The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in
Ancient Eastern Warfare: the Parthian and
Middle Asian Evidence*
Valerii P. Nikonorov
The use of music by the military in the Ancient
East has attracted little attention of scholars in
general. The present paper aims to take notice of
this problem by adducing relevant data from the
Parthian Arsacid realm as well as from the lands of
Middle Asia,1 thereby shedding light on both the
warfare and the music culture of those areas in
Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. The object
of my study are drum-type instruments, which are
well-known from available sources to have been
played on the battlefield.
Music was employed in situations of warfare
with the aim, for instance, of giving signals in bat-
tles and in actions of guarding and controlling, and
also to inspire ones own soldiers as well as to
frighten the enemy. All these features are charac-
teristic for the military music of the Parthian
empire. We are told by Justin (XLI, 2,8), who had
epitomized the lost historical work of Pompeius
Trogus, that the Parthians gave signals in battle not
with the trumpet but with the tympanum.
Plutarch also confirms that they roused themselves
in battle by playing not horns or trumpets but
instead percussion instruments, which he desig-
nated (plural form) in one place (Cras-
sus 23,9) and in the other (ibid. 26,4).
Later the Roman historian Herodian mentions
in his list of Parthian musical instru- I wish to express my sincere thanks to the following collea-
ments (IV,11,3).
Of these Classical accounts most information
about Parthian percussion instruments is gained
from Plutarchs detailed description of the great
battle at Carrhae in 53 BC, in which the Arsacid
troops led by General Surenas routed the
Roman legions of Marcus Crassus. According to
our author (Crassus 23,89), the instruments
under study here were hollow devices covered
with skin and hung with copper rattles or bells.
When struck, they emitted deep, heavy sounds
and a horrible roar resembling a mixture of
beastly howls with peals of thunder. Heard over
a long distance, this caused great fear in the foes.
How did these Parthian percussion instru-
ments look? In the Graeco-Roman world the term
/tympanum was applied to instru-
ments of the tambourine type, which played an
important role in various cult festivals and myster-
ies such as those of Bacchus and Cybela. However,
their martial use is not attested (Avezou 559560;
Liddell/Scott 1883, 1589, s. v.; see also Gertsman
1995: 39, 45, 6466, ills. 11, 12; Wegner 1986: 9, 36,
52, figs. 15, 26), unless one considers the purely
fictitious story about the god Dionysus campaign
in India, during which he used the sounds of
in battle (Diodorus II,38,6). The other
term, , seems to have differed little from
the former in meaning (Avezou s.a., 560; Liddell/
Scott 1983, 1366, s. v.).
In addition to the aforementioned evidence
concerning Parthia, tympana as percussion instru-
ments employed in military actions are referred to
in Classical narrative sources only in reference to
India, where judging from local literary and pic-
torial data various kinds of drum-type instru-
ments of music were especially widespread (Kauf-
mann 1981, 27, 3133, figs. passim). According to
*
gues for their assistance in my work on the present article:
Prof. Dr. Vladimir A. Livshits, Prof. Dr. Veronika A. Mesh-
keris, Dr. Alexander K. Nefiodkin, Mr. Artur A. Ambart-
sumyan (all from St. Petersburg), and Prof. Dr. Dieter
Metzler (Mnster). To be sure, none of these personalities
is responsible for the ideas suggested in my paper. I am
particularly indebted to Dr. Sharof F. Kurbanov (Penji-
kent) for his kind permission to make use of unpublished
materials from his excavations at Tali Khamtuda. My deep
gratitude is also addressed to Mr. Alexander S. Silnov (St.
Petersburg) who in friendly service produced the drawings
for the illustrations in the article.
1 The geographical definition Middle Asia is applied by
the author to the region embracing the former Soviet Cen-
tral Asian republics, now the independent states of Turk-
menistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kirghistan and the south-
ern part of Kazakhstan as well; this area is also referred to
as western Central Asia.
72 Valerii P. Nikonorov
ancient Greek legendary tradition, the emergence
of tympana in India occurred under Dionysus
impact; thereafter the Indians entered battles play-
ing them, including battles against the army of
Alexander the Great (Arrian, Indica 5,9; 7,8; 9;
Strabo XV,1,8; 58). Although this account of the
origin of the Indian tympana derives only from
Greek mythology, the instruments themselves
were actually used by the military in ancient India.
