Tambouras
The tambouras ( ) is a Greek traditional string instrument of Byzantine origin. It has existed since at least the 10th century, when it was known in Assyria and Egypt. At that time, it might have between two and six strings, but Arabs adopted it, and called it a Tanbur. The characteristic long neck and two strings, tuned five notes apart. It also similar to the Turkish "tambur" and each of them have same origin. History. Origins. It is considered that the "tambouras"' ancestor is the ancient Greek "pandouris", also known as "pandoura", "pandouros" or "pandourida" (πανδουρίς, πανδούρα, πάνδουρος), from which  the word is derived. The "tambouras" is mentioned in the Byzantine epic of Digenis Akritas, when the hero plays his θαμπούριν, "thambourin" (medieval form of "tambouras"): Name. The name resembles that of the Indian "tanpura", but the Greek "tambouras" is a completely different instrument. Since modern Greek words do not have a standard transliteration into the Latin alphabet, the word may be found written in many ways: "tampouras", "tambouras", "tabouras", "taburas" etc. Even the final -s may be dropped at the transliteration, since it marks the masculine nominative in Greek. Variations of the word are to be found in Greece : "tsambouras", "tambouri". The word ταμπουράς comes from Turkish "tambur" from Arabic "ṭanbūr" or Persian "tunbūra". Type. The "tambouras" is a long-neck fretted instrument of the lute family, close to Turkish "saz" and the Persian "tanbur". It has movable frets that permit playing tunes in the Greek traditional modes (equivalent of the "makams" of Arabic music and the "ichoi" of Byzantine music). It was also known as Pandouris, Pandoura and Fandouros in the Byzantine Empire. When the "tambouras" was tempered, it gave rise to the "bouzouki", which is, in fact, a recent development of the "tambouras".