanian culture cherished poetic art.
The Arab conquest influenced the Persian vocabulary causing an even smoother poetic verse. Poetry, nursed for 200 years by the care of three dynasties (Tahirid, Saffarid, Samanid). Therefore, it was during ninth century when the new form of Persian poetry began which is found today.
Persian language stands apart among all Eastern languages in poetry. Persian language is soft and expressive. There are many options for Persian poets in use of words because there are many meanings to one word and many ways to express one's thought. That is why Persian poetry and language are rich in expression.
One of the early forms of poetry was qasida in royal courts. Qasida are poems of more than 100 couplets that do not rhyme. Anvari was one of the poets who used qasida.
Ghazal from about 12th century is another form of lyric. Ghazal poems were a much shorter form, 10 couplets that do not rhyme and mainly used to express love, both human or mystic. Hafez and Saadi mastered this form of poetry.
Rubai and dobaty are both four lines poems which are distinguished from each other by their rhythm. They may express mystical, romantic or philosophical themes. Omar Khayam is one of the pioneers in writing Rubai and his books are translated into many languages. Masnavi with its unique rhyming couplets was utilized for epic poems. Avesta included epic poetry. Ferdosi wrote the Shahnameh or 'Book Of Kings,' which is a finished form of epic poetry with 50,000 couplets. The narrative form of masnavi was used by Nizami . Masnavi was also used by the mystic poets Farid od Din Attar who wrote The Conference of The Birds and Jalaluddin Rumi who wrote the Masnavi Manawi.
There are different English (German, French, etc) spellings for the poets names:
POETS & POETRY |
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Hafez - (Hafiz) |
Ferdosi - (Ferdowsi) |
Jalaluddin Rumi - (Moulana) |
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Omar Khayam - (Khayyam) |
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Nizami - (Nezami) |
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Baba Taher - (Tahir) |
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No Ruz, new day or New Year as the Iranians call it, is a celebration of spring Equinox. It has been celebrated by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia . Sumerians, 3000BC, Babylonians 2000 BC, the ancient kingdom of Elam in Southern Persia 2000BC, Akaddians all have been celebrating it in one form or another. What we have today as No Ruz with its' uniquely Iranian characteristics has been celebrated for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the traditions of Zoroastrian belief system.
This was the religion of Ancient Persia before the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. It is known as the mother religion in the area. The familiar concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, coming of the Messiah, individual and last judgment were for the first time incorporated into this belief system. They still exist in Judo-Christian and Islamic traditions. In order to understand No Ruz we have to know about Zoroastrians' cosmology.
These people believed in two primal forces. In their ancient text, Bundahishn foundation of creation, we read that The Lord of Wisdom residing in the eternal light was not God. He created all that was good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), residing in the eternal darkness created all that was bad and became the Hostile Spirit (The word anger in English comes from the same origin).
Everything that produced life, protected and enriched it was regarded as good. This included all forces of nature beneficial to humans. Earth, waters, sky, animals, plants were all good. Justice, honesty, peace, health, beauty, joy and happiness were regarded as belonging to the good forces. All that threatened life and created disorder belonged to the hostile spirits.
The two worlds created did not have a material form but the essence of everything was present. The two existed side by side for three thousand years, but completely separate from each other. At the end of the third millennium the Hostile Spirit saw light, wanted it and attacked the good world. This was the beginning of all troubles we face now.
The Lord of Wisdom in order to protect his world created the material world "Gaeity",Geety in modern Persian. This material world was created at seven different stages. The first creation was the sky, a big chunk of stone high above. The second creation was the first ocean, at the bottom. Earth a big flat dish sitting on the ocean was the third. The next three creations were the prototypes of all life forms. The first plant, the first animal a bull and the first human Gayo-maretan (Kiomarth), both male and female. The seventh creation was fire and sun together.
The struggle continues for 12000 years. There are four periods, each 3000 years. At the last phase several saviors come and the last one Saoshyant will save the world. When he comes there is resurrection, walking over the Chinvat Bridge ( Sarat Bridge in Quran) and last judgement. We recognize this figure as Time Lord (Imam Zaman) in Iranian version of Shiite Islam.
In order to protect his creations the Lord of Wisdom also created six holly immortals, Amesha Spenta one for each creation. Khashtra (Sharivar), the protector of sky, Asha-Vahishta (Ordibehesht) protected fire. Vahu Manah (Bahman) for all animals, Haurvatat (Khordad) protected all waters, Spenta Armaiti (Esphand) a female deity protector of mother earth and Ameratat (Amurdad) supported all plant life. Ahura Mazda himself became the protector of all humans and the holly fire.
