The qanun, kanun, ganoun or kanoon (Arabic: 'قانون‎'; Greek: 'κανονάκι') is a string instrument played either solo, or more often as part of an ensemble, in much of the Middle East, North Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and southeastern regions of Europe. The name derives from the Arabic word 'qanun', meaning "rule, law, norm, principle", which is borrowed from the ancient Greek word and musical instrument 'κανών' (rule), which in Latin was called 'canon'.

Qanun trace its origins to a stringed Assyrian instrument from the Old Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia, specifically from the nineteenth century BC. The instrument is a type of large zither with a thin trapezoidal soundboard that is famous for its unique melodramatic sound.

Arabic qanuns are usually constructed with five skin insets that support a single long bridge resting on five arching pillars, whereas the somewhat smaller Turkish qanuns are based on just four. Ornamental sound holes called 'kafes' are a critical component of what constitutes the accustomed timbre of qanun.

Qanun is played on the lap while sitting or squatting, or sometimes on trestle support, by plucking the strings with two tortoise-shell picks (one for each hand) or with fingernails, and has a standard range of three and a half octaves from A2 to E6 that can be extended down to F2 and up to G6 in the case of Arabic designs. The instrument also features special metallic levers or latches under each course called 'mandals'.

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