Al-Tashly, Mahdi (2025). Musical Instruments in Greater Syria in the 19th Century. (Thesis). Universität Bern, Bern

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Abstract

Due to the wars and unrest in Greater Syria, unfortunately, the region is currently experiencing a state of instability. Because I am from that region and studied music, this idea arose in me to document the musical instruments of that era to preserve the musical heritage of Greater Syria from extinction or loss. Here is the importance of this study in documenting musical instruments in the ninth century, as it is the first study of that period and the first on its subject in terms of documentation and places of existence. The documentation of these Instruments will consider their origins, as well as the places where they have been found, based on the history of that time. Indeed, many of these musical instruments were found in the museums, as mentioned in the documents, catalogs, and other sources. This study examines three axes: musical instruments and their collectors, museums that house these instruments, and it also describes and documents the extant musical instruments commonly used during the 19th century in the four countries: Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon. These countries share the same Arabian historical and cultural background. "Musical Instruments in Greater Syria in the 19th century" are divided into three Categories: ► String instruments such as "Oud." ► Wind instruments such as "Nay." ► Percussive instruments such as "Darbouka." The importance of this study is that this dissertation can be considered the first documenting body of the musical instruments that date back to the 19th century in Greater Syria and an essential reference of such instruments in the area during that period. Especially in the present time, the Middle East is suffering war crises and unstable situations that mainly result in considerable destruction and loss that decimate these instruments. Moreover, this study includes several topics, such as heritage, songs, and music of Greater Syria. It also attempts to deliver a group of other concepts that are comprehended as the essence of the study’s thesis: ► The concept of the music and the musical instruments in Greater Syria. ► The concept of cultural heritage in Greater Syria; its forms, parts, and components. ► Determining the musical instruments used by the people of Greater Syria in the 19th century. This Thesis aims to archive musical instruments dating back to the nineteenth century, their locations, the names of the museums that keep them, and the names of their collectors. This study was able to access sixty musical instruments belonging to Greater Syria in the 19th century. This Dissertation achieved its main objective, which is to design a catalogue of these Instruments that were reached. This catalogue includes the reference number of the instrument, the name of the Instrument, the year, type, location and Provenance.

Item Type:	Thesis
Dissertation Type:	Single
Date of Defense:	4 March 2025
Subjects:	700 Arts > 780 Music 900 History > 910 Geography & travel 900 History > 950 History of Asia
Institute / Center:	06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of Art and Cultural Studies > Institute of Musicology
Depositing User:	Sarah Stalder
Date Deposited:	11 Jun 2025 10:04
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2025 11:04
URI:	https://boristheses.unibe.ch/id/eprint/6289

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