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[German version] I. Ancient Near East Music played a significant role in all areas of life of the Ancient Near East, but textual and iconographical evidence is mainly limited to its role in court life and the cultic-religious sphere. The making of music (Sumerian ‘nam-nar’, Akkadian ‘nārūtu’), already a highly specialized area as early as the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, belonged to the fundamental values of civilization. The particular occasion determined the musical form (more than 100 Sumeri…

[German version] I. Preliminary remarks Musical instruments that have been preserved or graphically represented in a clear manner can easily be identified as such. Assigning them to their ancient names, however, and, conversely, assigning ancient names to particular instruments, is often either uncertain or impossible. Furthermore, one and the same musical instrument may have been called by different names. For these reasons, a systematic survey is in order. Since the Hellenistic period, three categories have been recognized: strings (ἐντατά/ entatá, ἔγχορδα/ énchorda, tensib…