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AKus (Persian کوسkūs) is an ancient Persian musical instrument, a largekettledrum similar totimpani.
Kus is aMiddle-Persian military term meaning "march". According to Von Mohl the term wasKūša, apparently borrowed fromAramaic, probably during theArsacid dynasty (248 BCE-224 CE).[1]
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The instrument was a pair of drums, made of clay, wood or metal in the form of a hemispherical kettle, with skin stretched over the mouth. Kus was played with drumsticks of leather or wood (The leather drumstick was calledDaval). Kus usually was carried on horseback, camelback or elephant during war to encourage the army. The instrument was also played on many occasions such as festivals and weddings.
In ancient times, kus was accompaniment bykarnay (Persian trumpet or horn). Particularly the Persian epic poetsFerdowsi andNizami in describing battles mentioned kus and karnay in a number of entries.[2] ManyPersian miniatures paintings show the presence and importance of the Kus and Karnay in the war fields.
According to the Greek historians, the drum was used by the Persians;Plutarch tells of Iranian warriors at the time of theArsacid dynasty using kus as warlike instruments.[3]
Apparently after the introduction ofIslam, the wordNaghghāreh was used for small kettledrums. It seems that the word Naghghareh comes from the Arabic verbNaghr- that means to strike and to beat. A few poets mentioned the name Naghghareh, such as the great Persian mystic poetMolana Jalal al-Din Rumi.
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