Tonbak or Tombak is the chief percussion instrument, and the first national drum of Iran. Etymology states that the Pahlavi (Persian ancient language) name of this drum was Dombalak. Though there are many ancient manuscripts attesting to the different names of this drum, the oldest documented pictures that have been found by Mehdi Moghiseh are two Persian paintings painted in the 16th century showing some gypsy drummers and dancers, including Tonbak players. The history of Persian music shows that many books have been written on Persian music and it is unfortunate that many of them have not survived and many of them that have survived have not been published in Iran.