regarded as authorial inventions". She noted that many of the attributions to Barbad date centuries after his death and the 30 modes in particular are first connected to Barbad by Nizami, who lived in the 12th century. In addition, in his divan (collection of poems), the 11th-century poet Manuchehri names a few of the modes that Nizami mentioned but does not associate them with Barbad, even though he references the Sasanian musician elsewhere. Reputation Barbad's lute was the four-stringed barbat. It had been popular in his time, but no traces of the instrument survive and it was eventually substituted for the Oud. Musicologists Jean During and Zia Mirabdolbaghi note that despite the instrument's gradual disuse, "the term barbat survived for centuries, through classical poetry, as a symbol of the golden age of the Persian musical tradition, served by artists such as Bārbad." Later sources regularly praise Barbad and some offer him the epitaph as the "founder of Persian music". He is regarded as the most significant musician of his time, being among the major figures in the history of Iranian/Persian music. In Sharh bar Kitāb al-adwar, the 14th-century writer al-Sharif al-Jurjani—whom the work is attributed to—says: The preponderance and frequent transmission of stories involving Barbad attest to his popularity long after his death. In modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Barbad continues to be a celebrated figure. In 1989 and 1990 the cultural establishment of the Tajik government encouraged their people to find pride in Barbad's achievements; the panegyrics given for Barbad are part of a larger effort by the Tajik government to pass off the "achievements of pre-Islamic Iranian civilization" as Tajik ones. The largest musical hall of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, is named "Kokhi Borbad" after Barbad. Musicologist Firoozeh Khazrai sums up Barbad's legacy as such: References Notes Citations Sources Books and Chapters In In In Journal and Encyclopedia articles In In Further reading External links "Barbad and Nakisā", a song inspired by Barbad performed by the Tanbur player Nur ʿAli Elāhi on Encyclopædia Iranica Musicians from the Sasanian Empire Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Shahnameh characters People from Jahrom People from Merv Persian musicians Eastern lutes players 7th-century Iranian people