Tar (string instrument)

The tar (Persian: تار [t̪ʰɒːɹ], lit. 'string') is an Iranian string instrument in the lute family, used by many cultures and countries in the Middle East and the Caucasus, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Turkey. It is characterized by the long neck and hourglass shape of the body, and was originally known as the chahartar (چهارتار) or chartar (چارتار), which translates into Persian as 'four-stringed'. This is in accordance with a practice common in Persian-speaking areas of distinguishing lutes on the basis of the number of strings originally employed. Beside the chartar, these include the dutar (دوتار; 'two-stringed'), setar (سه‌تار; 'three-stringed'), panjtar (پنج‌تار; 'five-stringed'), and the shashtar (شش‌تار; 'six-stringed').