Munir Bashir, (, ) (1930 – September 28, 1997) was an Iraqi Assyrian musician and one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century and was considered to be the supreme master of the Arab maqamat scale system. He created different styles of the Arabian Oud. He was one of the first middle eastern instrumentalists known to Europe and the United States. Bashir's music is distinguished by a novel style of improvisation that reflects his study of Indian and European tonal art in addition to oriental forms. Born in Iraq, he had to deal with numerous disruptions of violent coup attempts and multiple wars that the country went through. He would eventually exile to Europe and first became notable in Hungary. Life Early life Munir Bashir was born in Mosul, situated in northern Iraq to an Assyrian Christian family. According to different references he was born in a period of time from 1928 to 1930. His father Abd al-Aziz and his brother Jamil had good reputations as oud-soloists and vocalists; Jamil wrote an important textbook for the oud. The family started musically educating young Bashir at his age of five, Bashir's father began to instruct him and his older brother Jamil in the basics of oud. His father, who was also a poet believed that a pure tradition of Arab music had devolved in Baghdad. He first learned to play the violoncello, a European instrument that had become a popular bass-instrument in Arabian music during the end of the 19th century. He simultaneously was taught playing the oud. The lute plays a similar role in Arabian music as the piano does in European music: it is the instrument used to impart the most important theoretical aspects in music. Due to a blend of many different styles and traditions there is a rich musical history in northern Iraq. In this milieu Bashir came in contact with Byzantine, Kurdish, Assyrian, Turkish, Persian, and traditional Abbasidian music. Moving to Baghdad At the age of six talented Bashir was sent to the Baghdad Conservatory, founded 1934 by the distinguished Turkish musicologist Scharif Muhyi ad-Din Haydar Targan (1892–1967). Already during his studies, but especially after his degree, Bashir paid his attention to documenting and preserving the traditional musical styles of his country. Due to the turbulent Iraqi history and other reasons these styles were overridden by "Western" ones, especially commercial