Abstract
This article presents a comprehensive historical and organological analysis of the various theories concerning the origin of the oud, one of the oldest and most influential plucked string instruments in the musical culture of the Middle East. The study systematically examines the principal scholarly hypotheses regarding the instrument’s genesis and investigates its possible historical predecessors through a comparative analysis of similar instruments found in the civilizations of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Arab world. Drawing upon archaeological evidence, historical written sources, iconographic materials, and contemporary organological research, the article explores the structural characteristics, performance practices, and evolutionary development of these related instruments. Existing theories are critically evaluated with regard to their historical reliability, scholarly validity, and methodological foundations. Particular attention is given to identifying which ancient instrument may be considered the most probable ancestor of the modern oud. The findings suggest that the emergence of the oud was not the result of a single cultural tradition but rather a complex historical process shaped by centuries of cultural interaction, musical exchange, and organological evolution among the civilizations of the Ancient Near East.