Arabic 'ud - The Arabic lute, the ancestor of the Renaissance and Baroque lutes of Europe. It may have originated from a smaller Iranian lute, the barbat. The modern 'ud has no frets, allowing for the microtones that are present in much of Middle Eastern music. Historically, the 'ud seems to have been both fretted and unfretted. In Islamic Andalusia (711 to 1492), a fretted variety was common, which may have been the direct precursor the lute.

Turkish 'ud - The Turkish version of the 'ud, with a slightly smaller body and a very resonant sound.

Turkish saz - One of the most popular instruments of Turkish music, the saz may derive from the Iranian sehtâr or tambur. It is popular throughout Turkey, and is commonly used in Anatolia, particularly by the ashiklar, singing poets who accompany themselves with the instrument. It is fretted to allow for the quarter tones of Turkish music.

Moroccan Berber gimbri - The gimbri is a lute of the Berber peoples of Morocco. The most common version has three gut strings, and a rustic body cut out of a single piece of wood. The neck is most often cylindrical.

Iranian sehtâr - One of the principal instruments of the Iranian Sufis, the sehtâr ("three string") is likely the ancestor of the saz, and even possibly the Indian sitar. It is characterized by a very small, lute-like body, and a thin, long neck. Despite its name, the modern version has four strings.

Iranian tar - The most important of the lutes used in classical Persian music, the tar appeared in many forms over the centuries, before achieving its current design in the 19th century. It is characterized by its figure-eight shaped body, which is carved in two halves of wood, joined togehter at the center. A skin is stretched acoss the top, rather than being a wooden soundboard.

Uzbek dutar - Similar to the saz and the sehtâr, the dutar ("two string") has two strings, most often made of silk. It is popular among the Uzbek and Turkmen peoples of Central Asia.

Afghan robâb - The national instrument of Afghanistan, the robâb can be dated to at least the 18th century, though it is likely far older than that. It has many characteristics of an Indian instrument. In addition to its 'ud-like gut strings, it had a series of "sympathetic" wire strings close to the body, which are rarely played, and vibrate when the other strings are plucked, thus producing a faint drone. This is also a characteristic of the Indian sitar.

Iranian robâb - A Persian adaptation of the Afghan robâb, with a longer and thinner neck, and fitted with more frets to perform music with Classical Persian scales. It also has fewer sympathetic strings than its Afghan counterpart.

Indian sitar - Popularized in the west by the master Ravi Shankar, the sitar may date back as far as the 14th century, and may derive from the Iranian sehtâr. It has a series of sympathetic strings, and a number of other strings, which are struck, but not fretted. This produces the constant drone notes so characteristic of this instrument. The great length of the strings makes them "twang" and buzz, producing the tones familiar to western listeners. Only the top two strings are normally played.

Central Asian donbula - A small, sehtâr-like lute with a skin stretched across the top of the body. It is used in Central Asia and Western China. It has five wire strings, the bottom four of which tend to be drones, while melodies are played on the top string.

Turkish/Greek lauta - A four-course lute similar to an 'ud, but with a smaller body, longer neck, and frets (like a saz). It is popular in the Greek islands as well as Western Turkey.

Uyghur tembur - A very long-necked lute from the Xinjiang region of Western China, important for its oasis towns along the Silk Road. The tembur is used in the performance of the traditional music of the Uyghurs, a Turkic people with ties to Central Asia. It features five strings, of which only the top one is a melody string, the rest being strummed as drones.

Topchyl khomis - A two-stringed instrument from central Russia, near the border with Kazakhstan. Similar to the dutar.

Ukrainian kobza - A flat bodied lute with twelve strings, six that are fretted, and six played like a harp.

Hungarian kobza - A shot-neck lute, popular in Hungary and Romania, not related to the Ukrainian instrument except in name.

Moroccan lotar - A larger version of the Berber gimbri, with a bigger, heavier neck, and four strings.

Syrian buzuq - A wire sting instrument, similar to the saz (with quarter tone frets), resembling the Greek bozouki. It has been traditionally associated with the itinerant Romani musicians of Syria and Lebanon.