There was one problem with this material world, it did not have a life cycle. The sun did not move. There were no days or nights and no seasons. The three prototypes of life were sacrificed. From the plant came the seeds of all plants. The bull produced all animals and from the human came the first male and female. The rest of the humanity was created from their union. The cycle of life started. Sun moved, there was day, night and the seasons. This was called the first No Ruz.
The Lord of Wisdom also created guardian angles (forouhars) for all living beings. Every human had one as long as they stayed with the good forces. As we see in the myth of Azydahak in Avesta, the Zoroastrians' holly book. We know this figure as Zahak in modern Persian. A prince, he chooses the Hostile Spirit as his protector. He was made a king, ruled for 999 years and became immortal.
Zoroaster (Zardosht) the architect of this cosmology introduced many feasts, festivals and rituals to pay homage to the seven creations and the holly immortals. Seven were amongst the most important. They are known as Gahambars, feasts of obligation. The last and the most elaborate was No Ruz, celebrating the Lord of Wisdom and the holly fire at the time of spring equinox.
The oldest archaeological record for No Ruz celebration comes from the Achaemenian (Hakhamaneshi) period over 2500 years ago. They created the first major empire in the region and built Persepolis complex (Takhte Jamshid) in central Iran . This magnificent palace/temple complex was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 334 BC.
Achaemenians had four major residences one for each season. Persepolis was their spring residence and the site for celebrating the New Year. Stone carvings show the king seated on his throne receiving his subjects, governors and ambassadors from various nations under his control. They are presenting him with gifts and paying homage to him. We do not know too much about the details of the rituals. We do know that mornings were spent praying and performing other religious rituals. Later on during the day the guests would be entertained with feasts and celebrations.
We also know that the ritual of sacred marriage took place at this palace. An ancient and common ritual in Mesopotamia , the king would spend the first night of the New Year with a young woman. Any offspring produced from this union would be sent back to the temples and they would normally end up as high-ranking religious officials. There is no evidence that this was practiced later on and was part of the New Year rituals.
What we have today as No Ruz goes back to the Sassanid period. They were the last great Persian Empire before the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. Their celebrations would start five days prior to the New Year. They believed the guardian angles (Fourohars) would come down to earth within these five days to visit their human counter parts. A major spring-cleaning was carried out to welcome them with feasts and celebrations. Bon fires would be set on rooftops at night to indicate to the guardian angles that humans were ready to receive them. This was called Suri Festival.
Modern Iranians still carry out the spring-cleaning and celebrate Wednesday Suri. Bon fires are made and all people will jump over the fire on the last Tuesday of the year. This is a purification rite and Iranians believe by going over the fire they will get rid of all their illnesses and misfortunes. Wednesday Suri did not exist before Islam and very likely is a combination of more than one ritual to make it last.
The ancient Zoroastrians would also celebrate the first five days of No Ruz, but it was the sixth day that was the most important of all. This day was called the Great No Ruz (No Ruze bozorg) and is assumed to be the birthday of Zoroaster himself. Zoroastrians today still celebrate this day, but it has lost its significance for the rest of the Iranians. In Sassanid period the New Year would be celebrated for 21 days and on the 19th day there would be another major festival.
Modern Iranians celebrate New Year for 13 days only. The first few days are spent visiting older members of the family other relatives and friends. Gifts are exchanged; sweets and feasts will be consumed. At the last day, the 13th of the first month, all people will leave their homes to go to the parks or rural areas to spend a day in nature. Again this was not celebrated in this manner before and might be several rituals in one. A major part of the New Year rituals is setting a special table with seven specific items present, Haft Sin (Haft chin, seven crops before Islam). In the ancient times each of the items corresponded to one of the seven creations and the seven holly immortals protecting them.
Today they are changed and modified but some have kept their symbolism. All the seven items start with the letter S; this was not the order in ancient times. Wheat or barley representing new growth is still present. Fish the most easily obtainable animal and water are present. Lit candles are a symbol of fire. Mirrors are used today, origin unknown. These were expensive items in ancient times and were made from polished metal. It is unlikely that all households would have one. Zoroastrians today place the lit candle in front of the mirror. Wine was always present. Today it is replaced by vinegar since alcohol is banned in Islam.
