A Comparative Study of Chordophones in Safavid and Gurkani Illustrations

Iran and India have had a long history of cultural relationship. This widespread association has influenced the culture and art of these two countries and this influence is most evident during the reigns of the Gurkani and Safavid kings. The interest of the Gurkani kings of India in Iranian art, as well as the weaknesses and inefficiency of the Safavid kings in supporting Iranian artists, led the Gurkani kings to associate Iranian art with indigenous Indian art, and to cultivate it widely in their land. In the field of music, as in painting, the two Safavid and Gurkani cultures were highly influenced by one another, and apart from the many commonalities they had with each other, there were obvious differences between their music and their instruments. These differences are visible in minor cases, such as the color and decoration of the instrument, and in general cases such as the physical structure. Regarding the differences in the physical structure of the instruments in the illustrations, most of which are found in stringed instruments, there may be such things as the shape of the body of the instrument, the size of the resonating bowl, the length and thickness of the neck, the number of pegs and strings and the presence or absence of plectrum in the player's hand. There are also a number of instruments in common in both periods, such as the harp and some of them are specific to one of the periods, however there are no similar instruments in terms of name and structure in the other periods such as the Indian Rudra Vina instrument. Various types of music, such as chamber music and naubat ensemble, are seen in the illustrations. They are present in a variety of scenes such as banquet, battle, hunting, court-related scenes, dervishes, and separately images (in Gurkani) and banquet, hunting, mourning, polo, public life, etc. (in the Safavid Era). Also, in these illustrations, depending on the type of music performed, there are instruments of four groups, chordophones, aerophones, membranophones and idiophones, which differ in the number and types of instruments depending on their performance in the illustrations. In this study, it has been attempted to investigate the illustrations containing musical instrument, which are the main source of this research. To get a comprehensive understanding of the music and string instruments common in each era, their physical structure, playing techniques, gender, and the position of the musicians in the illustrations. By comparing the illustrations of both eras, it can be concluded that the cultures of those two lands have had a considerable influence on one another. In fact, each of them, in an effort to preserve its originality and character, has been reared in a different culture, and the influence of Iranian culture on Indian culture is considerably greater. The research method in this study is based on purpose, fundamental and in terms of method and nature, historical, descriptive-analytical and comparative.