Hence, the famous historian of Alexander the
Great, Curtius Rufus, informs us that tympa-
num-players were in the army of Porus, the most
powerful of the kings in northwestern India, at the
battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC. And further-
more, the sound of the tympana, customary for
the war elephants especially trained with it, took
the place of trumpets in Indian warfare (VIII, 14,
10). Another authority, the noted geographer Stra-
bo, adduces the fact that the Indians had the habit
of signaling with the in war (XV, 1, 62; designated nagara in Persian (or naqara, the
cf. XV,1,8). He also mentions the presence of
musicians with these instruments () one-sided membranophones with a cauldron- or
among the Indian forces under the monarch San-
drocottus (Chandragupta Maurya, late 4th early
3rd centuries BC) (XV, 1, 52). Nevertheless, one
cannot consider these Indian percussion instru-
ments as identical with the Greek tambourines. An
important source, the Byzantine 10th century
Lexicon of Suidas (Suda), supplies more testi-
mony to the use of by the Indians in kettledrums are frequently present in miniature
battle as well as a very detailed description of its
construction. It is reported to have been cylinder-
shaped, hollowed out of the trunk of a fir- or pine-
tree. Bells made of yellow copper were inserted
inside of it; the opening of the body was covered
with bull-skin. In order to create a loud noise or to
give a signal, the was inverted with the latter half of the 19th century kettledrums were
orifice facing downwards, and its wooden body
was beaten. The bells inside, numerous and large,
resounded with a buzz resembling the howl of a
wild beast rather than the sound of a musical in-
strument (Suid. s.v . ; ibid. s.v. ; Bukhara and Tashkent at that time that huge ket-
see also Avezou s.a., 560). Such a percussive device
must have corresponded to the battle membra-
nophone, found under the term dundubhi in
ancient Indian sources dating from Vedic times
and onward (see Kaufmann 1981, 3132). How-
ever, in view of the description by Suidas and
other available material (see below), the Indian
tympana evidently were not the same as those of
the Parthians.
When we look at works of art from the territo-
ry of the Parthian empire, they prove to be of little
help in identifying the percussion instruments of
Surenas army. In fact all objects which may be
interpreted as representations of drum-like instru-
ments are neither in a military context, nor do
they appear capable of producing a loud noise.
Here I refer to objects such as those depicted on
rhyta decorated in the Parthian style, which were
found in Olbia (Karomatov/Meshkeris/Vyzgo
1987, 60, figs. 46, 47; Meshkeris 1997, 138, fig. 1);
objects on terracottas depicting a drummer and
flutist pair from Arsacid sites in Mesopotamia
(Van Ingen 1939, 26, 176179, nos. 590603, pl.
XLI,297300; Van Buren 1930, XLVIIXLVIII,
242243, nos. 11931201, figs. 293295; Ziegler
1962: 107108, nos. 721722, pl. 29, figs. 395, 396);
and those in a musical frieze from Hatra (In-
vernizzi 1991, fig. 4). None of these percussion
instruments seems to have been used at Carrhae.
In the absence of any direct pictorial or actual
evidence from Parthia itself, it appears necessary
to resort to relevant material from medieval Mid-
dle Asia and Iran. There one can observe plausible
parallels to the Parthian and .
