Asian Backgammon

In southwest Asia or Persia, a game called "Nard" came out before 800AD. This game was pretty much the same as Alea and utilized just 2 dice to shift pointers. Since its board was made of wood, and the word for wood was Nard, it was also called Nardshir, Nardeeshir, and Nard-i-shir. Another name was "Takhteh Nard" which meant "battle on wood". An explanation for the symbolism of the game can be found on an early inscription:

The board represents a year; each side has 12 points which stand for the months of the year; the twenty-four points symbolize the number of hours that there are in a day; the 30 checkers correspond to the number of days in a month; The two opposite sides of the die amount to a number which signifies the 7 days of the week; Day and night are represented by the checkers' contrasting colors.

It is believed that T'shu-p'u was the initial Nard Chinese game. It originated in Western India and entered China in the era of the Wei dominion (220-265 AD). It was widespread from 479-1000AD, and was given the name "Sugoroku" by the Japanese. In 902 AD, after the Arab conquest of Sicily, Nard came into Europe through Italy or Spain. A number of cultures called the game by its name, "Tabula", due to its prevalent Roman origin. Its counterpart, "Nard", was likewise spread by the Arabs all over Asia. Nard, the Arabian version of the game, seems to have been a somewhat altered form of Tabula, possibly comprising features of Egyptian Senat. The two forms mainly differ in the number of dice used. In Tabula, three dice were utilized, whereas in Nard, only two were used. Subsequently, the employment of 2 dice, as in the Tabula version, grew to be more popular

The Expansion and Uniformity of Backgammon

Backgammon was initially introduced in English publications in 1025 in The Codex Exoniensis "These two shall sit at tables..." . From that era till the Middle Ages, Nard, or "Tables", was a common game in English taverns. However, in the 15th Century, Chess became more eminent than Tables. Moreover, Tables was prohibited till the rule of Elizabeth I, owing to its prevailing gambling features. Nevertheless, the game was popular in quite a few countries. The game had various names, in accordance with the country where it was played: Tavola Reale (Italy), Tables Reales (Spain), Tavli (Greece), Tavla (Turkey), Tric Trac (France), Backgammon or Tables (Britain), Puff (Germany), Vrhcaby (Czech), and Swan-liu (China). It is believed that the name "Backgammon" came to be in 1645, probably from the Saxon words for back (="baec") and for game(="gamen"), or, though less plausible, from the Welsh words for little (="bac" or "bach") and for battle (="gammon" or "cammaun").

An additional, though unlikable, assumption is that it got its name from the back cover of chessboards. At this stage, Tabula was very similar to modern backgammon, with the incorporation of two dice and the doubling element, excluding the doubling cube and the counting of gammons and backgammons. In 1743, the first formal contemporary rules of the game were compiled in Edmond Hoyle's Treatise on Backgammon.