The kanun, ganoun or kanoon (Arabic: قانون‎‎, qānūn; Hebrew: קָנוֹן, qanon; Persian: قانون‎‎, qānūn; Turkish: kanun; Armenian: քանոն, k’anon; Azerbaijani: qanun; Greek: κανονάκι, kanonaki; Uyghur: قالون, qālūn) is a string instrument played either solo, or more often as part of an ensemble, in much of the Middle East, Maghreb, West Africa, Central Asia, and southeastern regions of Europe. The name derives from the Arabic word qanun, meaning "rule, law, norm, principle", which is itself a phonetic borrowing of the ancient Greek word 'κανών' (rule) or Latin equivalent canon (not to be confused with the European polyphonic musical style and composition technique known by the same name). Traditional and Classical musics executed on the qanun are based on Maqamat or Makamlar. As the historical