Parthian music
The
The gōsān (Persian: گوسان) poet-musician minstrels were a central tradition, probably originating in the earlier Achaemenid period. Little is known of them, though Greek commentators recall panegyrical themes in their songs. A wide variety of instruments were used, often to accompany the gōsān. They included both single and double reed wind instruments, such as the panpipes (syrinx), transverse flute, small trumpets and the aulos, as well as string instruments such as the kithara, harps, lyres, lute and tanbur. At least some of these, such as harps, lutes and lyres, originated in earlier periods.
Compared to their Western rival, the Roman Empire, much less is known about the Parthians, but information on music can be gathered from a few Parthian texts, accounts from Greek and Roman writers, some archeological evidence, and a variety of visual sources. The last of these are usually from either the archeological sites and former settlements of Hatra or Nisa, and include terracotta plaques, reliefs and illustrations on drinking horns known as rhytons or in Persian, takuk (Persian: تکوک).
Background
Due to a paucity of surviving records, it is impossible to create a thorough outline of the earliest music in Persia.
The
Overview
Sources
Information on Parthian music use comes from a few Parthian texts,
Towards the empire's later period, the first half of the 2nd century saw the increasing presence of Christian music. In particular, the East Syrian liturgy was practiced above the Tigris river, having made its way there through Edessa, Roman Syria (modern-day Urfa, Turkey). This occurred simultaneously with many of the other Parthian music traditions.[19]
Instruments and occasions
In general, most Parthian instruments seem to be based on those of Greece, Rome and Egypt.
Music was standard in the education of Parthian youth.[21] The Greek Geographer Strabo noted that the teachers would even "wake the boys up before dawn by the sound of brazen instruments".[22]
Specific elements
Drums
The rhoptron drum is among the better known instruments of the Parthians.[23] These large drums were used in warfare, with Plutarch noting that the Parthians "had rightly judged that, of all the senses, hearing is the one most apt to confound the soul, soonest rouses its emotions and most effectively unseats the judgement".[16][24] The musicologist Thomas J. Mathiesen notes that although the instrument is often rendered in English as tambourine, it more closely resembles a snare drum.[25] He explains that an ensemble of tambourine could not arose the same fear as large snare drums.[25]
The rhoptron is considered an early predecessor of the modern-day Timpani.[26]
Minstrels
Based on textual and artistic representations, the gōsān (also 'gusan'; Persian: گوسان) minstrel tradition was seemingly prominent in Parthian society,[19] and had probably originated in the earlier Achaemenid period.[7] A gōsān was a poet-musician though there was much variety within the tradition.[27] They would sing in Markets during peacetime, and were probably accompanied by instrumentalists.[15] Essentially nothing is known of their training and extremely little examples of their songs survive.[28] Based on later evidence, their songs would "proclaim the worthiness of kings and heroes of old".[29] This is affirmed by Strabo, who notes in his Geographica (XV.3.18) that young men would sing of "the deeds both of the gods and of the noblest men".[19][22] In the "Life of Crassus" from his Parallel Lives, Plutarch noted that the gōsān would also ridicule the Romans, as they "sang many scurrilous and ridiculous songs about the effeminacy and cowardice of Crassus".[30]
Later influence
Parthian music, along with that of the Achaemenids,
The Parthian gōsān tradition made a substantial influence on that music of Armenia, where a similar gōsān art developed. The Armenian gōsān sang on similar topics of heroism, which were often performed with instrumental accompaniment.[19]
References
Notes
- ^ Kept in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, found in Iran. Inv. Nr.: B 1952/2.1[1]
- ^ Ellerbrock 2021, p. 189 notes that most ancient societies, like the Parthians, held music in high regard.
Citations
- ^ Ellerbrock 2021, p. 191.
- ^ During 1991a, p. 39.
- ^ Lawergren 2001, §2 "3rd millennium BCE: (i) Arched harps".
- ^ Lawergren 2001, §2 "3rd millennium BCE: (ii) Bull lyres, (iii) Trumpets".
- ^ Lawergren 2001, §3 "2nd millennium BCE: (ii) Lutes".
- ^ Lawergren 2001, §4 "1st millennium BCE: (i) Elamite harp ensembles".
- ^ a b c Lawergren 2001, §4 "1st millennium BCE: (iii) Achaemenid period, 550–331 BCE".
- ^ Farhat 2004, p. 3.
- ^ Boyce 1957, pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b c Ellerbrock 2021, p. 1.
- ^ a b c Colledge 1967, p. 17.
- ^ a b Ellerbrock 2021, p. xxiv.
- ^ a b Lawergren 2001a, § paras. 1–3.
- ^ Boyce 1957, p. 10.
- ^ a b c Ellerbrock 2021, pp. 190–191.
- ^ a b c d e Lawergren 2001a, § para. 2.
- ^ Ellerbrock 2021, p. 190.
- ^ a b Ellerbrock 2021, p. 189.
- ^ a b c d e f Lawergren 2001a, § para. 1.
- ^ Herodian 1961, p. 1126.
- ^ Ellerbrock 2021, p. 188.
- ^ a b Strabo 1932, p. 179.
- ^ Nikonorov 2000, p. 71.
- ^ Plutarch 1916, p. 387.
- ^ a b Mathiesen 2019, §5 "Musical instruments".
- ^ Blades 2001, § §3 "To c1600".
- ^ Boyce 2012, § paras. 1, 7.
- ^ Boyce 1957, p. 18.
- ^ Boyce 1957, p. 11.
- ^ Plutarch 1916, p. 419.
- ^ During 1991a, p. 37.
- ^ Lawergren 2001, §5 "Sassanian period, 224–651 CE.".
Sources
Early
- Herodian (1961) [(3rd century)]. "Book 4: Chapter XI". History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus. Translated by Echols, Edward C. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Plutarch (1916) [(2nd century)]. "Life of Crassus". Parallel Lives. Vol. III. Translated by Perrin, Bernadotte (Loeb Classical Library 65 ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Strabo (1932) [(5th century)]. "Book XV: Chapter 3". Geography. Translated by Jones, Horace Leonard (Loeb Classical Library 267 ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Modern
- Books
- Colledge, M.A.R. (1967). The Parthians. New York: OCLC 969998589.
- Ellerbrock, Uwe (2021). The Parthians: The Forgotten Empire. Abingdon-on-Thames: ISBN 978-1-000-35848-3.
- ISBN 978-0-521-54206-7.
- ISBN 978-0-934211-22-2.
- During, Jean. "Historical Survey". In During & Mirabdolbaghi (1991a), pp. 31–56.
- During, Jean; Mirabdolbaghi, Zia. "The Instruments of Yesterday and Today". In During & Mirabdolbaghi (1991b), pp. 99–152.
- Articles
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- S2CID 161761104.
- Boyce, Mary (2012) [2002]. "Gōsān". Encyclopædia Iranica. Leiden: Brill Publishers.
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Lawergren, Bo. "I. Pre-Islamic". In Lawergren, Farhat & Blum (2001).
- Nikonorov, Valerii P. (2000). "The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare: the Parthian and Middle Asian Evidence". In Hickmann, Ellen; Laufs, Ingo; OCLC 46766984.
- Romanou, Katy; ISBN 9781561592630. (subscription or UK public library membershiprequired)
- Mathiesen, Thomas J. "II. Ancient". In Romanou et al. (2019).
External links
- Image of a Parthian musician