Egg a universal symbol of fertility corresponding to the mother earth is still present. Garlic is used to warn off bad omen. This is a modern introduction. There is no evidence that it was used in that context before. However the ancient Iranians would grow seven different herbs for the New Year and garlic might have been one of those. Samano a thick brownish paste is present today. It is a nutritious meal and could have been part of the feasts. It is also possible that it has replaced Haoma.
Haoma is a scared herbal mix known for its healing properties. It was a major cult on its own with many rituals and ceremonies. The cult is still performed by the Zoroastrians today, but is abandoned by the rest of the Iranians. Coins symbolizing wealth and prosperity, fruits and special meals are present as well.
Why this festival has survived? There have been major attempts by the Muslim rulers over the centuries to minimize it, ban it or get rid of it once for all. The reasons for their failure should be sought in the spirit of this festival. Contrary to the Islamic traditions where death and martyrdom mark all the major rituals, No Ruz is a celebration of life.
Forces of nature completely beyond them dominated people in ancient times. They formed a union with these forces to protect themselves. Through this union they created a balance and maintained the cosmic order Asha. Without it there would be chaos, the world of the Hostile Spirit (Ahriman). The Zoroastrians were and are required to have the same mind, the same voice and act the same way as their god the Lord of Wisdom.
They are expected to only think of good things, speak the good words and act the good deeds. Our celebrated poet Ferdousi over a thousand years ago virtually single handedly translated Avestan mythology into modern Persian. A Zoroastrian who was persecuted all his life because of his fate; he starts his book in the name of the Lord of Life and Wisdom (beh nameh khodavand jaan o kherad). The lord of life and wisdom was Ahura Mazda's title in the Avestan texts of the Sassanid period. Lord or not, life and wisdom are what that makes us humans. We are the only beings who know we have a life and what we do with our lives depend on the wisdom. At the end of the millennium with the mess this planet is in we need that wisdom more than ever. Creating a balance with nature and maintaining order are very relevant.
Mir-e-Norouz, Atash Afrouz and Hadji Firouz, are traditional expressions that herald the joyous coming of Norouz. Hadji Firouz is regarded as the more enduring of the other two New Year announcers.
According to Iranian tradition, Hadji Firouz was a man in red clothes who went from street to street singing and beating a tambourine on New Year's eve (which is also the eve of spring). He was usually accompanied by one or two other persons. It is said that he and his companions were symbols of an old custom in Azarbaijan, called "Chisdon Chikhdim," according to which Haji Firouz sang from the streets to inform people that spring had come and that winter has gone. In return, people gave him gifts or money for the good news that he brought.
The Norooz holiday season includes several symbolic and meaningful celebrations and rituals beginning with the last Wednesday of the year, called the Chahar Shanbeh Soori (translation yields "Wednesday Fire").On Tuesday evening (the night before the last Wednesday) every family celebrates the Chahar Shanbeh Soori.
At the center of this traditional celebration is giving thanks for the fortune of having made it through another healthy year and to exchange any remaining paleness and evil with the life and warmth of the fire. Chahar Shanbeh Soori is deeply rooted in Iranians' Zoroastrian past (Persian people's dominant religion prior to Islam). The part of this night especially popular with the youngsters is the bonfire. Every family gathers several piles of wood or brush to be lit shortly after the sunset.
All family members line up and take turns jumping safely along (and over) the burning piles, singing to the fire:
"Sorkheeyeh toe az man; zardeeyeh man az toe."
This may be roughly translated into: "Your redness (health) is mine; my paleness (pain) is yours."
Although a recent addition and generally against the law in the urban areas, the sights and sounds of fireworks are very common to this night.
Another routine of the Chahar Shanbeh Soori festival is the Iranian version of Trick or Treating associated with the Western Halloween night. Flocks of often young trick , hidden under a traditional Chador (veil) go from door to door banging a spoon against a metal bowl asking for treats or money.
Another old and almost obsolete Chahar Shanbeh Soori ritual is (fortune hearing!) This ritual was carried out usually by young women wanting to know their chances of finding the "Mr. Right" in the coming year. Falgoosh is the act of standing in a dark corner or behind a wall and listening to the conversations of the passersby and trying to interpret their statements or the topic of their dialogue as an answer to one's question(s)! This is analogous to calling a psychic reader to find out your fortune!
In the past several decades Falgoosh has gradually become an almost unacceptable and "politically incorrect" ritual and is seldom practiced in the major urban areas.
This is another ritual in which someone makes a wish and stands at the corner of an intersection , or on a terrace or behind a wall. That person will know his fortune when he overhears conversation of a passerby.