Among them are the well-known kettle drums
term being borrowed from the Arabic naqqara):
pot-shaped body usually made of clay and cov-
ered tautly with a membrane of animal skin by
means of crossing thongs. There were two types
of nagara, viz. a set of two paired devices (Pl. I,
14) and a single one (Pl. I, 5), both of varying
dimensions from small and portable to very
large and transportable on pack animals. These
paintings of the High Middle Ages, figuring there
in martial and competitive scenes (Vyzgo 1980:
110, 125126, fig. 58ab, ills. 54, 59; Gray 1977: 89,
135; Humble 1989, 102, 104) (Pl. I, 25). Further-
more, they have survived as actual musical instru-
ments into the 20th century (Pl. I, 1). As late as the
widely employed by the troops, retinues and
police forces of the emirs of Bukhara as well as the
khans of Khiva and Kokand. In particular, there
are eye-witness accounts by those who visited
tledrums, nagara, were set at prominent places
and played by two men. When struck with special
sticks. They emitted hollow sounds at first, which
then turned into thunder-like peals that were
heard over a distance of several kilometres
(Belyaev 1933, 1012; Masson 1955, 47, n. 1;
Vyzgo 1980, 152, 155 ff.). The striking resem-
blance between the sound effects of the percussion
instruments as described in these accounts and in
Plutarchs description of the battle of Carrhae,
mentioned above, is indeed noteworthy!
Another well-known kind of late Medieval
kettledrums used in warfare in Middle Asia are
instruments with a metal body in the shape of a
pointed helmet and covered with a skin-mem-
brane, that resounds when struck by two sticks,
 The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare
the hands or a whip. Such military membra-
nophones, called chin-daul in Uzbek, were
transportable on foot; those especially intended
for use on horseback were fastened to the saddle
by means of leather straps. They are preserved as
actual objects (Pl. I, 10) and depicted in miniature
paintings as well (Pl. I, 11) (Vyzgo 1980, 152, ills.
9394; Belyaev 1933, 12; Gray 1977, 134). The
same instruments appear in a drawing from the
book of the famous traveler A. Vmbry, who in
1863 observed the entry of the emir of Bukhara
into the city of Samarkand. In this picture three
horsemen of the emirs retinue beat kettle drums
attached to the saddle close to their knees with
sticks (Belyaev 1933, 12; Sadokov 1970, 2224;
idem 1971, 161162, ill. before p. 97). The wide-
spread use of similar percussive devices in battle in
earlier times is attested by the Ottoman and Tartar
mounted troops, who in turn inspired late
Medieval European cavalry forces (Polish, Hun-
garian, etc.) to adopt them (Boeheim 1983,
211212, 514515).
Following the correct opinion of M. Ye. Mas-
son (1955, 47), it can be proposed that the membra-
nophones of the Parthians, which produced such a
terrible noise at the battle of Carrhae and instilled
great fear in the Roman legionaries, were distant
precursors of the late Medieval kettledrums of
Central Asia and Iran. Moreover, considering that
the sound of the Parthian was not only ter- made use of both single and paired kettledrums in
rifying but also extremely loud, one may suppose
that the instrument itself was large enough to pro-
duce it. In order to be moved, these devices for per-
cussion music had to be transported on pack ani-
mals, as in the medieval Middle East where camels
and even elephants served as bearers (Vyzgo 1980,
110, ill. 54; Gray 1977, 135; Humble 1989, 102, 104)
(Pl. I, 4, 5). We are informed by Plutarch (Crassus
21,7; 25,1) that in Carrhae General Surenas had a
special train at his disposal, consisting of one thou-
sand camels to carry various supplies, including
arrows for the noted Parthian mounted archers.
Thus it seems quite plausible that the cumbersome
kettle drums were transported by the camels of
Surenas train. At the same time, some of his men
on horseback could have held smaller drums, simi-
lar to the later chin-daul. And although I have
already affirmed the lack of any relevant evidence
from the territory of the Parthian empire proper,
further important argument for the plausible pres-
ence of such portable instruments among the
Arsacid troops comes from the famous works of
art in Gandhara (northwestern India). Two finely
carved reliefs (now in the Cleveland Museum) are
reported to have been found in the district of
Buner; their date lies within the late 1st to 2nd cen-
turies AD (Goldman 1978, figs. 1 and 3; Kaufmann
1981, 136, 138, figs. 91 and 93; Rosenfield 1967,
73
216217, fig. 58; Pugachenkova 1982, 145, ills. 150
and 160). Depicted here are two groups of people
who are making music. Judging from their ethnical
appearances, garments and musical instruments,
one can ascertain that they are not Indians, but
mainly foreigners. According to J. M. Rosenfield
(1967, 216217), the men wearing a headdress
resembling Phrygian caps on the one relief are
Central Asians. In the opinion of B. Goldman
(1978), the musical troups on the Buner monu-
ments reflect the influence of the Parthian culture
in Gandhara, and their dress, instruments and prac-
tice of performing dance-dramas came from Parthi-
an western Asia. On the other hand, G. A.
