The tar is a musical instrument that originated in Iran and Caucasus region and is commonly use in persian-Azerbaijani classical music. It has a long history in the region, dating back to the medieval era, maybe to the ancient times. The word 'tar' means 'string' in farsi, and the instrument is so named bacause it has 6 strings that are plucked by the player. The instrument has been important part of Persian and Azeri music for centuries and is still widely used in today. It is also common in Turkey's Kars, Ardahan and Erzurum provinces.

Azerbaijanis claim that tar is their national instrument and do not accept its origin from Iran. On the other hand, according to some Armenian sources, Tar is the Armenian national musical instrument, Iran and Turks took tar from them.

One book that I can recommend on the issue is 'The Art of Persian Music' (Jean During, a French musicologist).

I would like to share another study but in Turkish in the following link: https://porteakademik.itu.edu.tr/docs/librariesprovider181/Yay%C4%B1n-Ar%C5%9Fivi/9.-say%C4%B1/porte_akademik-9-9.pdf İts abstract is below:

A Study on the Selection of the Clef in Tar Training: Tar is a folk instrument played widely in Azerbaijan and Iran, in some parts of the Near

East countries and especially in Kars, Iğdır and around in Turkey. It’s a generally accepted idea that where tar is mostly improved in playing and education is Azerbaijan. The most important reason for this general idea is that the principles for tar playing and teaching were determined in the beginning of the 20th century in Azerbaijan and improved on strong basis

through a period of time of approximately one hundred years. When talking about those essential principles, the key system used in writing tar notes can firstly be counted. Works, etudes and other materials which are composed for tar are written with the C-clef which is drawn on the second line of the staff and which is also called mezzo-soprano clef. Although

this key system which was determined in 1920’s by the great Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hacıbeyli is quite proper for tar and suffices needs, but over time, different ideas appeared and demands and attempts to change the system were made. This work was prepared with the aim to handle and study the existing key system used in tar education and different approaches to the subject comparatively.

Dear Professor Sedat Laçiner. Your suggestions were helpful. According to my research, Persian tar was older than Azerbaijani tar, and an Azerbaijani musician named Sadigjan created the Azerbaijani model of this instrument by developing and changing the construct of Persian tar. I will study the sources that you introduced. Thank you for your answer.

Tar is also the name of a Middle Eastern frame drum, from which developed tambourines as well as the various hand drums in Europe. If you want to refer to it, be aware that it comes under a variety of names. The Groves and Sachs Dictionaries of Musical Instruments list and cross-reference many of them.

Dear Dr. Ryszard Pusz thank you for your comment on this question. your answer was helpful to me. The name "Tar" in both instruments can have a historical relation. Before the creation of Tar (the string instrument) In old Persian poems, the use of this word for instruments was common. I'm studying the new Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and I will research more about this word. thank you for your help.

Not really. My research have only focused Yoruba Music and Some African nations