Editing History of music (section)

====Parthian and Sasanian periods====
{{further|Parthian music|Sasanian music}}
[[File:Parthian lute player.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Terracotta statue of a Parthian lute player]]
The [[Parthian Empire]] (247 BCE to 224 CE) saw an increase in textual and iconographical depictions of musical activity and instruments. 2nd century BCE Parthian ''[[rhyton|rhuta]]'' (drinking horns) found in the ancient capital of [[Nisa, Turkmenistan|Nisa]] include some of the most vivid depictions of musicians from the time. Pictorial evidence such as [[terracotta]] plaques show female harpists, while plaques from [[Babylon]] show [[panpipes]], as well as string (harps, lutes and lyres) and percussion instruments ([[tambourines]] and [[Clapper (musical instrument)|clapper]]s). Bronze statues from [[Dura-Europos]] depict larger panpipes and double aulos. Music was evidently used in ceremonies and celebrations; a Parthian-era stone [[frieze]] in [[Hatra]] shows a wedding where musicians are included, playing trumpets, tambourines, and a variety of flutes. Other textual and iconographical evidence indicates the continued prominence of ''gōsān'' minstrels. However, like the Achaemenid period, Greek writers continue to be a major source for information on Parthian music. [[Strabo]] recorded that the ''gōsān'' learned songs telling tales of gods and noblemen, while [[Plutarch]] similarly records the ''gōsān'' lauding Parthian heroes and mocking Roman ones. Plutarch also records, much to his bafflement, that ''[[rhoptra]]'' (large drums) were used by the [[Parthian army]] to prepare for war.{{sfn|Lawergren|2001a}}

[[File:Harp-Sassanid.png|left|thumb|{{circa|379 CE}} [[Bas relief]] of [[Sassanid]] women playing the ''[[Chang (instrument)|chang]]'' in [[Taq-e Bostan]], Iran]]
The [[Sasanian]] period (226–651 CE), however, has left ample evidence of music. This influx of Sasanian records suggests a prominent musical culture in the Empire,{{sfn|Farhat|2012|loc="Historic Retrospective"}} especially in the areas dominated by [[Zoroastrianism]].{{sfn|Lawergren|2001|loc="5. Sassanian period, 224–651 CE."}} Many Sassanian [[Shahanshah]]s were ardent supporters of music, including the founder of the empire [[Ardashir I]] and [[Bahram V]].{{sfn|Lawergren|2001|loc="5. Sassanian period, 224–651 CE."}} [[Khosrow II]] ({{reign|590|628}}) was the most outstanding [[patron]], his reign being regarded as a [[golden age]] of Persian music.{{sfn|Lawergren|2001|loc="5. Sassanian period, 224–651 CE."}} Musicians in Khosrow's service include Āzādvar-e Changi (or Āzād),{{sfn|Farhat|2004|p=3}} [[Bamshad]], the harpist [[Nagisa (harpist)|Nagisa]] (Nakisa), [[Ramtin]], [[Sarkash]] and [[Barbad]],{{sfn|During|1991a|p=39}} who was the most famous.{{sfn|Farhat|2001|loc="1. History."}} These musicians were usually active as [[minstrel]]s, which were performers who worked as both court poets and musicians;{{sfn|Curtis|2003|p=138}} in the Sassanian Empire there was little distinction between poetry and music.{{sfn|During|1991b|p=154}}
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