Pugachenkova (1982, 145) perceives obvious fea-
tures from eastern Parthia. Nonetheless, the main
point here is that two male persons in the reliefs in
question are shown playing kettle drums, which
they hold between their legs (Pl. I, 6, 7), and that
these percussion instruments are quite different
from those used in ancient India. Both performers
seem to represent itinerant musicians who had
arrived from somewhere within the Parthian realm.
Hence, assuming the availability of portable, hand-
playable kettledrums of the Buner type in Parthia,2
one may surmise their use not only in musical per-
formances, but also in accompaniment of military
actions, for instance the battle of Carrhae.
It must be presumed that the Parthians already
warfare, especially since the origin of the latter is
believed to have been connected with the employ-
ment of pack animals (Dzhumaev 1992, 48). Fur-
ther, in view of the fact that Plutarch refers to the
Parthian percussion instruments using the two
Greek terms and (Crassus 23,9
and 26,4 respectively), it seems permissible to con-
sider the former term as designating the large ket-
tledrums carried on camels, and the latter term for
the portable drums beaten while on horseback in a
manner as demonstrated, for instance, by the ter-
racotta representation of a mounted kettledrum-
player. The terracotta is reportedly from the Wei
empire (AD 386534) in northern China (Ausstel-
lung 1929, 125, no. 277) (Pl. I, 9). The contexts of
both passages are supportive of this supposition
(see below). Although the position of kettledrum-
mers within the organizational structure of the
whole Parthian army is not known in detail, they
may have formed a specialized force intended sole-
ly for making percussive accompaniment in fight-
ing actions. At least this concerns those performers
2 For Middle Asia proper, the presence of such kettledrums is
attested on a mural fragment from Room I:10A in the site of
Penjikent in Sogdia (Dyakonov 1954, 107, pl. XIV; Bele-
nitskii 1953, 48, fig. 18) (Pl. I, 8), it dating from the 6th cen-
tury AD (Belenitskii/Marshak/Raspopova 1979, 286 289).
74 Valerii P. Nikonorov
who played the large kettledrums on the camels.
The soldiers themselves, not all but many of them
mounted in battle, could have both beat the small
instruments and fought with weapons, yet only by
alternating the two actions in order to keep their
hands free to strike the enemy at a distance or in a
hand-to-hand combat. As a close model there was
the battle practice of the Ottoman Turks, whose
cavalrymen in the 16th century (or even earlier)
had small kettledrums, which they beat when
approaching to the enemy, and thereupon, just
before clashing, pulled out their sabres (Boeheim
1983, 514515).
The use of striking kettledrums was a very
important element of Parthian battle tactics, first
of all providing them with a psychological influ-
ence on the enemy just before and in the course of
fighting. Accordingly, Plutarch informs us that
Surenas, preparing for battle at Carrhae, withdrew
the bulk of his troops to behind the advanced
detachment to lend the impression upon the
Romans that his army was not large; Surenas also
ordered his soldiers to conceal the brightness of
their armour with covers of cloth and skin. With
the approach of the army of Marcus Crassus, the
Parthian leader gave signal to beat the , and was among the military innovations brought by
the whole plain was filled with the horrible noise.
Thereby our author notes that the Parthians well
understood the greater significance of hearing, in
comparison with the other organs of sense, that is
in regard to throwing human souls into confusion.
In other words, they proved to be very good psy-
chologists! Having frightened the foes with such
sounds, the mounted warriors of Surena, the so-
called cataphracts, threw down the covers from
their armour and appeared before the Romans,
who in turn were taken aback by the sight of the
warriors encased in full armour made of shining
steel from Margiana. Then they launched a frontal
charge on the Roman army (Crassus 23,724,2).