Iran the custom of welcoming the New Year by making a general house cleaning is also practiced. "Spring clean" is observed days before Norouz with Iranians cleaning every part o the house, dusting furniture and washing carpets. The practice complements the new season and freshness that comes along with spring and New Year. The old Iranian tradition of making houses very clean and spice and span for the New Year celebration is rooted in the belief that the soul of departed family members will come and visit the homes of loved ones on Norouz eve.
The practice of preparing New Year sprouts from wheat for the New Year's eve "Haft Seen" is an ancient one.
As far as tradition goes, generation to generation of Iranian families used to put up 12 mud-brick columns around their royal courtyards, each planted with a particular kind of seed. The seeds planted were usually wheat, barley, rice, bean, broad bean, lentil, millet, chick pea, sesame, and maize.
Harvesting time was accompanied by the singing and playing of musical instruments on the 6th of Farvardin (March 27) of every year, with joy and happiness evident in each Iranian family gathered around the courtyard.
The number of mud pillars represent the 12 months of the year. The mud pillars are to be kept intact until the 16th of Farvardin wen the whole family is to assess the growth of the seeds. The seed that produces the tallest growth is chosen as the year's choice plant for cultivation.
Growing sprouts in homes for the Norouz has its peculiar process and is the responsibility of housewives.
At least ten days before Norouz a housewife takes a handful of seeds, the quantity depending on the number of family members, and makes a wish for health, happiness and prosperity as she places them in a clay pot full of water until they germinate and turn white.
She then spreads them apart in a piece of cloth until they sprout. When the sprouts appear, she transfers them to a copper plate and covers them with a piece of cloth sprayed with water.
When the green plants reach a certain height the housewife ties them with a red ribbon.
With the passing of a year and the coming of another, Iranians get their tables ready with the seven articles that symbolize the triumph of good over evil. The belief dates back to antiquity but the practice is still very much alive. The seven articles usually used are vinegar (serkeh), apple (seeb), garlic (seer), wild olive (senjed), sumac (somaq), juice of germinating wheat or malt mixed with flour and brought to a consistency (Samanu) and a dish of specially raised wheat or other seed spour (Sabzeh). Note that all articles begin with the Persian "s" sound.
Number seven has been regarded as magical by Iranians since ancient times and is symbolic of heaven's highest angels.
Along with the seven articles, Muslims place the Holy Qur'an and Zoroastrians put the Avesta in their New Year table to implore God's blessings. A jar of water is sometimes added to symbolize purity and freshness, along with bread, a traditional symbol of a sustainer of life. It is usual to see fresh milk, cheese, fruits, dates and coins on the New Year table. Wild olives and apples are symbols of love and pomegranates are fruits venerated by Iranians. Coins are used to symbolize prosperity and spherical sour oranges represent the earth.
When the clock strikes New Year all the members of the family in their clean and new outfits gather around the Norouz table and Haftseen. The family begins the New Year with a prayer for health, happiness and prosperity, usually along these lines: "O Reformer of hearts and minds, Director of day and night and Transformer of conditions, change ours to the best in accordance with Your will."
After the initial celebration to welcome the New Year, the members of the family hug and kiss each other, eat the bounties prepared for the New Year and wish each other the best.
Then the oldest member of the family (usually the father) presents the Eidi (New Year's gift) to younger members. The Eidi usually consists of new and unused paper money that have been put between the pages of the Holy Book.
Visiting relatives during Norouz is among other customs widely practiced.
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On the thirteenth day of the new year, which also marks the end of the Norooz holiday break for the students, families leave their houses and head for the outdoors where they eat, play games, and celebrate a happy and healthy holiday season.
This tradition is called Seezdah Bedar (seezdah means thirteen) which in English translates to "getting rid of thirteen". This fun and exciting outing involves all family members and is intended to end the holiday season on a relaxing and positive note. The concept of avoiding the number thirteen is mainly to symbolize the will and power to deal with all evil in the new year.
An interesting ritual performed at the end of the picnic day is to throw away the Sabzee from the Norooz Haft Seen table. The sabzee is supposed to have collected all the sickness, pain and ill fate hiding on the path of the family throughout the coming year! Touching someone else's sabzee on this thirteenth day or bringing it home is, therefore, not a good idea and may result in inviting their pain and hardship to oneself.
Another meaningful ritual performed with the dumping of the sabzee is that young single women tie the sabzee leaves prior to discarding it, symbolizing the wish to be tied in a marriage by the Seezdah Bedar of the following year!
