Achaemenid music
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The Achaemenid Empire, a major state of ancient Iran, lasted from 550 BCE to 330 BCE, in which music played a prominent role.
The Achaemenid Empire was a major state of ancient Iran from 550 BCE to 330 BCE. It arose from the conquests of Cyrus the Great, whose familial dynasty, was named for their mythical progenitor-ancestor Achaemenes.[1] At its height, it was the largest empire by that point in history, spanning from the Balkans to Northern Ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley.[1] A further source of unification arose from the widespread adoption of Zoroastrianism as set forth by the prophet Zoroaster a few centuries earlier.[2] The empire fell to the conquests of Alexander the Great, under whose successors formed the Seleucid Empire.[1]
The earliest music in Persia is difficult to pinpoint, due to a paucity of extant records.[3] Persian music has existed in Persia since at least c. 3300–3100 BCE of the Elam period, from when the earliest artistic depictions of arched harps are dated; it is possible that these instruments existed long before their visual depictions.[4] Later surviving instruments include bull lyres from c. 2450, small Oxus trumpets from c. 2200–1750,[5] and much later, lutes from c. 1300 BCE, which seem to have been popular with the upper class.[6] Rock reliefs of Kul-e Farah from 1st-century BCE, include sophisticated Persian court ensembles, in which the arched harp is central.[7]
