The term Tanbur, Tanbūr, Tanbura, Tambur, Tambura or Tanboor (Persian: تنبور) can refer to various long-necked, string instrument originating in the Southern or Central Asia (Mesopotamia and Persia/Iran). According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "terminology presents a complicated situation. Nowadays the term tanbur (or tambur) is applied to a variety of distinct and related long-necked string instruments used in art and folk traditions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikestan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. Similar or identical instruments are also known by other terms."