A Treatise from the Post-scholastic Era of Persian Writings on Music Theory: Resālah-e Musiqi by Neẓām-al-din

Persian writings on theory of music has passed through phases of change during its evolution. One of these phases began at the beginning of the 16th century with the abandonment of scientific Greek-Arabic influenced writing on music theory and the emergence of a new approach to the subject. This phase, which can be labelled the post-scholastic period, was one of the most productive phases of the genre (cf. Massoudieh 1996) and many tracts and treatises were written during that period.1 One of the works from this era which come down to us is a concise tract by Neẓām-al-din Aḥmad Gilāni. In the following, the author and the opus will first be introduced, then a critical edition of the text and an English translation of the text are provided.