About the music of the Elamites not much is known; however, we know of a ruler of Susa who had musician at his temple gate about 2600 BC. There are also the bas-relief which shows musicians playing harps and tambourine. It is possible that there was not a lot of difference between Babylonian-Assyrian music and Iran at that time and the Persian names of tabire (drum) and karranay (trumpet) may be derived from names of the Akkadian tabbalu and qarnu.
After the conquest of Alexander the Great when Hellenistic culture found expression in Persia , one might suppose that Greek derived the name of salpinx (trumpet) from Iranians. During Parthian period ( beginning 2nd century BC) when Aramaic became the official language, the word shaipur (trumpet) which is Semitic may be taken from Aramaic word.
Sassanian dynasty cherished music as shown on rock carvings of Taq-i Bustan which are two types of harp, trumpet and drums. Also, lute (ud), guitar (rubab) and pandore (tanbura) can be seen from other arts. One can name Barbad, Shirin, and Azada as famous musicians of this era. We also know that specific modes of music were used at certain hours of the day, week, and month, each for a particular purpose as a part of governmental procedure.
After the Arab conquest, Arabic music became known in Iran . At the same time, Persian music influenced Arabic music. In the 10th century, Persian musicians became favorite at Arab court and the Persian lute was a favored instrument.
In the 9th century, the Khorasanian scale was introduced. The musicians played on Persian tanbur which became as popular as lute. The nay (flute), chang (harp), rabab (viol), and the nay-i siyah (reedpipe) were also common instruments at the time.
Persian musical instruments: Drum, Tombak, Ney, Santur
M. Nejad on Ney
Persian theorists were leaders in Arabian musical theory, for example, Al-Razi and Al-Sarakhsi. Ibn Sina mentions twelve principal modes of music:Rahawi, Husain, Rast, Busalik, Zangula, Ushshaq, Hijaz , Iraq , Ispahan, Nava, Buzurg, and Mukhalif (zirafgand). We know little about their formation. Four of modes mentioned above have Arabic names which may indicate Arabian origin. Ispahan was named as one of the ancient modes of Persia . There are also six secondary modes (avazat).
During Ghuri rulers and Khwarizmi (12th -13 th century) music grew. Two notable theorists of this era were Fakhr al-Din al Razi and nasir al-Din al Tusi. Another Persian theorist was Qutb al Din al-Shirazi who was famous for Pearl of Crown (Durrat al-taj). In the Treasure-House of Gift (Kanz al -Tahaf) an important work in 1350, ud (lute), rubab (guitar), mughni ( archlute), chang (harp), nuzha, qanun (psaltery), ghishak (spiked viol), pisha (fife) and nay-i siyah (reedpipe) are completely described. In other places, dutar ( two strings) and sitar (three strings) exquisite of poet Hafez are mentioned.
During Timuri Dynasty, Abdal-Qadir ibn Ghaibi lived who wrote The compiler of Melodies (Jami al-alhan) which is cherished in the Bodleian Library at Oxford . By the 14th and 15th century, twenty four branch modes (shuba) and forty eight derived modes (gusha) began, respectively. By the 17th century, there were twenty four of rhythmic modes (usul).
Under Safavid Dynasty, chartar (four strings) and sheshtar (six strings) musical instruments were invented. Ud (lute) and kamancha (spiked viol) were the most favorite instruments with addition of nay (flute) and daira (tambourine) as can be seen in a painting of Shah Safi court. Surnay (shawm), naqqarat (kettledrums), karna (long trumpet), duhul (side drum), and kus (kettledrum) were for military uses. Persian theory especially in nomenclature influenced Indian, Arabian, Turkish and Turkomanian music. Even China through Turkomans was affected by Persian instruments.
By the 19th century, ud (lute), rubab (guitar), qanun (psaltery) were not in use but santur (dulcimer) was still used. During the second half of the 19th century, three viols rumuz, madilan, and tarab angiz were introduced.
About the mid century, European influence found its way into Persia , mostly in military bands. In the early 20th century, Ali Naqi khan Vaziri a teacher, a composer and instrumentalist played an important role in reviving and advancing the native music of Persia . Vaziri gives the notation of most popular modes (avaz); Mahur, humayun, Bayat-i Ispahan, chahargah, shur, segah, nava, and bayat-i kurd. Pish dar amad is an introduction which prepares the listener for dastgah (melodic modes) which are the pieces to come.
