Backgammon History
At this page, you will find an overview of the history of backgammon from its origins until today. Backgammon is the oldest known recorded game. It is believed to have originated in Mesopotamia thousands of years Before Christ. Excavated relics and written references of backgammon-like board games were found in Persia, Greece, Rome and the Far East.
Wooden boards for a game similar to Backgammon were found in the tomb of the Ur al Chaldees in Mesopotamia. These boards are dated about 2600BC and the game played at them is referred as the Royal Game of Ur. The first set of rules for this game, written on a cuneiform tablet is dates about 177BC. An Egyptian game of the same kind with 3 rows of 10 squares was called Senat. Senat game dates back to 3000-1778BC.
A Roman game Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (The Game of 12 Lines) is believed to derive from the Egyptian game of Senat. The oldest Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum game sets that consist of leather boards and 30 markers (15 of ivory and 15 of ebony) date back to 600AD. The game was initially played at 3 rows / 12 lines boards, but in the 1st Century AD the format was changed to 2 rows / 12 lines, which made Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum look very much like modern Backgammon.
In the 1st Century AD, the Roman conquest brought the game of Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum to Britain, where it was also referred as Tabula, a generic name for the board where the game was played. The game became very popular across the entire Roman Empire and was responsible for the gambling mania, which caused the prohibition of the game. A later version of Tabula, called Alea was developed in the 6th century and had almost all the rules of contemporary Backgammon, although there were many variations regarding starting positions and movement.
Predecessors of Backgammon also spread to the other side of the suppositional native land of the game. Prior to 800AD, a game called Nard appeared in Southwest Asia or Persia. The game used 2 dice and was played in a similar manner as Alea. The word Nard was the Persian name for wood or wooden products, and referred to the board on which the game was played. The full name of the game was Nard-i-shir or Takhteh Nard, which means Battle on Wood.
The Chinese variation of Nard was called T'shu-p'u. The game was invented in Western India and brought to China during the Wei dynasty (220-265AD). The game became very popular between 479-1000AD. At the same period Japanese played factually the same game called Sugoroku.
During the Arab occupation of Sicily (902AD), the game of Nard was brought to Europe, where the game of Tabula was already known. Nard was slightly different from Tabula. The main difference between two games was that Nard was played with 2 dice and Tabula with 3. The use of 2 dice quickly became very popular in Europe and the hybrid of Tabula and Nard became Backgammon as we know it today.
The name Backgammon was first used in 1645. It is said to be derived from either Saxon baec-gamen (back-game) or Welsh bac-gammon (little-battle) with the first variant being more likely. By the same time the game received its modern name, it also involved a rule of playing doubles twice. In 1743 the first official set of rules for Backgammon was codified by Edmond Hoyle.
In 1920's the doubling cube was introduced to enhance the element of skills in the game of Backgammon, and in 1931, a set of modern Backgammon rules was published in the U.S.
Prince Alexis Obelensky caused a raise of Backgammon popularity in 1960s, when he organized and promoted Backgammon tournaments and established the first official Backgammon World Championship in the Bahamas. This championship keeps being the most prestigious Backgammon tournament until today.