Later on, after the defeat of the detachment headed
by Publius Crassus, who had been sent by his
father to drive away the Parthians, Surenas troops
resumed to attack the main Roman force under the
accompaniment of the , in addition to kettledrum is represented (Pl. I, 9); it stems from
both the war-cry and triumphal hymn (ibid. 26,4).
Discerning attention is the fact that the Parthi-
ans used only percussive instruments in warfare,
unlike the armies of ancient Greece and Rome,
which, consisting basically of infantry forces,
entered battle with the sounds of wind-instru-
ments (see Gertsman 1995, 233247; Krentz 1991;
Feugre 1993, 6972). In my opinion, the explana-
tion lies in the nature of the Parthian military sys-
tem which was exclusively founded on the
employment of mounted troops. Their tactics on
the battlefield were a strict co-operation between
the heavily armoured lancers (cataphracts) and
lightly equipped archers. These tactics proved to
be very effective in fighting against the heavily
armed infantry forces of the Graeco-Roman
world (Nikonorov 1995; idem 1997, vol. 1, 2223,
5051). In turn, these warfare peculiarities derived
from those of the founders of the Arsacid Parthian
empire, viz. a Scythian people referred to in Clas-
sical sources as Dahae, who had settled in the
steppe areas of northwestern Middle Asia in
ancient times. Migrating southwards from their
homeland, some of the Dahae, a tribal branch
known under the Greek name as
(), invaded the northeastern extremity of
the Iranian plateau during the mid-3rd century
BC, establishing there a kingdom that subsequent-
ly widened to the Euphrates river in the west and
the Indo-Iranian borderlands in the east, and
became a very powerful state, one of the world
empires of late Antiquity (see Olbrycht 1998,
51 ff.). The rise of the Arsacides to power was
ensured mainly by the military might of the
Parthians, which emerged in turn on the basis of
radical changes in Iranian warfare which had been
made by the Parnoi-Dahae.
Most probably, the use of kettledrums in battle
the steppe progenitors of the Parthian empire as
well. Indeed, it seems very plausible that the caul-
dron-like percussion instruments purposeful also
in warfare first came into existence in the midst of
the ancient nomadic tribes inhabiting the Eurasian
steppes. The fact is that the kettledrums (the shape
of which, by the way, was inspired by the com-
mon cooking utensil of nomads) were especially
suitable for accompanying the cavalry in warfare,
since their sound not only frightened the adver-
saries while inspiring the warriors using them, but
also the horses were easily accustomed to the
sound after special training. To strengthen this
supposition, for lack of any direct extant evidence
dating from antiquity, it seems reasonable to draw
forth relevant materials from later times. The most
interesting of such evidence is the terracotta,
referred to above, on which a horseman playing a
the northern Wei empire in northern China, which
was established by foreign nomads from eastern
Asia. Thus, the mounted kettledrummer appears
to reflect a purely nomadic tradition in the usage
of the instrument in question.3 In this respect it
should be noted further that the famous Italian
traveler of the 13th century, Marco Polo, affirms in
his writings that the Mongols, i.e. nomads from
3 However, the real introduction of kettledrums and drums
into ancient Chinese warfare must have taken place even ear-
lier, during the Han epoch, yet under the manifest influence
of nomadic neighbours all the same (Altheim 1959, 219).
 The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare
Inner Asia by origin, never joined battle until the
nakar (nagara) of their leader gave a signal
(Minaev 1902, 111, 312313, [chs. LXXIX and
CXCVIII]).
In addition to kettledrums, there is evidence of
the use of other drums by the indigenous inhabi-
tants of the eastern Eurasian steppe. In particular,
small one-sided drums made of ox-horn have been
discovered, which form part of the equipment of
mounted warriors in the noted chieftain burials of
the Pazyryk culture (5th to 3rd centuries BC) in the
Altai region (Rudenko 1970, 277278, fig. 138;
Karomatov/Meshkeris/Vyzgo 1987, 52, figs. 36,
37) (Pl. II, 1). It is also known that battle drums
were in widespread use among the early Turkish
tribes of Central Asia (see below).
