'O God, grant the musician fingers of sugar and ...
for the zarb, a hand of iron!'.

Djalal-al-Din Roomi (Mawlana) - 13th century

The Tombak [tombak] (called also Zarb [zarb]) is a chalice-shaped drum is a case carved from one piece of wood made of mulberry or walnut wood. A single membrane is tightly stretched on the open side. This membrane is usually made of lambskin.

Tombak is the principal percussion instrument in the Persian classical music. It is played with both hands according to an exceedingly intricate digital technique. It has become familiar to European musicians and music-lovers.

Zarb is a Arab word which means striking. Persians gave it the sense of rhythme, tempo. This drum has been called quite often 'Tombak' due to the two onomatopeias for basic storkes 'Tom' and 'Bak'.

This terme is more or less pejorative and evoke the time where Persians considered Tombak as an accompanist instrument. Now, it is quite different, in spite of greate musicians of nineteenth century like the famous Radji Khan, it is tanks to Hossein Tehran, died in 1974, if the Tombak is put up to a solist rang.