Shahrud

Shahrud (Şahrud) is classified as a "short-necked lute." The word sehrud is of Persian origin, derived from the words sah-i rûd (شاهرود), meaning "king of lutes/large lute." Though Al-Farabi (-950) included an illustration of the sehrud in his Kitâbü'l Musiki, it is very difficult to determine particulars from this drawing. But this old sehrud is completely different from the large ud often encountered in Iranian miniatures of a few centuries later. Thus it is clear that this old name changed in meaning, being applied to a new and different instrument. One of the most-illustrated instruments in Iranian and Ottoman miniatures, the sehrud was generally drawn overlarge. From this standpoint, the miniatures were obviously not realistic. In some miniatures, it is difficult to say whether the instrument depicted is an ud or a sehrud.