Backgammon History – From Ancient History to Today
Backgammon is considered the most ancient game in documented history.
Most people believe that backgammon was first played during the rise of the Persian Empire in Mesopotamia,
the birthplace of Iran, Iraq and Syria. The notion of board and dice was based on board games played in
much earlier empires, such as the Egyptians, Sumerians, and Romans, dating thousands of years back.
Throughout the history of Backgammon, The board was usually a flat surface of wood, the checkers were made from stones, and the dice were created from materials such as bones, pebbles, wood or clay.
Backgammon History - Discovered Relics
Excavations and ancient scripts reveal that backgammon has always been
correlated with the rulers and upper classes of the early cultures of Persia, Greece, Rome, and the Far East.
Boards with various square combinations (3x10, 3x12, and 3x6) were discovered in Egypt and the game was acknowledged as
the Game of Thirty Squares or Senat. These relics originated in 3000-1788BC, but there is no evidence as to the rules of
the game or the usage of dice. Boards made of wood and tetrahedral dice from around 2600BC, known as The Royal Games of Ur,
were discovered at the center of Sumer, the royal tomb of the Ur al Chaldees. A headstone from about 177BC was discovered,
and on it were hieroglyphics describing the rules for the game.
Backgammon History – Ancient Egypt and Tabula
Artifacts indicate that in 600 AD, the Romans played a game called Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum, based on the Egyptian Senat.
This game, referred to as "The Game of 12 Lines", comprised of boards made from leather and 30 pointers,
15 of ebony and 15 of ivory.
About 2,000 years ago, an alternative game came into use, with 2x12 lines rather than 3x12 lines,
which is more similar to today's version. The game, known as Tabula, which was also the standard name for the board,
reached Britain with the Roman invasion. Emperor Claudius was known for his liking to this leisure activity.
About 50 AD, he wrote a description of the Tabula's past, which has disappeared. He always carried his Tabula
playing board (alveus) with him, even when he was traveling in his stagecoach, and he would make use of the time
on the coach to play.
Tabula was the initial game employed for gambling in Rome, leading to an obsession with the desire for gambling,
until it was prohibited by the Republic. The only time in which gambling was allowed was during the Saturnalia.
Otherwise, there was a fine of four times the stakes, a regulation which was scarcely put into effect.
At the advent of the 6th century, the game was given the title of Alea, "the art of dice gambling".
Alea was the forerunner of present-day backgammon, even though there are many disparities concerning
opening positions and progress on the board.
Done with this section? Lets move forward a bit to Asian Backgammon
and the Backgammon Expansion.
You can also go back to our main Backgammon History page.
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