But let us return to Iran, where one may ascer-
tain that after the fall of the Arsacid dynasty, their
conquerors and successors, the Sasanians, inherit-
ed a great deal from the Parthian warfare, includ-
ing an instrument for military music such as the
kettledrum. It is referred to with the Greek term
, already familiar to us, in the historical defined goblet-like drums under the term tum-
work of the Byzantine writer Agathias (6th centu-
ry). In his description of the Persian siege of the
fortress of Phasis (in the 550s) Agathias mentions
the Persians use of kettledrums and war-cries to
instill fear (III, 25). Depictions of kettledrums are
recognisable on one of the Sasanian hunting reliefs
of the early 7th century at Taq-i Bustan, in which
something like the kings band is represented
(Fukai/Horiuchi 1969, pls. LXXXVII, XCI;
Farmer 1938, 404405, figs. 8, 10; Kishibe 1984,
189). Most likely, it was the kettledrums from
Sasanian Iran that the Byzantine troops adopted.
These can be securely dated to the 10th century
based on Leo Diaconus History, in which the
are often mentioned as accompanying 5), at Afrasiab (Samarkand), the greatest Sogdian
cavalry actions (III, 1; VI, 13; VIII,4; IX,9).
The important role of percussion instruments
in the military music of pre-Islamic Iran and Cen-
tral Asia as well is confirmed in the extant works
of medieval Persian literature. In the well-known
epic Shahnameh by the great poet Firdowsi
completed in c. AD 1010 but containing a great
amount of data from the historical and legendary
past of the Iranians, frequent reference is made to
playing the kettledrum (kus) and the drum
(tabra) in martial scenes (Vyzgo 1980, 9899, cf.
110111; Farmer 1938, 404, 405). Kettledrums and
drums figure in the same context in the poem Vs
u Ramn written by Gurgani in c. AD 1050 (Gur-
gani 1963, 7375, 79), which must derive from a
Parthian original (Minorsky 1964, 151199). Espe-
cially interesting is the fact that a battle drum des-
ignated with tumbag is met in the Middle Per-
sian text entitled Ayadgar Zareran ( 26), which
75
appears to be a late Sasanian version of a Parthian-
age epic narrative (Russell 1987, 432, n. 91;
Ambartsumyan 1998: esp. 71).4
Middle Asia also provides us with actual mate-
rial on the theme. Of particular interest is a recent
find, a ceramic goblet-shaped drum, that was dis-
covered in the ancient site Tali Khamtuda, situated
in the district of Penjikent, northern Sogdia (Kur-
banov 1990) (Pl. II, 23). The very small, one-
sided instrument had a hole in the bottom for
acoustics (as is normal for single-membraned
drums). Its outer surface was originally painted
with red colour (angob). The drum was found in
a burial, which in the opinion of its discoverer
Sh. Kurbanov belonged to the deceased warrior-
drummer. The archaeological context, although
unclear, may testify to a date for the burial within
the period from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. The
form of the ancient instrument under study resem-
bles that of the modern Tajik drum, called
tablak. It must be added that H.G. Farmer
bak (in Middle Persian) and dunbak, tunbak,
tanbk, tanbk (in New Persian) (1938, 410).
If so, one may suppose that the aforementioned
tumbag (in the Ayadgar Zareran) would have
had the similar shape.
In addition, there are several terracottas from
the area under review, that date to early Medieval
times (6th to 8th centuries), that represent men
playing two-sided, waisted drums. It seems possi-
ble that they are shown in a more or less military
context. Similar figurines were found at Penjikent
(Terenozhkin 1950, 92, pl. 44,2; Isakov 1977,
99100, fig. 26; Zeimal 1985, 197, cat. no. 486;
Karomatov/Meshkeris/Vyzgo 1987, 100) (Pl. II, 4,
city (Meshkeris 1989, 210, 223224, figs. 108, 119;
Karomatov/Meshkeris/Vyzgo 1987, 100, figs. 124
126) (Pl. II, 79), and at Kanka in the region of
modern Tashkent or ancient Chach (Bogomolov
1989) (Pl. II, 6). The instruments depicted deserve
4 Another term, tanbur (tambur), usually thought to
mean the lute (Farmer 1938, 406), is found (true, not in
martial contexts) in such Middle Persian texts of the 6th
century A.D. as the Karnamag Ardax r Pabagan
(III,2 see Chunakova 1987, 42), the Husraw Kawadan
ud redag-e ( 13 and 62; Unvala s. a., 15, 2728) and the
Draxt asurg (101; unpubl. ed. by A. A. Ambartsumy-
an), and, judging by contents of these passages, it might
designate instruments of percussion, perhaps a drum or
kettledrum (verbal suggestion of Ambartsumyan). On the
other hand, there is the opinion that the word under
review inscribed in manuscripts of the Karnamag must
be read not as tanbur, but as tubul (tu?ul), i. e. in
such a case it would be similar to the Arabic tabl, the
kettledrum (Altheim 1959, 219). However, this reading
does not seem to be supported by Iranists.
