Qanun (instrument)

The qanun, kanun, ganoun or kanoon (Arabic: قانون, romanized: qānūn; Armenian: քանոն, romanized: k’anon; Sorani Kurdish: قانون, romanized: qānūn; Greek: κανονάκι, romanized: kanonáki, qanun; Persian: قانون, qānūn; Turkish: kanun; Azerbaijani: qanun; Uyghur: قالون, romanized: qalon) is a Middle Eastern string instrument played either solo, or more often as part of an ensemble, in much of Iran, Arab East, and Arab Maghreb region of North Africa, later it reached West Africa, Central Asia due to Arab migration. It was also common in ancient (and modern-day) Armenia, and Greece. The name derives ultimately from Ancient Greek: κανών kanōn, meaning "rule, law, norm, principle". The qanun traces one of its origins to a stringed Assyrian instrument from the Old Assyrian Empire, specifically from the nineteenth century BC in Mesopotamia. This instrument came inscribed on a box of elephant ivory found in the old Assyrian capital Nimrud (ancient name: Caleh). The instrument is a type of large zither with a thin trapezoidal soundboard that is famous for its unique melodramatic sound.