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Zang (bell)
Zang (Persian: زنگ) means bell in Persian, for both large bells and small. The term has historically been applied to a number of ringing metal musical instruments, including large bells with clappers worn by elephants, smaller 3-9 inch bells worn on camels, horses, donkeys and cattle, 2-3 inch sheep bells, and tiny bells tied to the legs of hawks. It also applies to clusters of small bells worn by musicians and dancers, sewn onto cloth bracelets and anklets, or laced on a long string to be wrapped around the waist or hung as a necklace.
Additionally, the name in many forms has been applied to cymbals, especially small finger cymbals (Persian: sanj angshati سنج انگشتی) used by dancers, known worldwide today as zills, but also to some larger cymbals including the Iranian sanj or Iraqi zanj.
That cymbals and bells have been differentiated in Persian can be seen in the Shahnameh which refers to both instruments together:
Cast metal bells may have first been made in China as early as 3000 B.C., as the angular harp originated in the Near East. Connections between the Near East and China by the 5th century B.C. is considered a fact now, given the discovery of horizontal angular harps in China.
In Mesopotamia, the first bells were made of clay, later ones of bronze or other metals and were decorated with symbolic signs. Bells in the 1st millennium B.C. usually had a meaning to ward off evil, which is why they were worn by priests on a cord around their necks.
Babylonian terracotta figures from the 2nd millennium B.C. have been found holding small pairs of cymbals in their hands, the originals of which were probably made of bronze. Such bronze basins from about 1200 B.C. were found in Syria and from the mid-ninth century B.C. were found in Egypt. From the 17th Egyptian dynasty (16th century B.C.) we know of professional musicians employed by mural paintings, such as the drummer Emhab, who has been handed down by name. Terracotta figurines with basins from Ancient Egypt are dated to the Greek period. Many of the bronze, silver and gold bells used in Egypt and the Middle East also date from this period.
The oldest bronze bells unearthed in Palestine come from Tel Megiddo dated to the 9th/8th century B.C. The bells with clapper are made of bronze, 2.5 to 6.5 centimeters high, roughly hemispherical in shape and have an eyelet for hanging. The numerous finds of bells in the Palestine area in the Greco-Roman period are somewhat smaller. Ever since they were mentioned in the Old Testament (in connection with pomegranates), the bells have had a magical protective function.
Bronze bells, which were probably hung on horses, do not appear until the 12th century BC at the earliest in an area from the north of the Iranian highlands to the southern Caucasus. They probably belonged to nomad riders who traveled with pack horses. The horses of Assyrian rulers were from the 9th century BC. hung with several bells. By the 5th century B.C. individual bells hung on horses and camels throughout the Orient to the Balkans.
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Zang (bell)
Zang (Persian: زنگ) means bell in Persian, for both large bells and small. The term has historically been applied to a number of ringing metal musical instruments, including large bells with clappers worn by elephants, smaller 3-9 inch bells worn on camels, horses, donkeys and cattle, 2-3 inch sheep bells, and tiny bells tied to the legs of hawks. It also applies to clusters of small bells worn by musicians and dancers, sewn onto cloth bracelets and anklets, or laced on a long string to be wrapped around the waist or hung as a necklace.
Additionally, the name in many forms has been applied to cymbals, especially small finger cymbals (Persian: sanj angshati سنج انگشتی) used by dancers, known worldwide today as zills, but also to some larger cymbals including the Iranian sanj or Iraqi zanj.
That cymbals and bells have been differentiated in Persian can be seen in the Shahnameh which refers to both instruments together:
Cast metal bells may have first been made in China as early as 3000 B.C., as the angular harp originated in the Near East. Connections between the Near East and China by the 5th century B.C. is considered a fact now, given the discovery of horizontal angular harps in China.
In Mesopotamia, the first bells were made of clay, later ones of bronze or other metals and were decorated with symbolic signs. Bells in the 1st millennium B.C. usually had a meaning to ward off evil, which is why they were worn by priests on a cord around their necks.
Babylonian terracotta figures from the 2nd millennium B.C. have been found holding small pairs of cymbals in their hands, the originals of which were probably made of bronze. Such bronze basins from about 1200 B.C. were found in Syria and from the mid-ninth century B.C. were found in Egypt. From the 17th Egyptian dynasty (16th century B.C.) we know of professional musicians employed by mural paintings, such as the drummer Emhab, who has been handed down by name. Terracotta figurines with basins from Ancient Egypt are dated to the Greek period. Many of the bronze, silver and gold bells used in Egypt and the Middle East also date from this period.
The oldest bronze bells unearthed in Palestine come from Tel Megiddo dated to the 9th/8th century B.C. The bells with clapper are made of bronze, 2.5 to 6.5 centimeters high, roughly hemispherical in shape and have an eyelet for hanging. The numerous finds of bells in the Palestine area in the Greco-Roman period are somewhat smaller. Ever since they were mentioned in the Old Testament (in connection with pomegranates), the bells have had a magical protective function.
Bronze bells, which were probably hung on horses, do not appear until the 12th century BC at the earliest in an area from the north of the Iranian highlands to the southern Caucasus. They probably belonged to nomad riders who traveled with pack horses. The horses of Assyrian rulers were from the 9th century BC. hung with several bells. By the 5th century B.C. individual bells hung on horses and camels throughout the Orient to the Balkans.