Barbad

Barbad was a celebrated Sasanian court musician and composer who served Khosrow II in the late sixth and early seventh centuries. Persian literary tradition credits him with shaping court music and performing in the royal presence.

Khosrow II: Khosrow II was a Sasanian king who ruled from 590 to 628. Barbad’s fame rests chiefly on his service at Khosrow’s court.
Shahnameh: The Shahnameh is Ferdowsi’s Persian epic recounting the history and legends of Iran’s kings. Its episodes make Barbad a memorable figure at Khosrow’s court.
Dastgah: A dastgah is a modal system organizing melodic material in modern Persian classical music. Later accounts associate Barbad with an ordered system of melodies, though its details are uncertain.
Barbad (instrument): The barbat is a short-necked Persian lute that became an ancestor of the oud. Its name is often connected to Barbad, but the musician and instrument are distinct subjects.
Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian Empire was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, ruling from 224 to 651. Its royal court provided the setting for Barbad’s musical career.
Khosrow and Shirin: Khosrow and Shirin is a Persian romance poem by Nezami Ganjavi, completed in the twelfth century. Nezami’s narrative includes Barbad among the musicians of Khosrow’s court.
Persian classical music: Persian classical music is a tradition of modal music shaped by improvisation and inherited melodic material. It offers context for later traditions that remember Barbad as a musical innovator.
Khosrow and Shirin (opera): Khosrow and Shirin is an opera by Iranian composer Hossein Dehlavi, based on Nezami’s romance. The opera reworks the literary world in which Barbad is remembered.
Nakisa: Nakisa was a court musician associated with the Sasanian king Khosrow II in Persian literary tradition. Stories pair this musician with Barbad in accounts of Khosrow’s court.
Khwaday-Namag: The Khwaday-Namag was a lost Middle Persian chronicle of Iranian kings, known through later adaptations and references. This broader tradition helped transmit accounts of Sasanian rulers and their court.

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Music of IranRelated: Stories about Barbad preserve an enduring image of music at the pre-Islamic royal court.