How long had the sitar been in existence?

Answer 1

The Sitar is perhaps the most common instrument in North India, whose invention is commonly credited to the famous singer Amir Khusru in the fourteenth century. It is not yet found much in the South, but there is little doubt that, as Indian music is cultivated more and more, this simple and beautiful instrument will come very largely into use all over the South. The body of the instrument is about two feet long, and carries the finger-board which is about three inches wide.

1. Head The top portion of the finger board is called the Head. The Head has 5 main pegs fixed to it. 2. Finger Board There are two pieces of the finger board. One upper and the other lower. The upper part is a flat piece of wood joined with the other hollow piece of wood. The upper parts contains 11 holes for sympathetic strings. 3. Neck It is a small piece of wood in the shape of a human neck. It joins the gourd and the finger board. 4. Gourd It is a big dry pumpkin hallowed down from the inside. 5. Sound Board It is a kind of wooden plate of wood fixed on the top of the gourd. It is the main part of the Sitar which produces vibrations in the sound. 6. Pegs The pegs are ordinarily made of Shisham or Teakwood. Two sizes of pegs are commonly used on the Sitar. One is big the other is small. 7. Frets Are made of nickel plated brass-rod tied on the finger board with nylon threads. Their sequence is from the upper to the lower part of the Sitar. 8. Nut Is and ivory piece fixed on the upper part of the finger board. Cuttings are made according to the number and size of the strings. 9. Bridge Two sizes of bridges are used on the Sitar. One is big and the other is small. The big bridge is used for the upper strings while the small one is for the sympathetic strings. 10. Beed Is made of ivory or bone. It is placed between bridge and end-pin and is used for the fine tuning of string #1. 11. End Pins They are ivory pins fixed on the Toe of the Sitar for tightening the strings. 12. Strings There are seven strings on the Sitar on the upper portion for playing. Out of these, four are made of steel and three are made of bronze. In addition, there are eleven sympathetic strings under the frets. source:THIS CREDIT GOES TO www.prasanna-sitar.com

Answer 2

Tradition states that Amir Khusrau a poet in the court of Allaudin Khilji was the inventor of the Sitar. Don't get Amir Khusrau confused with Khusrau Khan an 18th century figure who may have helped introduce the Sitar in Dehli and contributed to spreading its performance.

Answer 3

somewhere around the fourteenth century by Amir Khusru.
1856

Answer 4

maybe around the 18th century