The roots
of maqam music can be traced back to the days of the Elamite Empire (2,500-644
B.C) in Persia. Little is known of the music during this period, except for
the fact that various instruments, such as plucked and bowed string instruments,
lutes and flutes were created and played. Later the maqam extended into Arabic
culture.
Though the origins of Persian modal music remain vague, research has revealed
more than was previously known. Barbod the Great of the 7th Century (A.D.),
a court musician of the Sassanian Empire, created the first ever musical system
in the Middle East, known as the "Royal Khosravani," dedicated to
the king Khosrau II. Many current names of the modes used in Iranian classical
music, dastgahs, have survived from that time by oral tradition, though many
of the modes and melodies have disappeared, probably because of Arab invaders
who viewed music as immoral behavior.
Iranian classical music relies on improvisation and composition and is based
on a series of modal scales and tunes which must be memorized. Apprentices and
masters (ostad) have a traditional relationship which has declined during the
20th century as music education moved to universities and conservatories. The
roots of Arabic maqam music can be traced back the pre-Islamic period known
as Jahiliyyah. Though there is a lack of scientific study to definitively confirm
the existence of Arabic music at those times, most historians agree that there
existed distinct forms of music in the Arabian peninsula in the pre-Islamic
period between the 5th and the 7th century AD.