Analysis of Social Functions of Iranian Music in the Seljuk Period: An Accordance Between Poems and Pottery Works

As a branch of mathematical science, music was a valuable art during the Seljuk period. Unlike other arts, our information about the music of this period is scarce. However, based on the pottery works and literary texts, it could be deduced that music played an influential role in the social life of the Seljuk period in various situations, such as battles, rituals, and celebrations. This study tries to analyze and explain the social functions of Seljuk music based on some pottery works and the eight poem collections remaining from this time. The research findings show a correlation between the images on the pottery works and the information in the poem collections about the Seljuk musicians and musical instruments.