What is "santoor"

n. An Indian string instrument, a trapezoidal hammered dulcimer with seventy strings, believed to be derived from the Persian santur.

The santoor is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer or string musical instrument made of walnut, with seventy-two strings. It is the national musical instrument of Iran, and is also native to Jammu and Kashmir. It dates back to ancient times, and was called Shatha Tantri Veena in ancient Sanskrit texts. A primitive ancestor of this type of instrument was used in Mesopotamia (1600-911 BC) and Babylonia.