Barbaṭ, a stringed instrument of the lute family, plucked with a plectrum, having a relatively large resonating body and a smaller neck. The barbaṭ is an early musical instrument of Iran. Its name and pictures can be found on items dating from antiquity. For example, a silver goblet from the Sāsānid period, held in the National Museum of Iran, shows a minstrel playing a barbaṭ (Furūgh, 14) and in the Pahlawī text ‘Khusraw Qibādān wa Rīdak’ the name barbaṭ is mentioned as the same class of instruments as the chang (harp), the wan (a harp-like instrument made of chestnut wood) and the tambūr (fret…