76 Valerii P. Nikonorov
attention. They all belong to the type of the so-
called hour-glass drums. Such membranophones,
portable and beaten with both hands, seem to have
appeared in India no later than the 2nd1st centuries
B.C., as indicated by pictorial data (Kaufmann 1981,
33, 48, 50, figs. 8 and 9) and then in Central Asia
during the Kushan epoch, in the 1st3rd centuries
AD. In addition to those just referred to, representa-
tions are known in works of art dated to Late Antiq-
uity and the Early Middle Ages from the Hissar val-
ley (Zabelina 1952: 26, figs. 23) and Zar-Tepe
(Meshkeris 1994, 114115, figs. I.2 and II) in north-
ern Bactria-Tokharistan, from Toprak-Kala in
Chorasmia (see below), and from the distant Khotan
oasis in Chinese Turkestan (Karomatov/Meshk-
eris/Vyzgo 1987, 144, 150, figs. 179, 199, 202204).
Drums of the type in question were definitely in use
in Sasanian Iran, because such an instrument is clear-
ly pictured on the hunting relief from Taq-i Bustan
mentioned above (Farmer 1938. 405, fig. 13; Kishibe
1984, 190). Moreover, similar devices of music can
also be seen on objects of early Medieval silver ware,
either made in Iran itself or elsewhere in the Middle
East (Harper 1978, 7476, cat. no. 25; Marshak 1986,
figs. 16, 34, 174; Karomatov/ Meshkeris/Vyzgo
1987, 62, 88, figs. 50, 51, 91, 92). In Farmers opinion
(1938, 405), the waisted drum is probably called
tabr or tabra in the Shahnameh. 49). The most striking examples of this are reports
Of especial importance among all the depic-
tions of the Middle Asian hour-glass drums is the
fragment of a wall-painting discovered in the so-
called Harpists Hall of the High Palace at
Toprak-Kala in Chorasmia (Sadokov 1970,
103107; idem 1971, 119123; Rapoport and Ner-
azik 1984, 184185, fig. 81; Karomatov/Mesh-
keris/Vyzgo 1987, 68). The instrument shown here
(Pl. II, 10) is not only the earliest evidence from
the whole area of Middle Asia (the date of this
mural must be placed within the first period of
occupation in the Palace, i. e. in the latter half of
the 2nd and the 3rd centuries AD, s. Rapoport and
Nerazik 1984, 1617), it also provides us with an
idea about the instruments structure by supplying
sufficient details for a reconstruction (Pl. II, 11). It
apparently consists of two hollow, truncated
cones, one being larger in diameter but shorter in
length than the other. The cones are joined by a
grip, and their open end covered by a membrane
stretched tautly with thongs or laces.
It is interesting to note that if not all at least
some of the terracotta drummers, viz. those from
Kanka and Afrasiab (Pl. II, 69), must have origi-
nally been depicted on horseback, because their
legs poorly preserved in the picture seem to be
apart in order to sit astride a horse (Meshkeris
1989, 210, 223). The drums could be carried by
their bearers either suspended on a waist belt or a
shoulder-strap. When giving martial signals both
membranes of the drum were struck at once usual-
ly with the hands; in concert performances the
rhythm was carried by striking only one mem-
brane, as pictured in Toprak-Kala.
It seems quite probable that the terracotta fig-
urines under consideration (perhaps something
like symbolic personifications of good protectors
against wicked spirits, summoned to scare away
the latter by beating the drum; see Bogomolov
1989, 36) illustrate in fact the presence of drum-
mers in the armies of Middle Asian rulers during
early Medieval times. Their employment precisely
in that period was especially stimulated by the
emergence of the Turks, who since the 6th century
AD had begun to penetrate the area under study
from Inner Asia and to conquer its lands. Battle
drums were very honourable amongst the Turkish
tribes before the arrival of Islam (Dzhumaev 1992,
of Arab historians concerning the invasion of the
Muslim General Ahnaf b. Qays into Tokharistan
in the mid 7th century. Accordingly, during the
course of action against an army of local coalition
probably headed by the Turks in the person of the
ruler of Chaghaniyan (a district in the Termez
region), the Arab leader is told by Tabari to have
charged and killed three Turkish horsemen, one
after another, who, following their native custom
of starting a battle, had challenged him with beat-
ing the tabl, a drum or rather a kettledrum
(Belyaev 1987, 20; Altheim 1959, 219). The other
writer, Baladhuri, writes more generally of the
same episode with less detail: Ahnaf had attacked
the enemy and slain in person three of those who
beat very strongly the drum(Goibov 1987, 15).
Certainly, the Turkish custom in question went
back to the common tradition of playing drum-
type instruments on battlefields, a tradition which
had originated among the ancient nomadic peo-
ples of the eastern Eurasian steppe.
 The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare
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Plate I

Fig. 1 Actual paired kettledrum (nagara) from Middle Asia, 19th20th century (after Vyzgo 1980, ill. 95).
Fig. 2, 3 Depictions of nagara players on an Iranian miniature, 17th century (after Vyzgo, fig. 58b).
Fig. 4, 5 Battle kettledrummers on camels, represented on miniatures of the 16th century (after Humble 1989: ill. at
p. 104, and Vyzgo 1980, ill. 54 respectively).
Fig. 6, 7 Musicians on the reliefs from Buner, late 1st2nd century AD (after Goldman 1978, figs. 1 and 3).
Fig. 8 Performer on the kettledrum, pictured on the wall-painting from Penjikent, Room I:10A, 6th century (after
Belenitskii 1953, fig. 18).
Fig. 9 Figurine of a mounted kettledrummer from northern Wei China, AD 386534 (after Ausstellung 1929, no.
277).
Fig. 10 chin-daul from the Museum in Angren (Uzbekistan), 19th (?) century (after Vyzgo 1980, ills. 9394).
Fig. 11 Mounted musician in battle, with a small kettle drum of chin-daul type, attached to the saddle from the
horses right side; depicted on a 16th century Persian miniature (after Gray 1977, ill. p. 134).
The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare 79

Plate 1
80 Valerii P. Nikonorov

Plate II

Fig. 1 One-sided drum composed of two halves of horn, from Barrow 2 at Pazyryk, 5th3rd century BC (after
Rudenko 1970, fig. 138).
Fig. 2, 3 Ceramic one-sided drum from Tali Khamtuda (in Northern Sogdia), 3rd to 5th century AD (drawings of
material kindly presented by Dr. Sharof F. Kurbanov).
Fig. 4, 5 Terracotta figurines of drummers from the citadel of Penjikent, 6th century AD (after Isakov 1977, fig. 26,
and Terenozhkin 1950, pl. 44,2 respectively).
Fig. 6 Terracotta figurine of a drummer from Kanka (in the Chach/Tashkent region), 7th century AD (after Bogo-
molov 1989, fig. 1,1).
Fig. 79 Terracotta figurines of drummers from Afrasiab (Samarkand), 6th8th century AD (after Meshkeris 1989,
figs. 108,1 and 119).
Fig. 10 Drawing of a two-sided drum on the mural from Toprak-Kala (in Chorasmia), given with its dimensions in
millimetres; late 2nd3rd century AD (after Sadokov 1970, fig. p. 106).
Fig. 11 Reconstruction of the drum from Toprak-Kala (after Sadokov 1970, fig. p. 105).
The Use of Musical Percussion Instruments in Ancient Eastern Warfare 81

Plate 2